The Callback Flag: Turning Any VICIdial Status Into a Callback

Most VICIdial status flags decide whether a lead gets dialed again. The Callback flag does something different: it turns an ordinary status into a scheduling event. When an agent picks a callback-flagged disposition, the screen stops and asks when the contact should be reached. Here is how that works and what happens to the lead afterward.

What Callback=Y changes

On the System Statuses screen, every status has a Callback column. When Callback is set to Y, it allows any status to become a callback type. The practical effect is on the agent screen: choosing that disposition pops open a calendar and prompts the agent to indicate the callback date and time. You do not need a separate code for every scenario. Flag the status you already use and it gains the scheduling behavior on top of its normal meaning.

This is one of the more useful tricks on the screen because a callback is rarely the only thing that happened on a call. A Disposition like a follow-up after a price quote can carry both its own reporting meaning and the calendar prompt, instead of forcing the Agent to pick between recording the outcome and scheduling the return call.

Where the lead goes next

VICIdial has two built-in callback statuses that track the lifecycle. CALLBK is the call back code, used for both scheduled and non-scheduled callbacks. CBHOLD is the call back hold state: a scheduled ANYONE callback that has not yet hit its trigger time, or an AGENTONLY callback waiting for the original agent. A Lead sits in CBHOLD until its scheduled moment arrives, then becomes eligible to be redialed.

stateDiagram-v2
  [*] --> Active
  Active --> CALLBK: agent picks callback status
  CALLBK --> CBHOLD: date and time scheduled
  CBHOLD --> Ready: trigger time reached
  Ready --> Dialing: lead redialed
  Dialing --> [*]

Scheduled versus agent-only callbacks

The CBHOLD description hides an important distinction. An ANYONE callback can be picked up by whichever agent is free when the trigger fires, which keeps your team busy and the contact reached on time. An AGENTONLY callback is reserved for the agent who scheduled it, which matters when the relationship or the half-finished pitch belongs to one person. The flag itself is the same; the routing choice is made when the callback is scheduled, not on the System Statuses screen. A CALLBK record can also be non-scheduled, used when an agent wants the lead flagged for a return without committing to a specific time, while CBHOLD always implies a pending trigger that has not yet fired.

Setting it up sensibly

Keep the Callback flag on a small number of statuses that genuinely mean follow up later. Flagging too many codes as callbacks trains agents to schedule out of habit and clogs the callback queue with low-value returns. Make sure each callback-flagged status is also Agent Selectable, or it will never appear in the agent disposition list to be chosen in the first place.

If you want to add a dedicated callback code rather than flagging an existing one, the mechanics are the same as any other custom status. Walk through how to add a custom disposition and turn on Callback when you reach the flags. For how the whole status set and the agent screen fit together, see the VICIdial agent screen configuration guide.

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