Flow block in Amazon Connect: Transfer to queue - Amazon Connect
DescriptionUse cases for this blockContact typesFlow typesHow to configure this blockError scenariosSample flowsMore resources

Flow block in Amazon Connect: Transfer to queue

This topic defines the flow block for transferring a current contact to the destination queue.

Description

Use this block to transfer a current contact to the destination queue.

The functionality of this block depends on where it is used:

  • When used in a Customer Queue flow, this block transfers a contact already in a queue to another queue.

  • When used in a callback scenario, Amazon Connect calls the agent first. After the agent accepts the call in the CCP, Amazon Connect calls the customer.

  • In all other cases, this block places the current contact in a queue and ends current flow.

  • This block cannot be used in a callback scenario when using the chat channel. If you attempt to do so, an error branch is followed. In addition, an error is created in the CloudWatch log.

Use cases for this block

This block is designed to be used in the following scenarios:

  • Place the contact in a queue to be connected to an agent.

  • You want to move the current customer from a generic queue to a specialized queue. You may want to do this when customers have waited too long in the queue, for example, or you have other business requirements.

  • Offer callback options to the customer instead of having them wait to be connected to an agent.

Contact types

The following table lists how this block routes a contact who is using the specified channel.

Contact type Supported?

Voice

Yes

Chat

Yes

Task

Yes

Email

Yes

Flow types

You can use this block in the following flow types:

Flow type Supported?

Inbound flow

Yes

Customer queue flow

Yes

Customer hold flow

No

Customer whisper flow

No

Outbound whisper flow

No

Agent hold flow

No

Agent whisper flow

No

Transfer to agent flow

Yes

Transfer to queue flow

Yes

How to configure this block

You can configure the Transfer to queue block using the Amazon Connect admin website. Or you can use the Amazon Connect Flow language. Depending on the use case you use one of the following actions:

Transfer to queue

Use this configuration tab to transfer the contact to a queue. There are two possible scenarios:

  • Contacts are not in any queue yet: If contacts are not in a queue yet, this configuration simply puts the contacts in the destination queue that you've specified. For contacts not in a queue yet, you must use "Set Working Queue" flow block before "Transfer to Queue" flow block. The following image shows the Transfer to queue tab on the Properties page for transferring contacts to queue. You don't need to choose any options.

    The properties page of the Transfer to queue block, the Transfer to queue tab.

    The following code sample shows how this same configuration would be represented by the TransferContactToQueue action in the Flow language:

    {
         "Parameters": {},
         "Identifier": "a12c905c-84dd-45c1-8f53-4287d1752d59",
         "Type": "TransferContactToQueue",
         "Transitions": {
             "NextAction": "",
             "Errors": [
                 {
                     "NextAction": "0a1dc9a4-8657-4941-a980-772046b94f1e",
                     "ErrorType": "QueueAtCapacity"
                 },
                 {
                     "NextAction": "6e84a9b5-1ed0-40b1-815d-a3bdd4b2dc8a",
                     "ErrorType": "NoMatchingError"
                 }
             ]
         }
     }

    There are two possible outcomes in this case:

    • At capacity: If the destination queue cannot accept additional contacts when number of contacts currently in a queue exceeds the maximum contacts allowed for queue, then the contact is routed down the At Capacity branch.

    • Error: If transfer to queue fails for any other reason apart from capacity constraint (for example, the queue ARN that is specified for the transfer is not valid, the queue does not exist in the current instance, or queue is disabled for routing), then the contact is routed down the Error branch.

  • Contact already in a queue: If contacts are already waiting in a queue, then running the Transfer to queue block would move contacts from one queue to another. The following image shows how to configure the block to transfer contacts to queue. In this case, the BasicQueue is set manually.

    The properties page of the Transfer to queue block, the Transfer to callback queue tab.

    The following code sample shows how this same configuration would be represented by the DequeueContactAndTransferToQueue action in the Flow language:

    {
         "Parameters": {
             "QueueId": "arn:aws:connect:us-west-2:1111111111:instance/aaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee/queue/abcdef-abcd-abcd-abcd-abcdefghijkl"
         },
         "Identifier": "180c3ae1-3ae6-43ee-b293-546e5df0286a",
         "Type": "DequeueContactAndTransferToQueue",
         "Transitions": {
             "NextAction": "",
             "Errors": [
                 {
                     "NextAction": "0a1dc9a4-8657-4941-a980-772046b94f1e",
                     "ErrorType": "QueueAtCapacity"
                 },
                 {
                     "NextAction": "6e84a9b5-1ed0-40b1-815d-a3bdd4b2dc8a",
                     "ErrorType": "NoMatchingError"
                 }
             ]
         }
     }

    There are three possible outcomes in this case:

    • Success: Indicates the contact successfully transferred to the destination queue.

