Call Waiting

Ever been on an important call and worried you might miss another one coming in? That’s where call waiting saves the day. Instead of sending callers to voicemail or leaving them with a busy signal, MightyCall provides a quick alert, allowing you to switch between conversations or put one on hold easily. This call center feature ensures smooth communication and keeps your customers happy.

What is call waiting?

Call waiting is a feature that gives businesses an extra hand in managing two simultaneous telephone conversations. When you’re already on the line and there’s another call coming in, your phone won’t send a busy signal – a big turn-off for potential customers.

Instead, it will provide several options for accepting, forwarding, or holding the conversation. This functionality is most effective when combined with other business phone features, such as Caller ID, call routing, and call forwarding.

What Does the Call Waiting Feature Look Like?

MightyCall users don’t need any special call waiting software. They will find the feature in their console, under the “Answering rules” tab. When you click this tab, you’ll see a basic call flow for different calling scenarios, such as the “Do not disturb”, “Busy”, and “No answer” modes. Under the “Busy” mode, at the very bottom of the call flow “tree”, you’ll see a colorful square icon. There, you can customize call handling options, including for when a call is waiting on the second line.

How to set up call waiting in MightyCall

MightyCall’s delivery of the feature is simple and is enabled by default on all incoming calls as part of the Call to User option. If you have changed settings or want to turn off the feature and choose an alternative call handling option for second-line calls, here’s how to re-activate call waiting.

1. In your MightyCall profile, click the “Answering Rules” tab.
2. Go to the “Busy” section of the call flow.
3. Below the audio greeting, at the bottom, you’ll see a colorful square icon. If you haven’t changed your settings recently, the icon will be green with a phone receiver and dots. That indicates that waiting is already active, and you don’t need to take any action to enable it.
4. If you see a yellow or blue square icon, it indicates that you have either “Leave voicemail” or “Hold incoming call” activated instead. In this case, click the little “gear” symbol in the top right corner of the icon. A few colorful circles will pop up. Select the green circle with the receiver to activate it.

Alternatively, to disable call waiting, just choose any other call handling option.

How does call waiting work?

Whenever you get a call on the second line, you will see several options for handling it on your device. Handling options include transferring the call to another number, adding another person to the conversation, switching between lines, or sending it to voicemail.

What’s really useful is that it’s not a one-for-all setting. During any given conversation, any agent can choose whichever simultaneous call handling option is convenient for them at the moment.

Note that this setting applies to calls directed to individual people, not groups. For example, it isn’t applicable if your business calls are automatically routed to employees in a group (like several employees part of the Sales or Support group).

Call waiting features in MightyCall

The functionality includes a general greetings setting, as well as several options for handling simultaneous calls as they arrive.

• Greetings: By default, you’ll have a general on-hold greeting that plays when you’re talking to someone on the first line. However, you can fully customize this and upload your own audio file to play.
• Transfer: Don’t want to keep the person on the line waiting for a phone call back from a colleague? Use this option to instantly transfer the second call internally or externally to any other phone number.
• Add call: Press this button to connect a colleague for a consultative call when you need advice without changing lines.
• Switch: Allows you to switch between two conversations as many times as you need. It will alternate between an active call and on-hold when you tap this button.
• Voicemail: Sends the person on the second line to your voicemail box

How to configure and customize call waiting management in MightyCall

Greetings

When two people happen to ring you simultaneously or as you’re busy talking, the second caller will first hear a default voice greeting that the phone number they’re dialing is busy.

To change this greeting and upload your own custom greeting, take the following steps:

1. Go to the “Answering rules” tab in your MightyCall profile.
2. Under the “Busy” section of the call flow, you’ll see an audio file option.
3. Click the “gear” icon in the top-right corner to open a pop-up window with audio greeting settings. Here, you can upload your own audio greeting to play to customers until an agent picks up or applies one of the call handling options below.

Call transfer

If you don’t want to make the person wait on the line and would rather transfer them to a colleague or an external number, complete the following steps in your MightyCall Mobile App or MightyCall webphone:

1. Put the current call on hold. To do so, tap the green circle at the bottom right of the screen that has a “Pause” icon next to it.
2. Your conversation will be put on hold, and a menu of options will appear on the screen. Tap the “Transfer” icon, which features the receiver with an arrow next to it.
3. Choose an internal or external number to transfer the call.

Add a Call

If you want to connect a colleague to the line without interrupting the conversation, complete the following steps in your MightyCall Mobile App or MightyCall webphone:

1. Put the current call on hold. To do so, tap the green circle at the bottom right of the screen that has a “Pause” icon next to it.
2. Your conversation will be put on hold, and a menu of options will appear on the screen. Tap the “Add call” icon, which features the receiver with a plus sign next to it.
3. Select a number to join the conversation.

Switch between calls

If you want to go back and forth between your first and second lines without waiting for another call to be over, complete the following steps in your MightyCall Mobile App or MightyCall webphone:

1. Put the current conversation on hold. To do so, tap the green circle at the bottom right of the screen that has a “Pause” icon next to it.
2. Your conversation will be put on hold, and a menu of options will appear on the screen. Tap the “Switch” icon, which features the receiver and a zigzag arrow sign next to it.
3. Repeat steps 1&2 to go back to the first line.

Voicemail

If you want to direct the person to voicemail without using any of the above features, you also have that option.

