Skills
API issues → Tier 2 tech support, invoice requests → billing, language → dedicated team. Not "we'll figure it out as we go".
Assignment
Who Takes the Ticket Is a Rule, Not a Fastest-Click Contest
Without routing, agents cherry-pick easy tickets, VIP inquiries wait, and two reps assign themselves to the same chat. volbor selects an agent by status, workload, and skill. Whispering and internal notes live on another screen: this is where conversation ownership is determined.
Round-Robin
Next Online Agent Gets the Next Ticket. Offline Reps Are Excluded
Round-robin rotates exclusively among reps marked "available".[1] Anyone on a break is skipped: tickets never get stranded at an empty desk. This ensures fair shift distribution, not "whoever shouts loudest in team chat".
Workload
New Chats Route to Whoever Has the Fewest Open Conversations
Least busy routes by active ticket count, not "who looks unbusy". Round-robin and load balancing are distinct rules: choose one per queue or combine it with skills.
Concurrency cap, e.g., 5 open chats: a 6th is never assigned until one is closed. The threshold is a queue setting, not an industry rule.
Right Agent, Not Any Agent
Skills, Dedicated Account Managers, Local Branches
Topic, account history, and city filter incoming traffic before the queue rotates. Otherwise English inquiries hit non-English reps, and repeat clients land with an intern.
Sticky Agent
Returning customers route directly to the account owner in their CRM profile. Clients never re-explain their order to a third person.
Geo Routing
City or phone country code → local sales office. Not a one-size-fits-all queue across all branches.
Shift Handoffs
When Shifts End, Open Tickets Never Linger on Offline Reps
Agent statuses: Available, Break, Training, Offline. Inactivity at the desk automatically removes reps from rotation. Timezones transfer active queues to the next regional office, and open conversations hand off with context notes, not "sort it out tomorrow".
- Lisbon · 18:50Warning: transfer open tickets
- Warsaw · 19:50Assuming queue. Nora online
- Singapore · 01:50Night: bot handles, team sleeps
Simultaneous Claiming
The Ticket Is Already Claimed. A Second Rep Cannot Take Ownership
Collision detection here governs ticket assignment, not concurrent message drafting.[2] The active owner is visible immediately. Reassignment is a supervisor privilege, not a click race between two reps. For concurrent typing in the draft field, see the whispering page.
FAQ
Offline handling, escalations, permissions
What if the required department is completely offline?
A bot flow or AI agent manages client expectations and places the ticket into the morning queue, rather than dropping it into an empty rotation.
What happens if an assigned agent stays silent for three minutes?
An escalation rule returns the conversation to the general queue or alerts the team lead. You define the timer threshold, not an arbitrary product default.
Can agents claim conversations assigned to someone else?
Only users with reassignment permissions can do so. Frontline agents encounter assignment collision protection.
How are overnight conversations handled?
The bot communicates business operating hours and queues inquiries for the morning shift. Timezone relay routes tickets to another regional office if available.
Do customers see when an agent is reassigned?
You can notify them with a system message or perform a silent transfer. This is a configurable handoff setting, not a mandatory public channel notification.
Can a conversation be returned to the bot after human intervention?
Yes: you can resolve tickets with an automated CSAT survey or return customers to self-service menus within the same conversation thread.
Related
A Routing Rule Without a Queue and ACL Is Just a Floating Spreadsheet
Routing assigns the ticket to a human. The workspace, whispering, permissions, and response timers live on adjacent screens.
Inbox Hub
Why it's neededWhere assigned conversations land.
Without itYou have a routing rule, but no unified workspace to manage it.
Unified Inbox
Why it's neededThe three-column workspace where assigned threads live.
Without itRules route to agents, but work remains trapped inside personal WhatsApp accounts.
Whispering
Why it's neededAssigned reps need an internal collaboration layer, not a second "claim" button.
Without itTeammates argue in external third-party chat apps.
ACL & Permissions
Why it's neededControls who can reassign tickets and access VIP accounts.
Without itJunior interns claim enterprise wholesale accounts with one click.
SLA Timers
Why it's neededFRT timers start ticking immediately upon ticket assignment.
Without itA ticket is officially "owned", but no one actually responds.
Lead Scoring
Why it's neededHigh-value deals route to senior closers rather than general round-robin.
Without itHigh-ticket enterprise leads land with the first available novice.
Custom Reports
Why it's neededMonitor agent workload and FCR with hard data, not subjective feelings of fairness.
Without itPerformance bonuses are decided by whoever shouts loudest.
Get Started
Set Your Assignment Rules Before Peak Hours
Configure online rotations, concurrency caps, and skill sets in volbor. Never rely on "fastest clicker wins" during a traffic spike.
Open dashboardFootnotes & Methodology
How Figures on This Page Were Derived
- [1]Round-robin rotates only through agents with "Available" status
Platform assignment rule: offline agents and those on break are excluded from rotation. Illustrated by the shift mockup on this page (Max excluded from rotation). Not an empirical response time benchmark from 12 minutes to 4 seconds.
- [2]A second claim action does not override an already assigned agent
Assignment collision: claim attempt is rejected if an owner is already assigned; reassignment is restricted to authorized roles. Distinct from composer field input locking on the whispering feature page.