What is a queue?

In telephony, a queue (often called a call queue) refers to a system that organizes and manages incoming calls on a line. When lines are busy or employees cannot currently answer these calls immediately.

Imagine you are in a store and want to pay at the checkout, but all the checkouts are currently busy. Instead of turning you away, the store puts you in a queue until a till becomes free. In telephony, the queue works similarly. If all employees are busy or the lines are busy, callers are placed in a “queue” until someone is available to take the call.

Typically, automated messages are played to callers waiting in the queue, informing them of the approximate time frame in which their call will be handled. Music is also frequently played to make the waiting time more pleasant.

In Virtual-Call's Cloud PBX solution, the queue is part of the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system. This means that callers who end up in the queue can be guided through automated voice messages and menus while they wait for an available agent.