Auto-Direct to Offline Form if Department is Offline
If a customer selects a Department which is offline, it should redirect that request to the Offline 'Leave a Message' form.
It's frustrating for our other chat users in other departments who still have chat requests popping up when the chat query isn't relevant to them. In turn then frustrating the visitor when their query doesn't get dealt with or answered at all.

Hi!
Thank you for choosing tawk.to and for sharing your challenge here.
We currently do not have an Offline form settings for Departments that are offline.
The following suggested alternatives can be done to avoid such scenarios:
1. You can create separate Properties instead of Departments. With Departments, if there are no agents currently online in the department assigned to a chat, the remaining agents will hear the ring notification. This prevents the chat from going unanswered.
Instead of creating Departments, you can create separate Properties with the designated agents. The Offline form will be activated if no agents are online.
2. If you still prefer to have Departments, inform your customer that an agent from another Department will get in touch to assist them. You can also raise a ticket while in the chat and assign it to that Department.
Once the ticket is raised, a notification will be sent to the customer. This way, your visitor will know the concern is being taken care of.
If you have any questions or require assistance, we invite you to reach out on our 24/7 support line. Our live agents are always available to assist you.
You can also email our support line at support@tawk.to
Alternatively, you can reach me here at nicola.mangulabnan@tawk.to
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Carole R. Mann commented
By default, this form is enabled with the message shown "Sorry, we aren't online at the moment. Leave a message and we'll get back to you." You can edit the message that appears or disable the form completely.
The process for setting up the offline form is the same for both Chat Standalone and integrated Chat + Support accounts; however, if you are on an integrated account, the offline form is disabled automatically if you are using the contact form in the Web Widget (Classic).
To edit the offline form message
In your Chat dashboard, go to Settings > Widget and click the Forms tab.
In the Offline Form section, make sure the form is enabled by toggling it On.
Edit the text in the Offline Greeting field, then click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
https://www.myaccountaccess.one/ -
Silvia commented
I agree with this as well. It would be really neccessary.
Our company is international and we use the Chat for 3 regions. So it would be good that if a region/department is offline and the user select this department, a offline message is send.
In that way it is really frustrating for all - agents and users.
Thanks -
Nick F commented
I agree with this as well. It is misleading for a user to see that a department is offline, but they can still initiate a chat with that department because a different department has someone online.
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Ross McDonald commented
Agree!
Makes much more sense to have the option to show the offline form instead of re-routing to a different department.
The sales department isn't going to be able to answer tech support requests or vice versa.
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Andrew Belter commented
Completely agree. This essentially defeats the purpose of Departments -- especially since they have "(online)" listed next to each dept name in the prechat form!