What is a call queue?
A call queue is a shared phone line for a group of people. Instead of a call ringing one person's phone, it rings a team — and whoever is available answers. Calls that come in while everyone is busy wait in line (the "queue") until someone is free, rather than going straight to a busy signal or voicemail.
Call queues are a good fit for any line that needs to be answered by more than one person, such as:
- A department or front-desk main number
- A help desk or support line
- A reception or scheduling line shared by several staff
Behind the scenes, an administrator decides who is in the queue, how calls are distributed among them (for example, ringing everyone at once or one person at a time), the hours of operation, and what callers hear while they wait.
Setting up a call queue
There is no additional charge to set up or use a standard (voice) call queue. To get one created, we only need the name of the person who will serve as the queue administrator. That administrator can then manage the queue's members, hours, greetings, and routing directly in Zoom, and we'll point you to Zoom's documentation for ongoing usage.
Considerations: adding SMS to a call queue
A call queue line can also be enabled for SMS (text messaging), so your team can send and receive texts from the queue's number. This is where an extra cost comes in, and it's worth understanding before you decide:
- SMS on a call queue requires the Zoom Phone Customer Engagement Pack (often called the "Pro Pack").
- Every user assigned to that line needs their own Pro Pack license — it is $12.50 per user, per month.
- Because it's billed per user per month, the cost scales with the size of your team. A queue with several members can add up.
The key thing to weigh: the call queue itself is free, but turning on SMS makes it a recurring, per-person cost for everyone on the line. If your team doesn't need texting, a standard voice queue carries no extra charge.
You can read more about what the Customer Engagement Pack includes here: https://www.zoom.com/en/blog/zoom-phone-customer-engagement-pack/
How to request Pro Pack licenses
If you decide SMS is needed, submit a ticket that includes:
- The list of users who need licenses
- The CFOAPAL to charge
We'll provision the licenses once the ticket is received.