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Step 2: Configuring the chat and messaging queues

Updated on September 10, 2021

Pega Customer Service uses omni-channel queue-based routing todirect new conversation requests to customer service representatives (CSRs) with relevant skills.

Omni-channel queues support requests from chat and Facebook Messenger. When a customer escalates a chat to a CSR, the routing engine presents a list of available queues for the customer to select. The routing engine determines the next steps based on various queue-level settings. For example, if you set up a pre-chat questionnaire for the queue, the customer receives a questionnaire that they must answer to proceed. Queue settings determine the CSR availability to take the requests, required CSR skills, and customer messaging for scenarios such as agent unavailability.

For more information, see Omni-channel queue-based routing mechanism.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have configured the provisioned chat server in your Pega Customer Service application. See Configuring the Pega Customer Service chat server.

Procedure

To configure omni-channel queues in Pega Customer Service, complete the following tasks:

Configuring the general queue settings

  1. In the navigation panel of App Studio, click Settings > Chat and messaging.
  2. Click the Queues tab.
  3. To add a new queue, click Add queue.
  4. In the Configure omni-channel queue dialog box, enter the following details:
    1. Queue name: Enter the name of the queue without spaces or special characters.
    2. Max concurrent conversations (from this queue): Enter the maximum number of active conversations that the CSR can handle simultaneously in this queue.
      If you enter 3 here, the routing engine offers up to three conversation requests from this queue to the CSR. Any further requests are routed only after one of those active conversations are completed. If you do not enter any value here, the routing engine considers the value specified in the Max concurrent conversations in the operator record or the Max concurrent conversations (per CSR) in the Chat and Messaging settings in that order.
    3. Screen pop duration before timeout: Enter the duration (in seconds) for which to display the new chat alert (toaster pop) on the CSR's screen.
      If the CSR does not accept or decline the request in the specified duration, the alert disappears and the request is routed to the next available CSR.
    4. Is this queue visible to the user: When a customer escalates a chat, they first see a list of available queues in the chatbot. If you want to show this queue in the list, select Yes.
    5. Queue selection text for customers: This field is visible only if you select Yes for Is this queue visible to the user. To show the queue in the list with descriptive text, enter the text here. When the chatbot shows the list of available queues to the customer, the queue is identified by the text you enter here instead of its name.
      For example, if you enter I have a billing question for a queue named Billing, the text "I have a billing question" replaces "Billing" in the chatbot.
    6. Queue questionnaire (optional): In the Queue questionnaire list, select a pre-chat questionnaire that you want to associate with the queue.
      If you select a questionnaire here, it is presented to the customers to answer who select the queue for escalation. For more information, see Configuring queue questionnaire for chat and messaging.
    7. URL mapping pattern (chat interactions only): To map a unified resource locator (URL) to the queue, click Add URL, and enter the complete URL.
      You can enter multiple values separated by the or operator, and the * wildcard character. For example, yoursite.com/*-sales or yoursite.com/newcustomer. The URL pattern of the organization determines which chat queue to select for a request. For example, if a banking organization has two divisions, Savings and Credit Card, and Queue A is configured for the Credit Card URL, then the request raised from that URL is routed to Queue A.

Managing the queue availability

To configure the queue business hours and useful information about the availability of CSRs in the queue, complete the following steps:

  1. In the navigation panel of App Studio, click Settings > Chat and messaging.
  2. Click the Availability tab. In the Hours of operation field, select a calendar that reflects the hours of operation. For information about defining calendars, see Defining the operator attributes.
  3. In the Off-hours behavior field, enter the message to display to the customer during queue off hours.
  4. In the Wait time section, complete the following fields:
    1. To prevent a live chat request from being routed to the queue during long wait times, in the Maximum wait time (Secs) field, enter a time in seconds.
      When a new customer escalation arises in a queue, the routing engine estimates the timeframe required for the first available CSR in the queue to take up the customer request. If thecomputed wait time exceeds the maximum wait time that you enter, the customer is notified upfront that the request cannot be processed without making them wait in the queue. For more information, see the Omni-channel queue-based routing mechanism
      .
    2. In the Default wait time (Secs) field, enter the default wait time in seconds for the queue.
      The routing engine considers the default wait time at the start of the queue business hours until the CSRs resolve enough number of chats to meet the threshold for calculating the estimated wait time.
  5. To configure a message that you want to display to the customer when no CSRs are available in the queue, or when the computed wait time is more than the configured Maximum wait time of the queue, enter the text in the Agents not available field.
  6. Click Save.

Defining CSR skills for the queue

CSRs become a part of a queue when they have all the required skills configured for the queue. You can add any number of required skills for the queue or create new skills as needed.

  1. Click the Members tab, and then select a skill from the Skills list. You can select an existing skill or create a new one.
  2. Click Save.

The Members section displays the list of CSRs who match the skills. CSRs should match all the listed skills to be associated with the queue.

What to do next

Create a self-service application. See Step 3: Configuring routing.

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