Problem routing to an external # via vector step

[richa164]

I agree Bill missed the fact you stated virtual , indeed as you state this will not consume a licence , but the cor of the vdn/virtual station could still cause the dialling out to be affected.

[ssmokinjoe]

Hello Bill and Richa,
I have verified that the COR on the VDN is setup correctly. I performed the following tests:

I called into the call center from my extension and rather than use the virtual extension, I used the toll-free number; that call went through without a hitch. Then I called into the call center using my mobile phone and after pressing "5" the call drops.

When I use the virtual extension the call process seems to get stuck when going to step 20 which is the transfer out to the toll free number.

The reason I have the steps in the beginning of the vector is so that I can test it quickly without having to listen to all of the announcements. This is on a live system so my window is limited. I pretty much inherited this system and have learned most of what I know from helpful folks like you and some vendors I have a good relationship with. You have no idea how much I appreciate your taking the time out to help me with this issue. This options will allow our callers to be transferred to another service we have so that they will not have to wait in queue so long.

I am going to try to create a Testing VDN/Vector that will have the same steps as the one I am trying to get working so as to be able to test this better.

Number: 22 Name: MSC_Announcemen
Multimedia? n Attendant Vectoring? n Meet-me Conf? n Lock? n
Basic? y EAS? n G3V4 Enhanced? y ANI/II-Digits? y ASAI Routing? y
Prompting? y LAI? n G3V4 Adv Route? y CINFO? y BSR? n Holidays? y
Variables? n 3.0 Enhanced? n
01 wait-time 2 secs hearing silence
02 collect 10 digits after announcement 5733 – {{sends input digits to agent}}
03 queue-to split 10 pri m
04 # Annc for BP Xfer
05 Collect 1 digits after announcement 5744 – {{1 choice given}}
06 # Step for BP Xfer
07 goto step 20 if digits = 5
08 wait-time 2 secs hearing silence
09 announcement 5707 – {{these are just informational annc and change from time to time}}
10 wait-time 10 secs hearing music
11 announcement 5708
12 wait-time 10 secs hearing music
13 announcement 5743
14 wait-time 10 secs hearing music
15 announcement 5709
16 wait-time 20 secs hearing music
17 announcement 5711
18 wait-time 2 mins hearing music – {{we were getting complaints about repeating annc and were asked to play music longer}}
19 goto step 4 if unconditionally
20 route-to number 5780 with cov y if unconditionally
21 stop


EVENTS REPORT

Event Event Event Event First Last Evnt
Type Description Data 1 Data 2 Occur Occur Cnt

31 Dial-ahead discarded 22/12 33FD 04/06/17:53 04/17/15:27 15
31 Dial-ahead discarded 22/13 27F6 04/11/11:07 04/17/13:14 5
31 Dial-ahead discarded 22/7 26FA 04/13/08:42 04/17/13:03 12
31 Dial-ahead discarded 22/9 2BAF 04/15/11:42 04/17/13:54 3
31 Dial-ahead discarded 22/14 1AFE 04/16/11:29 04/17/10:55 7
81 No digits collected 22/7 2D7A 04/16/15:37 04/17/14:14 26

[marzahn]

Build Your Tests in a Non-Production VDN/VEC Set.

Hey Joe,

I should have said this before . . . my bad!

When making a change in the production system, it is good proctice to make a copy of the vector and point to it with a non-DID (internal) VDN. That way you can mess with it to your hearts content without causing an issue.

So set it up like this . . .

01 wait-time 0 secs hearing ringback
02 goto step 12 if staffed-agents in skill 10 < 1 {[You could also set up a new split with no agents to speed this up.]}
03 # Q calls at MEDIUM Priority
04 queue-to skill 10 pri m
05 announcement 5707
06 wait-time 10 secs hearing music
07 # BP Xfer announcement and
08 Collect 1 digits after announcement 5744
09 goto step 12 if digits = 5
10 wait-time 5 secs hearing silence
11 goto step 7 if unconditionally
12 route-to number 5780 with cov y if unconditionally
13 stop
================================================== =

This will also make your trace and event list more productive as you will not be counting other normal work activity on the production VDN and VEC with your test data. Let's see what that looks like. Okay?

[richa164]

Ok i think i have the solution to your issue , instead of the way you have it set up try

route to number xxxxx with cov y if digit =5

Instead of the way you are trying to do it , i think your way would need the route to step to be directly underneath the collect statement.

