Call disposition: how every call ends up on record.
A call disposition is the outcome recorded against a call when it ends: a sale, a callback, no answer. Some are set by the phone system, most by the agent. Here is what they are, the codes teams commonly use, and how to build a list that stays useful.
- Set when a call ends
- By the system or the agent
- Drives reports and follow-ups
What a call disposition is
When a call finishes, the team records how it went: the customer bought, asked for a callback, was not interested, or never picked up. That recorded outcome is the call’s disposition, and the short labels a team chooses from are its disposition codes.
Platforms name them differently — disposition, wrap-up code, outcome or result code — but the job is the same: turn thousands of conversations into a handful of categories that can be counted, followed up and reported on.
System dispositions and agent dispositions
- 01Set by the systemOutcomes the phone system can tell on its own, before anyone speaks: no answer, busy, a disconnected or invalid number, and on outbound campaigns an answering machine or a fax tone.
- 02Set by the agentOutcomes only a person can judge: whether the customer bought, asked to be called back, was not interested, or asked not to be called again. Agents choose them during wrap-up, the after-call work at the end of each call.
Common call disposition codes
For outbound sales and collections calls:
- Sale or appointment setThe call achieved its goal. Usually the code a campaign is measured on.
- Callback requestedThe contact asked to be called at another time. A useful code carries the date and time with it.
- Not interestedA conversation happened and ended without a result.
- Do not callThe contact asked not to be called again. This one carries legal weight; see below.
- Wrong numberThe person reached is not the contact on the list.
- No answer, busy, voicemail leftAttempts that reached nobody. They are usually retried later rather than closed.
For inbound support calls:
- ResolvedThe issue was fixed on the call.
- EscalatedPassed to a specialist or a supervisor.
- Follow-up neededSomething has to happen after the call: a refund, a visit, a return call.
- Reason codesBilling, a technical problem, a cancellation request, a complaint: what the call was about, often recorded alongside the outcome.
The disposition with legal weight
A do-not-call disposition is usually how a team records an opt-out, and in the US it matters. Under FCC rules, anyone making telemarketing calls to residential numbers must keep a list of people who ask not to be called, record each request when it is made, and honour it within a reasonable time that may not exceed ten business days.
How to build a disposition list that stays useful
- Keep it shortAgents pick a code at the end of every call. A list they can scan in a few seconds gets used accurately; a list of forty gets “Other”.
- Make codes mutually exclusiveEach call should fit exactly one outcome. If two codes overlap, reports split the same result in two and nobody trusts the totals.
- Tie every code to an actionCallback schedules a call, do-not-call updates the list, escalated opens a ticket. A code that triggers nothing is usually a code nobody needs.
- Separate the outcome from the reasonRecord what happened (resolved, escalated) apart from what the call was about (billing, technical), so each can be reported on its own.
- Review it on a scheduleCheck which codes are never used and which are used for everything, and adjust the list at fixed intervals rather than whenever someone complains.
Where this fits in a phone system
Dispositions sit on top of everything that decides where a call goes in the first place. Queues, IVR and routing on DialPhone are covered on the contact center page, and pricing lists which plan includes what. To tell calls to different numbers apart before they are answered, see DNIS explained.
Call disposition FAQ
What is a call disposition?
The outcome recorded against a call when it ends, such as sale, callback requested, not interested or no answer. The short labels a team chooses from are its disposition codes.
What are examples of call disposition codes?
For outbound sales: sale or appointment set, callback requested, not interested, do not call, wrong number, voicemail left, no answer and busy. For inbound support: resolved, escalated and follow-up needed, often with a reason code such as billing or technical.
Who sets the disposition, the agent or the system?
Both. The phone system sets outcomes it can detect on its own — no answer, busy, an invalid number, and on outbound calls an answering machine or fax tone. Agents set the outcomes only a person can judge.
What is the difference between a disposition and a wrap-up code?
Usually nothing: different platforms use different names for the same thing. Some separate the outcome of a call from the reason for it, and call one a disposition and the other a wrap-up or reason code.
Does choosing a disposition count toward handle time?
Yes. It happens during wrap-up, the after-call work at the end of each call, and average handle time is talk, hold and wrap-up together.
Why does a do-not-call disposition matter?
In the US, anyone making telemarketing calls to residential numbers must record do-not-call requests and honour them within a reasonable time of no more than ten business days, under FCC rules. The disposition is usually where that request is first recorded.
How many disposition codes should a team have?
As few as cover the outcomes you act on. Each should be distinct and lead to something — a callback, a list update, a ticket — and the list should be short enough to choose from in seconds.
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