# What's this light? Question about call center phones **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654 "2009-07-02T01:20:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/1 "2009-07-02T01:20:14Z")
I have been working at a call center for about 14 months. There is this unlabeled LED on my phone which I have not paid much attention to in the past; it usually is not lit but occasionally it will be green. This seems to occur at random. Today, for the first time ever, this light began to change colors: sometimes it was green, sometimes orange and sometimes red, again seemingly at random. So, of course, I am quite curious about this and want to ask those of you who work at call centers if you know what this light is. It is an Aspect phone, if that helps any, and this light is near the lower left corner next to the Aspect logo. It’s the only light which is not associated with a button. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/2 "2009-07-02T01:42:09Z")
G, A, F, F, C. Blow their mind. Respond: Bb, C, Ab, Ab, E. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/3 "2009-07-02T01:55:26Z")
Shit, had you asked me two years ago when I was still working at Nintendo’s call center… Might it relate to the amount of callers on hold? With yellow and red representing the amount growing to an intolerable level? ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/4 "2009-07-02T02:09:52Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Might it relate to the amount of callers on hold? With yellow and red representing the amount growing to an intolerable level? That’s what some of us thought, but then we noticed that the lights were sometimes red and orange even when no one was getting any calls. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/5 "2009-07-02T03:28:46Z")
> [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](#): > > That’s what some of us thought, but then we noticed that the lights were sometimes red and orange even when no one was getting any calls. Are you all on the same branch of the phone tree? Perhaps the branch your on is full, while the call representatives who aren’t getting calls are on other branches? Or are you are they’re not in idle/wrap-up? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/6 "2009-07-02T03:39:49Z")
I asked a friend of mine who used to be a software manager for Aspect. Here is his response: > [@](#): > > I suspect it is a call waiting indicator. Is there any relationship between the color of the LED and the number of callers in queue waiting to be answered? > > I may have written that feature, but I don’t remember. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/7 "2009-07-02T06:53:05Z")
Yeah, the brochure for the Aspect CallCenter Teleset 3 mentions this feature: “Calls-waiting indicator lamp that steps through green, yellow and red lights to notify agents of queued call levels.” If you’re getting this light when there are no calls at all, there may be a problem with the system – you should tell your phone guys (I’m not a phone guy). ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/8 "2009-07-02T07:41:27Z")
Each queue can have its own indicator. There’s often one for the regular phone jockeys, another for the second level techs, and another for supervisors. Whenever you log into a phone, it should automatically also log you into the correct queue, though some phones are dedicated. If nobody there really knows what the lights are for, then they’re probably not being used. If they’re not being used, then they’re likely not set up correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-light-question-about-call-center-phones/501654/9 "2009-07-02T13:52:13Z")
Having recently worked in a call centre that used Aspect phones: On our queues (i.e., the queue in which the agent is logged into, not all queues), no light = no calls waiting, green light = five or fewer calls, orange/yellow = six to ten calls, red = eleven or more. An agent would not see calls waiting that would not eventually flow to them. I’m not sure how it worked for agents on overflow queues (meaning call would only come to that agent if it had been waiting for an excessive amount of time, usually ten to fifteen minutes for our queues). As **Soulfrost** says, if the light’s on and you’re not getting calls, the phones probably aren’t configured correctly to make use of the feature.