Use the waitlist in help desk

The waitlist queues incoming tickets in help desk when all agents are at capacity. Enrolling in the waitlist public beta automatically creates a waitlist view where tickets are ordered by priority, then automatically assigned to the next available agent. This ensures tickets are held and routed in a predictable order rather than left unassigned when agents are unavailable.

When a ticket is created or handed off from a customer agent or bot, and all eligible agents have reached their ticket capacity limit, help desk will:

• Place the ticket into the Waitlist view instead of Unassigned.
• Order tickets by priority, first by SLA, then by wait time.
• Hold the ticket until a matching agent has available capacity.
• Automatically assign the highest-priority ticket to the first available matching agent.
• Show the newly assigned ticket in the agent's Assigned to Me and other relevant views.

Understand requirements

To use the waitlist, a Super Admin must:

• Enroll in the Waitlist public beta.
• Configure ticket capacity limits.

Customize the waitlist configuration

Exclude tickets from waitlist

When agents reach full capacity, excluded tickets will bypass the waitlist and remain unassigned. For example, you can exclude tickets from an event sign-up form while still including tickets from a support form.

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, click Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk.
3. In the Ticket sources and routing section, click Waitlist.
4. On the Configurations tab, select the Exclude tickets from specific channels checkbox to exclude tickets created from certain channels from the waitlist.
5. Select the checkbox next to the channel you want to exclude.
6. Click the channel name, then select individual options to exclude only specific tickets from a channel.
7. Click Save.

Set a maximum wait time per channel

Set the length of time a ticket remains in the waitlist. Each named channel (e.g., Support phone) within a channel type can have a different maximum wait time.

Please note: customers who abandon a call or live chat session are automatically removed from the waitlist.

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, click Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk.
3. In the Ticket sources and routing section, click Waitlist.
4. Click the tab for the channel type you want to update.
5. Click the channel name.
6. In the Maximum wait time section, select the length and unit of time (e.g., 15 minutes for a live chat). After the set duration, the ticket will be removed from the waitlist and stay unassigned.
7. Click Save.

Customize the waitlist for calling channels

Edit the hold music, hold message, and agent wrap-up times. Wrap-up times provide agents a buffer between calls. If the agent is ready before the wrap-up time finishes, they can dismiss the remaining time.

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, click Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk.
3. In the Ticket sources and routing section, click Waitlist.
4. Click the Calling tab. 
5. Click the name of a calling channel.
6. Click the Hold music dropdown menu, then select a default option.
7. To set custom hold music:
   • Click the Hold music dropdown menu, then select Add/Edit audio messages.
   • In the panel, enter a name for the hold music.
   • In the Upload section, click the file upload area.
   • Click Save.
8. To set a custom hold message:
   • Click the Hold message dropdown menu, then select Add/Edit audio messages.
   • In the panel, enter a name for the hold message.
   • Click the Audio source dropdown menu, then select an option.
   • To use text to speech:
     • In the message text field, enter your message.
     • Click the Language dropdown menu, then select the language your message should be read in.
     • Click the Voice dropdown menu, then select an option.
   • To use your own audio:
     • In the upload section, click the file upload area.
   • Click Save.

Customize the waitlist for messaging channels 

Configure the behavior when someone starts a chat and your agents are at capacity. 

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, click Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk.
3. In the Ticket sources and routing section, click Waitlist.
4. Click the Messaging tab.
5. In the table, click the channel. 
6. In the right panel, click the Show the chat behavior when your team is at full capacity dropdown menu.
   • Show a wait message: visitors will still be prompted by your live chat launcher, but when they start a conversation, your configured wait message will appear in the chat window. 
   • Hide chat launcher: the chat launcher will not appear to any visitors to your website, and they won't be able to start any conversations with live agents.
   • Do nothing: website visitors will be prompted by your live chat launcher, and if they choose to start a conversation, they'll go through the normal greeting experience without an indication that all agents are at max capacity. 
7. Click Save.

View the waitlist

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Service > Help Desk. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Service > Help Desk directly.
2. In the left sidebar, click Waitlist.
3. At the top of the table, click the properties to set filters such as originating channel or pipeline.