What is Blockage in a Call Center?
Blockage refers to a situation where callers cannot connect to the call center because all phone lines, ports, or agents are occupied. The result is a busy signal or dropped attempt, which negatively affects customer satisfaction and service metrics.
Why Blockage Happens
– Insufficient trunk lines or call ports
– Inadequate staffing during peak hours
– Poor capacity forecasting or system limitations
– Technical outages or bottlenecks in telephony systems
Impacts of Blockage
– Increases customer frustration and churn
– Skews service level performance metrics
– Reduces revenue opportunities in sales or support
– Leads to negative brand perception
Types of Blockage
Trunk Line Blockage
Occurs when all incoming telephone lines are full.
System-Level Blockage
Due to infrastructure limits or misconfiguration.
Agent-Level Blockage
When no agents are available to take new calls.
How to Prevent Blockage
– Conduct capacity planning using historical call data
– Increase trunk line availability
– Stagger shifts to cover peak hours
– Monitor real-time traffic and overflow systems
Related Topics for Further Reading
– Queue Management
– ACD
– Schedule Adherence
– Peak Hours
– Call Abandonment
