Abandoned calls — handling them per line

Ref: B06 · Track: Channels · Time to complete: ~4 min

Why this matters

Not every caller stays on the line. Some dial, wait, and hang up before reaching an agent. With omnichannel routing enabled, every one of those creates a ticket — and if you don't handle them thoughtfully, your team drowns in ghost work.

What Zendesk does with an abandoned call

When a caller hangs up before being connected to an agent:

1. Zendesk creates a ticket marked as an abandoned call.
2. The ticket is tagged (typically abandoned_call or call_abandoned — varies by config).
3. The ticket shows the number called, the phone line it dialled, and the wait time before hangup.
4. The caller's phone number is captured; no audio recording exists (nothing was said).

The ticket lands in the normal queue — or, if you have a custom abandoned-call view, in that one.

Why you care about which line was dialled

Not all abandoned calls deserve a callback. Example from a sportsbook:

• Live Betting line — if a customer hung up, the moment has passed (the match is over; the bet they wanted is irrelevant). Calling them back makes no sense.
• Support line — the customer still needs help. Call them back.
• Sales line — probably a high-value callback.

Rather than handle each ticket by hand, use a trigger (admin-configured) that auto-solves abandoned calls on certain lines while keeping them reportable.

The usual approach

Your admin typically sets up:

1. A trigger that fires on ticket creation where tags = abandoned_call AND line = Live Betting.
2. The trigger sets status to Solved and adds a tag like auto-solved-abandoned.
3. These tickets still exist (and still count in reports) but they don't clutter the live queue.

For other lines (Support, Sales), the trigger leaves them alone. You see them in your view and call back.

What you should do as an agent

1. Check the abandoned-call view at least once a shift. Some lines will have real abandons you need to action.
2. When calling back, open the ticket first so the callback is logged correctly.
3. Keep the same ticket. Don't create a new one for the callback — continuing on the original keeps the full history.
4. If the customer doesn't answer your callback, log an internal note ("called back, no answer") and set status to Pending. If you want to try again later, set a follow-up reminder.

Reporting implications

• Abandon rate is a KPI most Talk teams watch closely.
• Auto-solved abandoned calls still count as calls — they just don't count as agent-handled calls.
• If your team's abandon rate spikes, it usually means not enough agents Online during peak hours. Bring it to your team lead.

Gotchas

• Don't just delete abandoned calls. Your admin set up the tagging for a reason — respect the workflow.
• Don't mass-Solve every abandoned ticket. Some are callers who actually need help. Look at the line before deciding.
• Don't assume the number is spam just because they hung up. They may have been overwhelmed by queue time.

Quick check — have you got this?

• A caller on the Live Betting line hangs up after 2 minutes. What happens to the resulting ticket?
• A caller on the Support line abandons. What do you do?
• Your abandon rate jumps from 5% to 18% overnight. Who do you tell?

Related articles

• B05 — Voicemails and queue wait time
• B13 — Customer callbacks requested from phone tree
• D01 — Omnichannel routing and capacity rules