How do I transfer a chat session?
Follow these steps to transfer a chat to another service provider:
- Ask the patron: Before you transfer, ask the patron if they would like to be transferred (Use the Chat - Transfer script)
- Find someone to take the transfer: Ask in Campfire if anyone can take a transfer. Do not transfer a chat unless the other service provider has agreed to accept it.
- Let the patron know they will be transferred: Let the patron know that you will be transferring them to another service provider
- Transfer the chat: When you're ready to transfer, click the transfer button (icon with two arrows) in the toolbar above the typing area
- In the pop-up, select transfer to "users," select the service provider you are transferring to, and click "Ok"
- Wait for the transfer to complete: Back in the chat session, you will see a message that the chat is being transferred
- Wait until you see a message that the chat has been successfully transferred (e.g. answered by bceln-sadie-p) and the chat background greys out
- Note: If you send a message to the patron while the transfer is in progress, you will reclaim the chat and the service provider on the other end will not be able to respond to the patron
- Close the chat: Once the transfer has been picked up by your colleague, you can close the chat on your end by clicking the "X" button in the top right
Note: You can add tags before transferring or when you close the transferred chat and these will be captured in the session data.
This short screencast (1min 30 sec / no audio) shows you how to transfer a chat to another service provider.
Known issue: Transfer is not going through
There's currently a bug when trying to transfer what's called a "proactive outbound chat" (note: this is not related to proactive chats):
- This is a chat that you initiate with a patron by selecting them from your contacts list (usually under "recent guests" or "current guests"). Typically, you would do this if you accidentally closed a prior chat window and then re-opened the chat, or if you closed it and then found new information to send the patron later.
- Due to a bug, transfers for this particular type of chat will not work. This issue has been reported to LibraryH3lp.
Workaround:
- If you need to sign off of your shift, one option is to let the patron know you're experiencing a technical issue with transfers and ask them to come back with their question in a few minutes for a colleague to answer after you have signed off. The new service provider can access the prior chat history using the "today's chat with guest" link in the new chat window.