    • At capacity: If the destination queue cannot accept additional contacts when the number of contacts currently in a queue exceeds maximum contacts allowed for queue, then the contact is routed down the At Capacity branch. The contact remains in the current working queue.

    • Error: If transfer to queue fails for any other reason apart from capacity constraint (for example, the queue ARN that is specified for the transfer is not valid, the queue does not exist in the current instance, or queue is disabled for routing), then the contact is routed down the Error branch. The contact remains in the current working queue.

Transfer to Callback (scheduling callbacks)

Use this configuration tab to schedule callbacks for contacts at later time. The following image shows a Properties page that is configured for scheduling callbacks.

The properties page of the Transfer to queue block, the Transfer to Callback tab.

The following properties are available under the Transfer to Callback tab:

  • Initial delay: Specify how much time has to pass between a callback contact being initiated in the flow, and the customer is put in queue for the next available agent.

  • Maximum number of retries: If this were set to 1, then Amazon Connect would try to callback the customer at most two times: the initial callback, and 1 retry.

    Tip

    We strongly recommend that you double-check the number entered in Maximum number of retries. If you accidentally enter a high number, such as 20, it's going to result in unnecessary work for the agent and too many calls for the customer.

  • Minimum time between attempts: If the customer doesn't answer the phone, this is how long to wait until trying again.

  • Set working queue: You can transfer a callback queue to a different queue. This is useful if you set up a special queue just for callbacks. You can then view that queue to see how many customers are waiting for callbacks.

    Tip

    If you want to specify the Set working queue property, you need to add a Set customer callback number block before this block.

    If you don't set a working queue, Amazon Connect uses the queue that was set previously in the flow.

  • Set creation flow: Use the dropdown menu to select the flow to be run when a callback contact is created.

    The callback creation flow that you select must meet the following requirements:

    • The flow type must be the default flow type, Contact flow (inbound). For information about flow types, see Choose a flow type.

    • You need to configure a Transfer to queue block to queue the contact in the queue of your choice.

    Following are additional options for how you can configure your callback creation flow:

    • You can evaluate contact attributes (including customer profiles) by using a Check contact attributes block to see if the callback should be terminated because it is a duplicate or the customer issue has already been resolved.

    • You can add a Set customer queue flow block and use it to specify the flow to run when a customer is transferred to a queue. This flow is called a customer queue flow.

      • In the customer queue flow, you can evaluate the contact's wait time in queue by using a combination of the Get queue metrics block and GetCurrentMetricData to send an advance SMS to customers, notifying them to expect a callback in the near future from the specific contact center number.

Flow block branches

This block supports the following output branches:

  • Success: Indicates successfully played the provided audio or text message.

  • Error: Indicates a failure to play provided audio or text message.

When this block is configured to transfer to queue, it looks similar to the following image. It has two branches: At capacity and Error. If a contact is routed down the At capacity branch, it remains in the current working queue.

A configured transfer to queue block.

When this block is configured to transfer to callback queue, it looks similar to the following image. It has two branches: Success and Error. If a contact is routed down the Success branch, it's transferred to the specified queue.

A configured transfer to callback block.

Additional configuration tips

  • When you use this block in a Customer Queue flow, you must add a Loop prompts block before this one.

  • To use this block in most flows, you must add a Set working queue block first. The one exception to this rule is when this block is used in a Customer Queue flow.

  • Queue-to-queue transfers can be done only 11 times because there is a maximum limit of 12 contacts in a contact chain. Every transfer adds a new contact to the chain.

Data generated by the block

This block does not generate any data.

Error scenarios

A contact is routed down the Error branch in the following situations:

When the Transfer to queue block runs, it checks the queue capacity to determine whether the queue is at capacity (full). This check for queue capacity compares the current number of contacts in the queue to the Maximum contacts in queue limit, if one is set for the queue. If no limit is set, the queue is limited to the number of concurrent contacts set in the service quota for the instance.

Sample flows

Amazon Connect includes a set of sample flows. For instructions that explain how to access the sample flows in the flow designer, see Sample flows in Amazon Connect. Following are topics that describe the sample flows which include this block.

More resources

See the following topics to learn more about the transferring contacts to a queue and queued callback.