An abandoned call is a caller who hangs up before reaching an agent — usually because the wait was too long. Every one is a lost sale or a frustrated customer. The good news: abandonment is very fixable, and queue callback is the single biggest lever. Here's how to cut it.
Why callers abandon
Long hold times, no sense of progress, and calling at peak periods. If callers don't know how long they'll wait — or feel stuck — they drop off, often to call a competitor instead.
Queue callback: the biggest win
Queue callback lets a waiting caller keep their place in line and hang up — the system calls them back when an agent is free. They don't sit on hold, so they don't abandon. For most teams this alone moves abandonment dramatically.
Other levers
- Smart routing — get callers to the right agent first time so calls are shorter and queues move.
- Position & wait-time announcements — telling callers where they are reduces drop-offs.
- Staff to the data — use wallboards and reporting to staff up for known peaks.
- IVR deflection — handle simple queries (order status, hours) without an agent.
Measure it
Track your abandoned-call rate and average wait on a live wallboard, and watch them move as you add callback and tune routing. This matters most for e-commerce teams during promotion spikes.
Built in
Queue callback, announcements, routing and reporting all come with the Managed Contact Centre.