Call queuing for UK businesses
With B4BC call queuing, customers never hear a dead line or endless ringing. Instead, they’re placed in an organised queue with music, updates, and fast routing. So you deliver a professional experience every time.
What is call queuing?
Call queuing is a smart way to manage incoming calls when your team is busy. Instead of sending customers straight to voicemail or leaving them hanging, your VoIP system places them in a virtual line until someone is free.
Think of it like a digital waiting room for your phone calls. The system plays hold music or messages while customers wait, then connects them to the right team member when someone becomes free.
Most modern business phone systems include call queue management features. This helps you handle more calls professionally, even during busy periods or when you have limited staff.
The benefits of call queuing
Small businesses rely on every call, but high volumes or busy periods can easily overwhelm a team. B4BC solves these challenges by keeping customers engaged, reducing stress for staff, and ensuring every call gets answered.
Here’s how it helps your business day to day:
Every missed call is a missed opportunity. With call queuing, customers do not hit a busy signal or give up after endless ringing. Instead, they are placed in a virtual line until someone is available.
This ensures every enquiry gets answered, whether it is a new sales lead, a returning customer, or an urgent service request. Small businesses capture more revenue and improve customer loyalty by keeping callers connected.
First impressions matter. Instead of silence or voicemail, callers hear on-hold music or tailored announcements while they wait. This makes your business feel larger, more reliable, and more professional.
You can also use these messages to share business updates, promote seasonal offers, or reassure customers of their place in the queue. Wait time becomes a positive experience that strengthens your brand.
Without a queue, calls can be picked up out of order or missed altogether. Call queue management ensures customers are answered in the order they called, creating a transparent and fair process.
This keeps callers calmer and reduces complaints. It also helps your team handle calls systematically without rushing. The result is less stress for staff, shorter resolution times, and a smoother customer experience overall.
Multiple lines ringing at once can overwhelm even the best teams. VoIP call queuing solves this by feeding calls through in an organised flow. Staff can handle one call at a time, without distraction.
This keeps workloads balanced and ensures your team can focus fully on each customer. Happier staff, less burnout, and more productive conversations all lead to stronger results for your business.
Every business faces busy periods, whether it is Monday mornings, seasonal sales, or holiday rushes. Call queuing gives you the flexibility to manage high volumes of inbound calls without sacrificing service quality.
Customers stay in line, confident they will be answered. Meanwhile, your team can process calls steadily without feeling swamped. This means fewer abandoned calls, higher satisfaction, and better resilience when demand spikes.
6 essential call queuing features
B4BC’s VoIP call queuing is built to help small businesses deliver a professional, reliable service even during busy times. The features are simple to use, flexible to set up, and designed to improve both customer experience and staff efficiency.
Custom on-hold music or announcements
Keep callers engaged with tailored music or messages instead of silence. You can even use announcements to share updates or promote offers while customers wait.
Estimated wait time messages
Reduce frustration by letting callers know how long they are likely to wait. Setting clear expectations makes the experience smoother and more transparent.
Position in queue updates
Give callers peace of mind by telling them where they are in the line. This helps prevent abandoned calls and reassures customers they will be answered soon.
Overflow rules
If the queue is too long, calls can be redirected to another team, another office, or voicemail. This ensures customers always reach a destination rather than being lost.
Prioritised queues
Set up rules so urgent calls or VIP customers move to the front of the queue. This helps you deliver faster service where it matters most.
Integration with call routing
Combine call queue management with smart routing rules for maximum efficiency. This ensures calls are always directed to the right person or department as soon as they are free.
How to reduce call abandonment rates
Set realistic expectations with wait time announcements
Let callers know what to expect by clearly communicating estimated wait times. For example, “Your estimated wait time is around 3 minutes.” This transparency helps manage customer expectations and reduces anxiety or irritation. People are far more likely to stay on the line when they know someone will answer shortly — silence or uncertainty can lead to hang-ups. Even simple updates like “you’re third in the queue” can make a big difference to caller patience.
Use engaging on-hold messages and music
A silent queue makes people think their call has dropped or been forgotten. Instead, play hold music or helpful audio messages to reassure callers they’re still in line. You can even use the time to share useful information — opening hours, website links, FAQs, or current promotions. Just make sure the audio is clear and the music is pleasant. Poor sound quality or jarring tunes can be just as frustrating as silence.
Offer call-back options
Nobody likes to wait on hold, especially during busy periods. With a call-back feature, customers can opt to keep their place in the queue and receive a call when it’s their turn — no need to stay on the line. It’s a win-win: customers feel respected and in control, while your team reduces the number of abandoned calls. This feature is particularly valuable during lunch hours or late afternoons, when call volumes often spike.
Optimise staff availability during peak times
Use reporting and analytics to spot your busiest times — then schedule more staff accordingly. Call queue data often shows patterns, like Monday mornings or end-of-month surges. By increasing availability during those windows, you can cut wait times and reduce frustration. Even a small change in staffing can make a noticeable difference in customer experience and help your business appear more responsive and professional.
Why UK businesses choose B4BC for call queuing
Award-winning service
Multi-award-winning telecoms provider with 18 years of experience helping UK businesses improve their communications.
24/7 UK support
Real people answer your calls within seconds, 365 days a year. No overseas call centres or endless automated menus.
Same-day installation
Get your new system up and running fast. Our engineers can often install and configure your call queuing system the same day you order.
99.999% uptime guarantee
Your calls stay connected with our reliable cloud infrastructure. We monitor everything 24/7 to prevent problems before they happen.