1. When you hear the signal for a second line, tap the Voicemail icon at the bottom of the screen. You can find it in the middle between the two “receiver” icons.
2. This will transfer the person to voicemail so you can reach them later.

Why use call waiting?

No busy signal. When someone reaches out to you and hears a busy signal, chances are high that instead of giving a callback, they will reach out to a competitor whose business line is less congested – or better organized. With this feature on, even solopreneurs can avoid sending busy signals and attend to everyone on the line.

Several call routing options. Any regular smartphone has a basic call waiting setting to put one conversation on hold and respond to another. However, only professional phone systems can transfer calls with the press of a button or connect to another line simultaneously.

Personal settings. Unlike other pre-set features by admins, this one is completely flexible for each operator. When enabled, it allows any team member to respond to the person on the second line using a method that’s best suited for the given situation and the moment.

Double the customer attention. With their lines under attack during peak seasons, any business would appreciate an extra pair of ears. The feature allows agents to speak with two customers simultaneously or direct the caller to another employee who can address their needs without interruption.

Is this feature right for your business?

So, now you know what is call waiting, but is it right for your company? Does your call center need it? The main thing to keep in mind about this feature is that it allows the handling of only two simultaneous telephone conversations. For larger companies that require multiple phone lines, we recommend exploring additional VoIP features.

Meanwhile, here are the types of companies that will benefit from the feature:

• Solopreneurs: A great and simple option for those of you who’ve constantly got your hands full and need to reduce wait time.
• Small teams: Need to transfer a simultaneous call to a colleague? Small teams can effortlessly do so with the feature.
• Remote/hybrid workers: Connecting a remote colleague to an ongoing conversation or transferring it over to a team member across the country is instant and smooth
• Local businesses: When your call volumes aren’t super heavy, but you need a second helping hand occasionally.

Companies that might not need this feature :

• Large and national companies: These businesses typically have a large number of employees and require advanced call flows with multiple simultaneous lines.
• Departments within companies: The functionality is only available as a routing option for individual users, not for calling groups such as “Sales” or “Support,” which are frequently used within departments.

What can you do if your business falls into the “not optimal” checklist? Discover our Call Queue feature, designed for busy teams, departments, and contact centers.

How to use call waiting on landlines or traditional phones

Call waiting is available by default on most traditional phones. To apply it to a standard business phone, quickly press the receiver button or flash button and release it. This will put the first caller on hold and transfer you to the second line. To return to the first line, again press the receiver or flash button briefly.

To turn off Call Waiting and avoid interruptions on important calls, press *70 on your receiver before proceeding. Listen to the dial tone and dial the phone number. The waiting option will be automatically reactivated on your next call.

How to use call waiting on smartphones

Cells aren’t just for personal conversations, and sometimes you will need to turn call waiting on when using your mobile phone. However, note that the business options provided by MightyCall vary from the regular settings on your smartphone. Without using the MightyCall Mobile App, you’ll only be able to use the standard settings available on your device.

Call waiting on Android

Because there is a wide variety of Android devices, the process may differ from model to model. But generally speaking, Androids all operate the same way, more or less:

• Tap on the Phone icon.
• Tap on Settings.
• Select Calls (more often than not, you will need to select “Additional Settings,” or something similar
• You should see the Call Waiting function. If it has not been enabled, do so.

Call waiting on iPhone

iPhones are more uniform in their activation, although some networks may not support this feature. To use the call waiting option, do the following:

• Go to Settings.
• Select Phone.
• Select the feature if it’s not activated by default.

Use case

Bill and Mary own a florist shop in the neighborhood. They operate the business together and have a part-time helper. Usually, their call volumes aren’t that bad, and they distribute communication among themselves. However, during the summer, when the wedding season is in full swing, business is booming, and they struggle to keep up with orders and information, so the line is often busy.

With the call waiting feature on, Bill and Mary can now choose how to respond to a prospective customer on the second line. For example, if it’s an important call or a call with a VIP contact, they can choose to pick up immediately or quickly transfer it to their assistant. In cases where they are certain they can respond later, such as when a personal call interrupts a business one, they will simply send the second call to voicemail.

Helpful terms to know about call waiting

• VoIP: Standing for Voice-over-Internet-Protocol, is a phone system that makes calls over the internet instead of traditional analog lines. Transitioning to VoIP can provide you with numerous new and exciting possibilities.
• Call handling: The ability for businesses to choose the ways they respond to an incoming call. For example, you can accept the call, transfer it to another number, or send it to voicemail.
• Call flow: This is the path or “flow” that a call takes when it comes in. Call flows are visualized in the MightyCall console, where you can fully customize them.
• Call forwarding: This is a crucial feature that allows you to “forward” (that is, send) calls to other numbers. This way, someone can dial a business number that you’ve advertised and then have it redirected to one of your employees who may be operating on a different number.

Ready to start using call waiting?

If you’ve been looking for a strikingly simple solution to stop your customers from hanging on the line indefinitely, this is it! Simple enough for solopreneurs, this VoIP feature is also perfect for teams that need an extra hand (and ear!) for their inbound calls, minus the complex settings.

When you get call waiting as part of MightyCall’s cloud-based business phone service, you can be confident that you’ve got legroom for growth. Mix and match it with our 30+ other VoIP features to get the most out of your product for one low monthly price. With MightyCall, you will never keep calls waiting for long!