On Hold Prompts: messages while callers wait

Sometimes you want a caller on hold to hear an actual message at intervals, not just music: a reassurance that they are still in the queue, or a nudge toward your website. VICIdial calls this an on-hold prompt, and it is a separate feature from your hold music. It is useful, but it has a sharp edge you need to respect.

What an on-hold prompt does

On an Ingroup, the On Hold Prompt Filename points at a short audio file that plays at a set interval while a caller waits. Think of it as a recurring spoken interruption layered over the silence or music, typically something like a thank-you-for-holding line every minute.

You control the gap between plays with the interval setting, which defaults to sixty seconds. So the prompt fires, the caller goes back to waiting, and a minute later it fires again until they reach an agent.

The blocking problem

Here is the catch, and it is a real one: while an on-hold prompt is playing to a caller, that caller cannot be sent to an agent. The connection is held until the prompt finishes. If an agent frees up mid-prompt, the caller waits out the rest of the recording first.

By default this also affects callers queued behind the one hearing the prompt. That can quietly add hold time and hurt your Service level if the prompt is long or fires often. There is a no-block option you can switch on so waiting callers behind the prompt can still be connected while it plays to someone ahead of them.

Keeping it safe

Because of the blocking behavior, on-hold prompts have strict rules:

• Keep the audio file to nine seconds or shorter.
• Set the prompt-length field to the actual length of the file, not longer.
• Turn on the no-block option so callers behind the prompt are not held up.
• Use a generous interval so the prompt is not constantly interrupting routing.

If the length value does not match the real file, or the file runs long, you will see odd routing behavior, so treat those two settings as a pair.

When to use music instead

For most messages, you are better off putting them into Music on hold rather than an on-hold prompt, because music can be interrupted the instant an agent is free and never blocks a connection. Reserve the on-hold prompt for cases where the message genuinely must play uninterrupted at intervals.

Our inbound call handling guide puts these waiting-experience settings in context, and the music-on-hold setup is the better home for most spoken messages. To trial the difference with live callers, our plans get you a working queue in under a minute.