Record Handling

When managing inbound communications in VCC Live, determining how incoming calls are assigned to database records is a crucial step. This tutorial covers the different record handling methods available, their pros and cons, and best practices for managing customer data and preventing duplicates.

You can choose from four primary record handling methods for your inbound projects. Each approach serves different operational needs.

1. Manual

The agent must manually select or search for the record to which the inbound call will be assigned.

• Pros:
  • Agents can accurately locate the correct record, even by using additional customer variables (e.g., name, email).
  • Highly useful when customer identification requires more than just a caller ID.
  • When managed correctly, agents can view the entire customer activity history unified under a single record.
• Cons:
  • More time-consuming for the agent.
  • Higher risk of human error (agents might assign the call to an incorrect record or mistakenly create duplicate records).

2. Automatic

For every new inbound call, the system automatically creates an entirely new record.

• Pros:
  • A quick and clear process; agents do not need to perform any manual search or assignment tasks.
  • Ideal for setups that do not rely on database-driven reports. In this scenario, the CDR Log serves as the primary reporting tool.
  • Agents can still see the entire customer history by the Merging history functionality.
• Cons:
  • Will inevitably result in duplicate entries within the database.
  • The customer’s previous activity history is fragmented and disregarded on the new record.
  • Integration Note: If you use a CRM like HubSpot, this setup requires extending your integration. The system would need to query and find the HubSpot ID dynamically when the agent script for the new record loads.

3. Automatic with Lookup

For each new inbound call, the system searches for an existing record using a specific identifier (such as the phone number or CRM ID).

• If a record is found, the call is assigned to it.
• If multiple records match the ID, the call is assigned to the latest/most recent record.

• If no record is found, the system creates a new one.

• Pros:

  • Eliminates manual assignment tasks for agents while ensuring the call is assigned to the correct existing customer.
  • An excellent solution for eliminating database duplicates. It also functions well in databases with duplicates by ensuring the latest record is always the one updated.
• Cons:
  • To effectively prevent duplicates, you must account for all edge-case scenarios (e.g., what happens if the CRM ID or phone number field is empty).

4. Disable

Agents must manually assign inbound calls to existing records, but the system restricts them from creating new records.

• Pros:
  • Compared to the Manual method, this eliminates the possibility of agents creating duplicate records.
• Cons:
  • If a brand-new caller dials in and has no existing record, agents are forced to assign the call to a “dummy” record since they lack creation rights. (Note: If your IVR is configured to automatically create new records for unrecognized callers before reaching the agent, this issue is mitigated.

Tips for Duplication Handling

To further eliminate the risks of database duplication, consider implementing the following strategies:

• Restrict Permissions: Remove the right for agents to manually add new records to the database or project.
• Import Checks: Configure your file-based or API imports to check for duplications and prevent their creation upon upload.
• Use Unique Fields: Take advantage of project field settings by marking a specific field as “Unique” (e.g., CRM ID or Client ID). The system will automatically block the creation of any new record that shares an ID with an existing one.
• Control Call Transfers: Limit scenarios where agents can transfer calls from other projects into this one in a way that bypasses identification, as this is a common cause of new, orphaned records.
• Merge Records: Train agents to utilize the merge feature. Agents can merge the history of records that share the same phone number or CRM ID. This ensures that even if duplicates occur, the entire customer history can be consolidated and viewed in one place.