Plans: Needs a Harkbell phone number, so Essential, Pro, Business or a Powerhouse plan.
When a caller asks for a person, your agent can ring the number you choose and put the caller through. If it cannot, it takes a message instead, so nobody is left on hold.
- In the sidebar open Agent, then the Agent instructions tab.
- In Transfer calls to, type the number that should ring. The line under the field reads it back as “Calls go to …”, so check each digit.
- Leave Only transfer during opening hours ticked if nobody answers that phone out of hours. Untick it if somebody does.
- Use Escalation guidance to say when the agent should stop and get a person involved, and who that person is.
- Press Save instructions.
When a transfer happens
- Only on phone calls. Visitors calling from your website widget are always offered a message instead.
- Only when your agent has a live phone number as well as a transfer number.
- With the hours box ticked, only inside the opening hours you set under Settings › Business. Outside them, and on days you are closed, the agent tells the caller the team will call back and takes a message.
- Never to one of your agent's own numbers. Use a different phone, such as your mobile.
Use a different phone from the one you forward
If your business number is forwarded to the agent and the transfer number is that same phone, the call loops straight back. See forward your business number.
Does the transfer number also catch calls if Harkbell goes down?
Yes. It is where the phone company sends a call that cannot reach the agent at all, which is why it is worth setting even if you rarely want live transfers.
What if nobody picks up the transfer?
The agent reports that the transfer did not connect and takes a message, which then appears in your callbacks.
Can I set a transfer number on the Free plan?
You can save one, but transfers need a phone number on the agent, which Free does not include. See get a phone number.