Skip to main content
Transfer calls to a person lets the agent transfer a caller, live, to a phone number you choose. It is a real transfer, not a promise of a callback: the agent tells the caller it is putting them through, and the call moves to your line. It is under Agents → your agent → Handoff, as one row: the transfer number and the switch that turns transfers on or off. It works on phone calls only. In website chat and email there is no call to transfer — use A person in chat & email, on the same page, instead.

​
Set it up

1

Add a transfer number

Go to Agents → your agent → Handoff. Under On a call, enter the number in Transfer calls to a person and click Save. Include the country code. Spaces, dashes, dots and brackets are fine, e.g. +1 607 555 1234 or +1 (607) 555-1234, and the number is saved as +16075551234. A 10-digit number with no country code is read as a US or Canadian number.
2

Check the switch

The switch beside the number comes on once a number is saved, and the line under it reads “Live calls transfer to” your number. Until a number is saved, the switch is greyed out. If the phone channel is off, the row says so, with a link to turn it on.
3

Test it

From a phone that isn’t the transfer number, call the agent’s number and ask for a person. You should hear the agent say it is transferring you, then your transfer number should ring. If you call from the transfer number itself, the agent tells you it can’t put you through to the phone you’re calling from, and offers to take a message.
To stop transfers without removing the number, turn the switch off. The line under it then reads “Off — callers who ask for a person leave a message.” To remove the number, clear the field and click Save.

​
When the agent transfers

The agent transfers a call when the caller:
  • asks for a person or a manager,
  • is upset, or
  • has an urgent matter the agent cannot resolve.
It says something like “One moment — transferring you now” before it transfers, so the caller is never cut off in silence. The conversation is marked Handed off in Conversations. Your transfer number rings for about 25 seconds, showing the agent’s number as the caller. When you answer, you’re straight through to the caller. If nobody answers, the caller stays with the agent, which tells them nobody could pick up and takes a message so you can call back. It won’t try to transfer them again on that call. If the transfer can’t start at all, the agent apologises and takes a message instead.

​
Pick the right number

The transfer number must be answered by a person, and it must be a different number from the one customers dial. Your cell or a desk line somebody sits at is right. A voicemail box is not — the caller asked for a person, and an honest message taken by the agent serves them better.

​
Loop protection

If your published business number forwards to the agent, transferring back to that number would send the caller straight back to the agent. Wiredesk refuses those transfers:
  • When you save: a transfer number that matches one of the agent’s own phone numbers is rejected, with the message “transfer number cannot be a number that already routes to this agent — use a cell or direct line that is not forwarded here”.
  • During the call: before transferring, Wiredesk checks the number the caller dialled, every number on the agent, and the number that forwarded the call. If the transfer number matches any of them, the agent does not transfer and takes a message instead.
  • When connecting a number you already own: you cannot connect the agent’s transfer number as one of its inbound numbers, for the same reason.

​
Business hours

Business hours do not apply to phone transfers. While a transfer number is set and its switch is on, the agent can transfer at any hour. Business hours only limit A person in chat & email. If you do not want calls transferred at night, turn the transfer switch off when nobody is available. The agent then tells callers it cannot put them through right now and offers to take a message.

​
The transfer number and notifications

The transfer number is also where text-message notifications go. If you choose Text or Email and text for an event under Settings → Notifications, the text goes to the agent’s transfer number. See Notifications.

​
Preview calls in the browser

Calls from the Call tab of Preview cannot be transferred — there is no phone line to move. Test transfers with a real call to the agent’s number.