All-in-one solution
Combine your call queuing with high-speed broadband, mobile services, and security solutions. One provider, one bill, one point of contact.
Expert guidance
Not sure which call forwarding features you need? Our consultants will assess your business and recommend the perfect solution. We’re here to help, not just sell.
What our customers say
Matthew Burton
I have used B4BC for almost 6 years now with my existing business & when it came to setting up my broadband / phone provisions for a new business I went straight to B4BC. These guys have exceptional customer service & take all the stress off your plate so you can focus on the million other things you need to take care of within your business. Could not recommend any higher!
Krishna Pariyar
B4BC has been the best system that I have used so far. They have solutions for every business phone system. The app works on both the desktop and phone, which have made operations convenient. Their support is great with response time and requests. And it’s really easy to reach the Account Manager through email, website chat support, phone and support ticket.
Dan Hall
I would highly recommend anyone to use B4BC for their phone and broadband needs. We have recently moved over to a VoIP system and the whole service from start to finish has been excellent.
Esther Wakeman
Absolutely thrilled with my experience after dealing with Best 4 Business. Not only have they saved our business a significant amount of money, but it has been a breeze to do. Efficient and friendly team.
Darren Lashford
Use B4BC for all our telecoms and its a breath of fresh air compared to who we used before. Recently moved our energy management through them and I’m equally as impressed. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to recommend them.
Sarah Lowe
Fortunately getting in touch with the team at Best 4 Business is very easy, there are no long call queues so you’re not left on hold for ages & you don’t have to go through lots of different options before being connected to an actual person. The issues I have experienced have been dealt with immediately.
Conor Alexander
We’ve been working with B4BC for many years and they’ve consistently been a pleasure to deal with. Most recently, they upgraded our broadband and phone system – everything was handled smoothly and went exactly as planned.
Philip Wright
Working with Best 4 Business on a Communication system plan that provided modern solutions has been an absolute pleasure. The information afforded, depth of knowledge and flexibility provided was perfect for our future business requirements.
Mark James Morsley
Changing my entire office phone system and broadband is no small task, in fact it’s quite daunting. However luckily or really thanks to Google I found Best4 Business. These guys at B2B are just brilliant! I now have a new VOIP phone system, massively quick broadband, great phones, ongoing support and I have saved nearly £200 a month. Happy owner!!
Stuart Turley
Excellent service and support from these guys. It makes a change to be able to actually talk to someone when you require help without jumping through hoops, I would highly recommend them.
Matthew McKenna
Fantastic service from Best 4 Business Communications. I found this company online on Tuesday and within 2 days they had an engineer on site! We had been unable to get BT in for four weeks now.
Piotr Silwinski
I wholeheartedly recommend B4BC as an internet solution provider. Their outstanding customer service, technical expertise, everyday support make them the ideal partner. Thank you, B4BC, for your unwavering support and for keeping me connected every day!
Ready to improve your call handling?
Don’t let busy phone lines cost you sales or frustrate your customers. With B4BC’s VoIPSure system, you get professional call queuing built in—helping you deliver a smoother, more reliable experience every time someone picks up the phone to call your business.
Our UK-based experts will review your current setup, recommend the best solution, and take care of everything from installation to ongoing support. With same-day installation and 24/7 UK support, you can be confident your business is always connected.
Get in touch with us today and see how B4BC can transform your call handling.
Call queuing FAQs
Call queuing is a phone system feature that places incoming callers into an organised line when all staff are busy. Instead of receiving an engaged tone or being cut off, customers are held in a queue until the next available team member can answer.
The system keeps things running smoothly by managing multiple calls at once, playing music or announcements while customers wait. This creates a professional impression and ensures every enquiry is handled fairly and efficiently.
Yes, customers are always made aware when they are in a queue. Instead of silence or uncertainty, they’ll hear hold music or professional announcements confirming that their call is waiting to be answered.
This reassurance helps to reduce frustration and encourages callers to stay on the line, improving the chances that their query will be resolved in one interaction.
Absolutely. With a professional call queuing system, you can tailor the experience by choosing the music or messages that play while customers wait. Some businesses use music, while others prefer to share information such as opening hours, FAQs, or promotional updates.
Customising the on-hold experience not only keeps customers engaged but also reinforces your brand image while they wait to be connected.
You can control how long customers stay in a queue before being directed to voicemail. This is fully customisable based on your business needs and the type of calls you handle.
For example, you might allow a longer wait during peak hours or shorten the time outside of business hours. This flexibility ensures customers always have a way to leave a message if they don’t want to hold any longer.
Yes, multiple queues can be set up for different departments, products, or services. This means sales calls can go to your sales team, while technical queries head directly to support.
Having separate queues not only reduces transfer times but also improves first-call resolution. Customers reach the right person straight away, which makes the whole experience faster and more professional.
Call queuing prevents customers from hearing an engaged tone or being cut off when all lines are busy. Instead, they are placed in an organised queue with music or messages to keep them engaged until staff are free.
By reassuring customers that their call will be answered, queuing significantly reduces abandoned calls. It also helps you capture more enquiries and avoid losing potential business to competitors.
With B4BC, call queuing comes built into our VoIPSure VoIP packages, so you don’t need to purchase additional software. It’s part of a complete communications solution that includes features like call routing, voicemail-to-email, and analytics.
This means you get a professional call management system at no extra cost, with the flexibility to scale as your business grows.
