Hunting Lines: Never Miss a Customer Call

A missed call can mean a lost customer. Many callers simply try the next business on their list instead of leaving a voicemail. Hunting lines help ensure someone always picks up.

What a hunting line is

A hunting line (or hunt group) is a set of phones or extensions behind a single number. When a call arrives, the system searches the group for an available person according to rules you define.

Common hunting patterns

• Sequential: rings the first extension, then the next if there is no answer.
• Simultaneous: rings all phones at once; the first to answer gets the call.
• Round robin: distributes calls evenly by starting with a different person each time.
• Longest idle: sends calls to the person who has been free the longest.

Where hunting helps

Sales teams, reception, customer support and order desks benefit most. Retail chains can route a single number to whichever store staff are available.

Include mobiles

Hunt groups can include mobile numbers or softphone apps, so calls reach staff on the shop floor, in the warehouse or working from home.

Overflow and voicemail

If nobody answers within a set time, calls can overflow to another group, an IVR or voicemail delivered by email.

Time-based rules

Different groups can handle calls during working hours, lunch breaks and evenings.

Measure missed calls

Reports on answered, missed and abandoned calls show whether staffing and routing are working.

Callback culture

Make it a habit to return missed calls quickly. Call logs make it easy to see who called.

The bottom line

Hunting lines are a simple, inexpensive way to answer more calls and win more business. Business Landline supports flexible hunt groups with mobile integration.

Learn more about Business Landline & Voice from UbiFi, or talk to our team.