Routing VIP callers with a Filter Phone Group

Not every caller should land in the same line. A repeat customer, a big account, or a partner you never want to keep waiting deserves a faster path. A Filter phone group, which is simply a stored list of phone numbers, lets VICIdial recognize those callers by their number and route them somewhere special before the normal queue logic ever runs.

The idea in one line

You build a group of VIP numbers, then point a DID (direct inward dialing) (the number people dial, short for Direct Inward Dialing) at that group with a Filter Action that sends matched calls to a priority destination. Calls whose caller ID matches a VIP number take the special route. Everyone else falls through to the standard route on the DID.

Build the VIP list

Create a Filter Phone Group in the Inbound section and load your VIP numbers, one per line, with no spaces or dashes. Store them in the exact format your Carrier presents on the incoming caller ID, or the match silently fails. Keep this list short and deliberate; it is meant for the handful of numbers that genuinely warrant special handling.

Point the DID at the group

On the DID, set Filter Inbound Number to GROUP and select your VIP group as the Filter Phone Group ID. When the caller ID matches, the Filter Action decides where the call goes. Set that action to IN_GROUP and pick a high-priority Ingroup (an inbound group, the queue that hands calls to agents), or set it to AGENT to ring one specific person directly. The matched call is handled by those Filter settings, exactly the way the normal DID route would handle an unmatched one.

The Filter Action settings mirror the standard DID route settings field for field, so you choose a handle method, a search method, and the destination just as you would for any inbound route. If you send VIPs to their own in-group, you can also point that group at a dedicated list so their leads are looked up and stored in one place. That keeps account history tidy and gives the agent who answers a cleaner record to work from.

flowchart TD
  A[VIP dials your number] --> B[DID checks Filter Phone Group]
  B -->|Caller ID is a VIP| C[Filter Action route]
  C --> D[Priority in-group or named agent]
  B -->|Not a VIP| E[Standard DID route]
  E --> F[Regular in-group queue]

Give the VIP queue real priority

Routing a VIP into a separate in-group only helps if that group actually gets answered first. The in-group has a Queue Priority setting that controls the order calls are answered across groups. Give the VIP group a higher priority so its callers jump ahead when an Agent frees up. Pairing a tight VIP list with a high-priority group is what turns this from a label into real faster service.

You can take it a step further inside that VIP group. The agent search method lets you decide which agents get the call first, so you can steer VIP calls toward your most experienced people. You might also skip extra hold prompts on that group so a known good caller is connected as fast as possible. Each small choice compounds: a short list, a priority queue, and a fast hand-off together make a real difference your best callers will notice.

For the basics of how a destination queue works, see what a VICIdial inbound group is, and the inbound call handling guide for the full routing flow.

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