I reckon that will work

[richa164]

In fact just replace step 7 with the statement i have provided you and this will work.Step 20 is no longer needed.

[marzahn]

As Always . . . &quot;It Depends.&quot;

In fact just replace step 7 with the statement i have provided you and this will work.Step 20 is no longer needed.

-AND-

Ok i think i have the solution to your issue , instead of the way you have it set up try
route to number xxxxx with cov y if digit =5 Instead of the way you are trying to do it , i think your way would need the route to step to be directly underneath the collect statement.
I reckon that will work

Will this work? Yes it should. However without seeing the trace and events from a test vector, I will not know why it does not.

Is one way preferable to the other? The answer is always going to be: "it depends."
If I were your consultant, I would want to know what your entire call center environment looks like. And I would want to know:

How do you test for . . .

Time of day vs.business hours,
Agent staffing, availability, or lack thereof
Building emergencies
Bad weather outages
Early shut-down or team meetings

I always treat "route-to" steps as a sub-route program and place them at the end of any vector for the reasons given. It also makes it easier to follow when your route-to step is used by more than one preceeding step. For example you may need to use several of the test steps above to "go-to" a single route-to step.

This configuration works consitently for me. Moreover, you get a consistent "look" with any vector I build.

Please, before going any further, set up a test VDN and vector set to isolate your work from normal business activity. Then try all of the solutions offered here while you trace. Once you get something working, you can move your good work into production and accept the kudos from your manager. I hope this helps.

[richa164]

We do need to see a list trace as it could be trunk to trunk transfer is off etc etc so its all conjecture.

As for building vectors i would always keep to a set specification , for instance i would not use Bills method but send to a new vector where all my route to statements are , this is easier for me to maintain and keep a track of , also we heavily utilize variables to keep our vectors as short and maintainable as possible.

[marzahn]

Right you are Richa!

We do need to see a list trace as it could be trunk to trunk transfer is off etc etc so its all conjecture.

As for building vectors i would always keep to a set specification , for instance i would not use Bills method but send to a new vector where all my route to statements are , this is easier for me to maintain and keep a track of , also we heavily utilize variables to keep our vectors as short and maintainable as possible.

That looks like a good system you have there. I wonder where Joe went. Perhaps if we were both charging $200/per hour he woldn't be away for 5 days.

[ssmokinjoe]

Hi Richa and Bill,
I am still here; I apologize that I have been away lately; working on contracts for vendor support and trying to schedule and IP Flex upgrade at one of our branches. I am also beginning to create the test VDN and Vector which have to done using a DID since it does work when I dial in to the call center internally.

I really do appreciate you taking the time out of your day to help me with this and hope that one day I will know enough to be able to pay it forward. I am only in the office 3:30 today but am blocking some time out on my calendar to get to this and make some test calls. Once that is done I will post the trace and the events.

Thank you,

Joe

[marzahn]

I'm glad you have a sense of humor Joe!

There is certainly enough stress in this business. So I take every chance I can to sneak in a smile. Looking forward to seeing your results.

[ssmokinjoe]

Point well taken...

[ssmokinjoe]

How do you test for . . .

Time of day vs.business hours,
Agent staffing, availability, or lack thereof
Building emergencies
Bad weather outages
Early shut-down or team meetings

For example you may need to use several of the test steps above to "go-to" a single route-to step. <--- I think I know what you mean by this statement.

I have been working on writing my test VDN and vectors for the better part of the day; I decided to put them down on paper first since I have been having issues with my client software losing communication with my server since the upgrade. I think that this will allow me to look at it differently and help me begin to document these vectors.

I will try to get some testing done today before I leave for the rest of the week; I am the only one here that works on the phone system (in the process of training a backup person) so I can't leave it to someone else to test for me.. If I am able to test I will post results today, if not I will be back on it first thing Monday morning.

[ssmokinjoe]

Good afternoon,
I was able to do some testing but am already here longer that I should be... Will try to post results off-line. I was not successful in my endeavor.. Please have a great rest of the week and enjoy your weekend..

Regards,

Joe

[marzahn]

Could I See What You Have So Far?

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. We are expaning and things are a bit crazy lately. If you still need help perhaps I can help you shoot these troubles.

[ssmokinjoe]

Hi Bill,
Thanks for reaching out; it has been a bit crazy here as well, so much so that I have had to put this aside for now and dedicate myself to creating new MDM profiles on a MAC... I still need to get this working and will continue to do some testing and re-configuring when time permits. Thank you for the help so far. I hope your expansion goes well, good luck.