Manual Dialing Settings

[mubeen]

Hi,

I'm trying to setup vicidial for manual dialing. I have created phones, users and a campaign. When I login as an agent it shows me "Dial next number". Shouldn't it be "status is Active or paused"?

Is there any guide which shows how to configure for manual dialing.

[williamconley]

1) Welcome to the Party!

2) As you are obviously new here, I have some suggestions to help us all help you:

When you post, please post your entire configuration including (but not limited to) your installation method (7.X.X?) and vicidial version with build (VERSION: 2.X-XXXx ... BUILD: #####-####).

This IS a requirement for posting along with reading the stickies (at the top of each forum) and the manager's manual (available on EFLO.net, both free and paid versions)

You should also post: Asterisk version, telephony hardware (model number is helpful here), cluster information if you have one, and whether any other software is installed in the box. If your installation method is "manual/from scratch" you must post your operating system with version (and the .iso version from which you installed your original operating system) plus a link to the installation instructions you used. If your installation is "Hosted" list the site name of the host.

If this is a "Cloud" or "Virtual" server, please note the technology involved along with the version of that techology (ie: VMware Server Version 2.0.2). If it is not, merely stating the Motherboard model # and CPU would be helpful.

Similar to This:

Vicibox X.X from .iso | Vicidial X.X.X-XXX Build XXXXXX-XXXX | Asterisk X.X.X | Single Server | No Digium/Sangoma Hardware | No Extra Software After Installation | Intel DG35EC | Core2Quad Q6600

3) Active/paused is only relevant for autodial campaigns or "inbound man" campaigns.

4) The Vicidial Manager's Manual at EFLO.net (Paid and free versions both available), should cover manual dialing.

5) Manual Dial permission is "per user". So modify each user to allow manual dialing. Otherwise, the agents in a manual dial campaign are limited to "dial the next lead" as opposed to being presented with "dial any damn number you want" which is only available to Users with Manual Dial permission. That permission activates a "Manual Dial" link on the agent screen at the next login.

6) Aaaaaaah! Don't use manual dial campaigns! Why do you have a dialer in the first place? You'll be crippling these agents and likely have to fire all of them to get a properly functioning autodial call center without arguments from the agents (which will poison your employee pool until you fire them all to remove the resistance). OK, that may be a bit over the top, but it's been proven many times over. Even 1:1 dialing with autodial is better than manual dialing, which allow agents to sit on their butts while "deciding" which lead to dial next.

Happy Hunting!

[mubeen]

Thank You williamconley for detailed and my apologies for not posting details.

I'm using
Asterisk 11.25.3-vici built by abuild @ build79 on a x86_64 running Linux
OS: Centos 7
Softphone: Zoiper 3.9
It is running on KVM (again created on centos 7)

And yes you are right about auto/predictive dialing but our campaigns require to followup with clients multiple times even for upto few months. I'm new to vicidial and reading different tutorials and trying to configure it.

[mflorell]

Please excuse William here, there are plenty of valid reasons for using a manual dial campaign, and we have many clients that use this dialing method every day.

[williamconley]

Please excuse William here, there are plenty of valid reasons for using a manual dial campaign, and we have many clients that use this dialing method every day.

Yep, I overreact to manual dial sometimes. I'm used to clients who continue to use their Excel Printouts while implementing Vicidial. Scary.

Manual dial to previus prospects for continued sales attempts are valid, certainly. While some try to automate this process, ultimately manual dial is often just not avoidable no matter what you do in that situation.

Thank You williamconley for detailed and my apologies for not posting details.

I'm using
Asterisk 11.25.3-vici built by abuild @ build79 on a x86_64 running Linux
OS: Centos 7
Softphone: Zoiper 3.9
It is running on KVM (again created on centos 7)

And yes you are right about auto/predictive dialing but our campaigns require to followup with clients multiple times even for upto few months. I'm new to vicidial and reading different tutorials and trying to configure it.

Good job posting your Asterisk and OS version, but you left off some details that are crucial.

1) Vicidial Version with Build. This is always necessary and that's why it's in the bottom left corner of almost every Admin screen.

2) Installation method: Either the installation .iso name you used (which will include a full revision level in many cases) or a link to the instruction-set you used for installation. Both is often appropriate.

Beware of your Virtualized install. When you grow, you will find it unstable. Be prepared to put it in a hardware-based server every time you grow even a little bit. If you experience instability, reduce your capacity to a previous level when everything worked and build that physical server. Good news, though: It's very easy to move a Vicidial installation from one server to another as long as your Database and Code isn't customized.

[mubeen]

VERSION: 2.14-646a
BUILD: 171224-1220

Will confirm the installation method tomorrow as I'm not sure about it right now.

For Live server, I'll use dedicated hardware server. This is just for testing purpose

[williamconley]

VERSION: 2.14-646a
BUILD: 171224-1220

Will confirm the installation method tomorrow as I'm not sure about it right now.

For Live server, I'll use dedicated hardware server. This is just for testing purpose

Very cool. And yes, Virtual is perfect for Sandbox testing.

I do have a question, though: Why CentOS instead of installing with Vicibox 7.0.4 or 8.0.1?

[mubeen]

hm....Like I said, I'm new to vicidial. I previously was using Asterisk on Centos so I also installed vicidial on Centos as well.

Ok..I made 2 extensions, dialed one from another. Should disposition show when I hang-up the call?

[williamconley]

hm....Like I said, I'm new to vicidial. I previously was using Asterisk on Centos so I also installed vicidial on Centos as well.

Ok..I made 2 extensions, dialed one from another. Should disposition show when I hang-up the call?

The Vicidial Manager's Manual (Available at EFLO.net) is your best resource for walk-throughs on this sytem. Start at page one. Don't skip anything. Work your way to the end (without skipping anything) and you should have a very good idea of how the entire system works and be fully functional.

That being said:

I made 2 extensions, dialed one from another. Should disposition show when I hang-up the call?

This statement doesn't indicate whether you were using the Vicidial interface for any of this, and certainly doesn't contain the button-by-button steps used to make the call. So I'll have to say ... maybe, maybe not. Depending on how you made that call.