Call queues are fundamental in call and contact centres acting as virtual waiting areas for incoming calls. Their primary role is to organise and hold calls until an appropriate agent becomes available, ensuring efficient call management and preventing prolonged wait times for customers.

Key components of call queues include prioritisation based on criteria like urgency or customer value, continuous monitoring to avoid extended waits, providing estimated wait times to manage customer expectations, overflow mechanisms for when queues become overwhelmed, customised greetings or messages, and routing logic to direct calls to the most suitable agents.