An abandoned call is a call that reaches a call center, but does not connect to an agent because the caller hangs up before the call connects. A caller can abandon a call while in queue or while the phone is ringing at an agent station. Abandoned calls represent lost sales or lost goodwill. Adequate split staffing and effective use of announcements reduces the number of abandoned calls. You can staff the splits so that calls do not have to wait in queue for long and announcements persuade the caller to wait until an agent answers the call.

If Communication Manager sends an answer supervision signal before a caller abandons the call, a ghost call can occur. A ghost call is a call that an agent receives after the caller hangs up. Ghost calls occur because, after a caller disconnects, some COs wait for 2 seconds to 25 seconds before sending a disconnect signal to Communication Manager. Ghost calls waste agent time preventing other calls from connecting to an agent. To reduce the instances of ghost calls, you can assign the Abandoned Call Search feature to specific trunk groups.

With Abandoned Call Search, Communication Manager checks the incoming trunk before delivering an ACD call to an agent. If the trunk is on-hook at the CO, that is, the caller has abandoned the call, Communication Manager releases the trunk and does not deliver the call. If the call is still in progress on the trunk, Communication Manager delivers the call to an agent.