Availability settings let visitors know agents are online or offline. It’s important to configure your settings properly, so you don’t miss incoming calls or chats from customers.
When agents are online, visitors will see “start call” and “start chat” buttons. It’s better to tell visitors you’re offline and book meetings for later, than to keep visitors waiting, or disappoint them when you set the expectation that someone is online, but nobody answers.
Visitors don’t want to be kept waiting for a response to their inquiry. Luckily, ServiceBell handles availability in 3 ways, ensuring reps never miss a chat or call, and every visitor is met with an immediate response.
Hours of Availability
Hours of Availability settings (covered in the Agent Quick Start Guide) are your first line of defense against missed calls. Agents can choose which days of the week and hours of the day they’re “online” by default.
These are typically your working hours, let’s say 9 AM - 5 PM local time as an example. ServiceBell will automatically mark agents online during their hours of availability.
Availability Toggle
If an agent wants to manually toggle themselves offline, they can from the dashboard. Click on the “Inbox” tab and you’ll see the “My Status” box in the middle of the screen. If you’re currently online, the toggle is on and says “Active.”
Click to toggle offline. You’ll be prompted with a pop-up that asks how long you’d like to remain offline. Choose the day and time until you’d like to return online. The same is true for manually toggling yourself online.
Google Calendar Integration
When you connect your Google Calendar to ServiceBell, you’ll automatically toggle offline when you’re in the middle of a calendar event, like a meeting or blocked time for deep work. This way, you don’t miss calls while you’re in a meeting with your team.
All Agents Busy
When you’re actively holding a ServiceBell call with a website visitor, you’re automatically marked offline. When all agents are on ServiceBell calls or in meetings, the widget reverts to your offline mode settings (which usually allows qualified visitors to send chats and book meetings for later.)
