Services · Channel 03 · Queue marketing
Nobody has answered yet. Say something useful.
Call-center queues are the longest wait a customer has with you — and most of it is silence. We script the position announcements, the messages between them, and the callback offer, all in one voice, timed to your system.
Two minutes in queue
0:00PositionThanks for calling Providence Nursing. You're third in line — a nurse will be with you in about two minutes.
0:12MessageWhile you wait: same-day appointments are open Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ask about one when we pick up.
0:40MusicLicensed bed · Light Jazz
1:05PositionYou're now second in line. Thanks for holding — it won't be long.
1:15MessagePrescription refills don't need a call. Text REFILL to 40404 and we'll confirm within the hour.
1:50AnsweredNurse picks up. The caller already knows about same-day slots and the refill line.
0:00Default"Your call is important to us. Please continue to hold."
0:10SilenceBeeps, or the hold music that came in the box.
0:55Default"Your call is important to us. Please continue to hold."
1:05SilenceThe caller checks the clock. About a third hang up by now.
1:50AnsweredAgent picks up to a caller who has learned nothing and is a little annoyed.
Toggle to compare against what the phone system ships with.
Hold is not queue
A different wait needs a different script.
Hold messaging loops. Queue messaging is timed — position updates on an interval, marketing in the gaps, and a way out when the wait runs long. Same voice, same producer, different structure.
Hold
A pause in a conversation.
Someone answered, then put the caller on hold. A message loop plays until they return. Typical wait: under a minute.
Queue
A wait for the conversation to start.
Nobody has answered yet. The caller is in an ACD or call center queue and wants to know two things: how long, and is anyone there. Typical wait: two to eight minutes.
So
Queue scripts are structured around time.
Position updates at intervals, marketing between them, a callback offer that appears when the estimate is long. It's programmed to your system, not just looped.
What we write and record
Five pieces. One rotation.
Every file your call center can play in a queue, written from a conversation about what callers ask most — and what your agents wish they already knew.
Watch how a queue sounds 0:46
01
Position & wait announcements5–10 s
Written to your call center's variables — place in line, estimated wait, or both — in the same voice as everything else.
“You're fourth in line. Your estimated wait is about three minutes.”
02
Marketing messages between announcements15–25 s
Services, seasonal offers, the thing your agents wish every caller already knew. Rotated so a repeat caller hears something new.
“Our patient portal now shows lab results the same day. Ask us to set up your login.”
03
Callback & self-service offers8–15 s
Deflect the calls that don't need a person — refills, hours, balances, payments — and offer a callback when the queue is long.
“To keep your place in line and have us call you back, press 1.”
04
Licensed music between messagesAny length
A genre picked for your callers, licensed for on-hold use, mixed under the voice so nothing hits the ear cold.
“Light Jazz, Contemporary, Country — see the music library.”
05
Overflow & long-wait scripts10–20 s
When the estimate passes a threshold, the tone changes: an honest apology, a callback offer, and what to have ready.
“We're busier than usual. Have your account number ready, or press 1 for a callback.”
Why it pays
Callers who know where they stand stay in line.
Abandonment is the cost. Every hang-up is a callback your agents make later, or a customer who doesn't. Announcements buy patience; the messages between them make the wait worth something.
~34%
of callers hang up in the first minute of unannounced hold
2×
longer tolerated wait when callers hear position and estimate
5–8
messages in a typical rotation, refreshed quarterly
Delivered in the format your platform expects
GenesysFive9NICE CXoneAvayaCisco UCCXRingCentral8x8TalkdeskAmazon ConnectMitel
One file per announcement, named to your queue, at your sample rate. Position and wait variables recorded as separate segments where the system stitches them.