- Responder AI only
- Responder AI + Avoca Humans (Hybrid)
- First Line of Defense (FLOD)
For each, we’ll highlight in-business-hours vs after-hours behavior, customer experience best practices, and configuration tips.
1. Core principles for transfers with Avoca
Regardless of deployment model, keep these principles in mind:
- Only transfer when it truly adds value
- Treat transfer as an escalation path for scenarios the AI or first-line handler cannot or should not own (billing, financing, HR, serious complaints, etc.).
- For everything else, Avoca should book, reschedule, or take a message rather than hand off unnecessarily.
- Always honor explicit customer requests to speak to a human
- If a caller clearly says they want a human, manager, or “live person,” transfer (or at minimum take a message for a human follow-up) regardless of business hours. Your transfer rules can choose where that goes (office, overflow center, Avoca Humans), but it’s best practice for the request to be honored.
- Minimize friction before transfer
- Default behavior should not add unnecessary steps just before a transfer (e.g., re-collecting full demographics) unless there is a clear business requirement. Friction here increases hang-ups.
- However, in many cases it may make sense to add basic objection handling if a customer is transferring for a case that can clearly be handled by AI. For instance, a customer calling in to book an appointment, who assumes they are talking to a phone tree and doesn’t realize the AI agent has the capabilities to help them with their query, may want to transfer — but we should inform them we can help them by booking an appointment.
- Test escalation paths end-to-end
- For every transfer destination, test that:
- Calls reach the right queue or number. Within the Avoca dashboard, you’ll be able to see the transfer destination of each call, if it transferred.
- (For transfers to your branch) CSRs see a standard, claimable call bubble in ServiceTitan / Phones Pro / CCP.
- Booked jobs are correctly attributed to the right marketing campaign (AI and human legs matched on the backend).
2. Responder AI only
In this model, Avoca Responder handles calls end-to-end without live human call takers on the Avoca side. Transfers are typically to:
- Your own internal CSRs / contact center
- Your specific branches, departments, or employees
2.1 In business hours (Responder-only)
Goals
- Maximize first-call resolution with AI.
- Transfer only when a human from your organization clearly needs to step in.
Best-practice scenarios to transfer in business hours
Configure transfer rules so the AI transfers when:
- The caller explicitly asks to speak to a human / live representative / manager.
- The caller is asking about financing or is a lender/vendor with finance questions.
- The caller insists on a specific individual or department that AI cannot impersonate. (e.g. someone calling back after someone on your team just called them, and they know who they need to talk to.
- The caller is actively angry, escalated, or threatening and needs human de-escalation.
- There is an urgent, safety, or property damage situation that your routing policy sends directly to a live team or to on-call escalation (for AI-only, this is usually via transfer to your office or emergency line).
What the AI should do before transfer (business hours)
- Attempt to handle the request first if it clearly fits standard booking / message-taking flows.
- If transfer is needed:
- Briefly set expectations: confirm they’ll be transferred to a member of your team.
Configuration tips (business hours, AI-only)
- Map different scenarios to destinations:
- General service calls that need escalation → your main service queue or contact center DNIS.
- Billing, financing, or account questions → dedicated billing/finance queue.
- HR/employment → HR line or voicemail.
In your call forwarding system, ensure:
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Avoca’s transfer step dials a dedicated escalation DNIS / queue, creating a fresh, claimable call bubble for CSRs. If you give Avoca your main office line or any line that is set up to forward to Avoca for overflow calls, calls will route back to the bot, leaving the caller in an infinite loop and creating customer frustration.
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If you’re unsure whether you’ve set up transfer to your team correctly, feel free to ask your Avoca account manager to test with you!
2.2 After business hours (Responder-only)
After hours, there is usually no internal CSR team available. Avoca AI becomes the primary handler.
Default best practice after hours
- Keep callers with Avoca Responder whenever possible
When to transfer after hours (AI-only)
If customers request an emergency on-call technician, Avoca can transfer calls directly to an on-call phone. This is not recommended, as you can use the Avoca On-Call Calendar feature to call or text an on-call technician if any emergency customer calls come in.
3. Responder AI + Avoca Humans (Hybrid)
In a hybrid model, Avoca Responder and Avoca Human CSRs work together. Common patterns include:
- Responder handling overflow and after-hours.
- Avoca Humans handling:
- Revenue-sensitive or complex calls.
- Specific branches or queues.
- Escalations that require nuanced human judgment.
3.1 In business hours (Hybrid)
Goals
- Let AI handle standard booking and customer questions at scale.
- Seamlessly escalate to Avoca Humans or your own CSRs when a live touch adds value.
Best-practice transfer triggers (business hours, hybrid)
Configure business-hours transfer rules to:
- Always transfer when caller strongly insists on a human, after a brief attempt by AI to help.
- Transfer revenue-sensitive or high-complexity workflows you have designated for humans (e.g., complex installs, nuanced warranty disputes)
- Transfer calls that are outside AI’s scope (e.g., detailed billing disputes or legal issues).
- For priority customers / VIPs, consider rules that favor escalation to Avoca Humans sooner if that matches your CX strategy.
Transfer Destinations
- Avoca Humans: typically best used during business hours for customer bookings or basic questions where a customer would rather speak with a human. Examples:
- Bookable requests
- Questions like office location, business hours, membership benefits, etc.
With Avoca Humans, you can support richer transfer experiences, including warm transfer. AI can quickly confirm a customer’s name, service address, and best callback number. If a customer decides they want to speak with a human, we can place the caller on hold, pass these details and a short context summary to our Avoca CSR, then connect the call once they answer.
- Company CSRs: can be used during business hours if customers want to be transferred to a specific person, or have a complex situation that requires management by a representative in your office. Examples:
- The caller is asking about financing or is a lender/vendor with finance questions.
- The caller insists on a specific individual or department. (e.g. someone calling back after someone on your team just called them, and they know who they need to talk to.)
- The caller is actively angry, escalated, or threatening and needs human de-escalation.
3.2 After business hours (Hybrid)
After business hours:
- Avoca Responder handles all calls by default.
- Certain high-priority scenarios escalate to Avoca Humans.
Best-practice transfer scenarios (after hours, hybrid)
- Emergencies / urgent service → Avoca CSRs can book an emergency appointment (if applicable)
- High-urgency transfers: customers with threats/complaints, customers with urgent billing issues or complex problems that would typically be handled by the company → can take a message and defuse situation, promise immediate callback during business hours
- Customers who want to be transferred to a human → Avoca CSRs can determine if they have a bookable request and book if needed, or answer a customer’s basic question
