Warm transfer

A warm transfer connects a caller to a second person while the first person stays on the line to introduce them and pass along what the caller already said. A blind transfer, the alternative, rings the call through and drops off, so the caller starts over with whoever picks up, or with voicemail.

Warm transfer vs cold transfer

• Warm transfer (also called an attended or consultative transfer): the first person dials the second, says who is calling and why, and stays until the second person has the caller.
• Cold transfer (also called a blind or unattended transfer): the first person sends the call through and hangs up. It is faster for the person transferring, and the caller pays for it by repeating everything, or by reaching voicemail.

Use a warm transfer when the second person needs context to act: an emergency, an upset customer, a quote that depends on what was already said. A cold transfer is fine for a simple handoff, like sending a billing question to the office line.

A warm transfer script

1. To the caller: “I’m going to connect you with our on-call technician. Please stay on the line while I bring him in.”
2. To the technician, before connecting: “I have Dana at 418 Larkin Avenue. Water is coming through the hallway ceiling, and she shut the main off a few minutes ago. She’s on the line now.”
3. Connect and introduce: “Dana, I have Mike, our technician. Mike has your address and what happened.”
4. If nobody answers: “He didn’t pick up. I have your number, and he will call you back.” Then make sure the message reaches him.

Why it matters for a service company

It is 9 PM, a homeowner has water coming through a ceiling, and your on-call tech is the one who has to hear about it. A blind transfer hands the tech a ringing phone with no context. The tech answers cold, the homeowner repeats the address, the story and the panic, and if the tech is in a basement with no signal the call rings out and the homeowner is listening to nobody. Many of them hang up and dial the next shop.

The difference with a warm handoff is what happens between the ring and the pickup. Someone stays with the caller, tells them what is happening, and if the tech does not answer, takes the message instead of losing the call. The caller never hears dead air, and the tech never has to ask a question that was already answered. For emergency calls, that is the whole point of having someone answer the phone.

How DispatchLine handles it

When a call trips one of your emergency keywords and your emergency action is a live transfer, the agent tells the caller it is connecting them, dials the on-call number you set and stays on the line until someone picks up; if nobody answers, it takes the details and promises a callback. A full warm handoff, where the agent briefs your technician before joining the calls, is in development; today the technician can read the call’s transcript and two-line summary in the portal within about a minute. The settings are in emergency triage.

Related terms

• On-call, the tech the transfer rings.
• Emergency keyword, what triggers the action.
• IVR, the phone tree a transfer usually replaces.
• Emergency triage and setting emergency rules cover the settings.