How to Log a Call by Voice
If your service provider has switched it on, you can log a call in the Customer portal by talking instead of typing. You describe the problem to Victoria, a voice assistant who takes the call down for you, and the call goes straight to your service provider, just like one typed into the Log a call form. Select Log by voice, beside Log a call at the top of your Home page, your Calls list or your Account page.
How do I log a call by voice in the Customer portal?
Select Log by voice beside Log a call at the top of your Home page, Calls list or Account page, choose Talk here, and tell Victoria what the problem is. When the call is logged, a message at the foot of the Customer portal gives you its call number.
- Check that the Customer portal is showing the account the problem is for: Victoria logs the call for the account you have open.
- Select Log by voice beside Log a call at the top of your Home page, Calls list or Account page.
- Read the small menu that opens, headed "Log a call by voice", with the line "with Victoria, for" and your account's name.
- Choose Talk here to talk to Victoria in your browser.
- Allow your browser to use your microphone if it asks.
- Describe the problem to Victoria in your own words, and answer her questions.
- Read the message that appears at the foot of the screen once the call has ended, and note the call number.
Pointing at Log by voice shows the hint "Log a call by talking to Victoria". To close the menu without choosing anything, press the Escape key or click anywhere outside it. With the keyboard, move through the menu with the Up and Down arrow keys and press Enter to choose.
If you would rather type, or the problem needs a photo, select Log a call instead. Log by voice is only on Home, the Calls list and the Account page; it is not on a call's own page, the Visits page, Account history or the Log a call form.
What are Talk here, Call me back and Pair a phone?
The Log by voice menu in the Customer portal offers three ways to reach Victoria. Choose the one that suits where you are.
- Talk here — "Talk to Victoria in this browser. Uses your microphone". You talk through your computer's or tablet's microphone and speakers, in the portal itself. This is the usual way.
- Call me back — "Victoria rings your paired phone". Victoria rings the phone you have paired, so you can talk away from your desk.
- Pair a phone — "Scan a code once to carry on from your phone". You do this once, with your mobile phone, before Call me back can ring it.
When you choose a way, a voice panel opens over the Customer portal, and the menu closes. While it opens, the way you chose says "Opening…". Only one voice panel can be open at a time: if you choose a way while one is already open, the menu says "AgentDesk’s panel is already open — close it first.", so close the open panel and choose again.
When the call has ended and the panel has closed, the Customer portal is just as you left it. If you used Call me back, keep the portal open in your browser until the call has finished, so that the message with your call number can appear when it ends.
What does Victoria do with my call, and what can't she do?
Victoria logs a new call on your account, the one named in the Log by voice menu, and your service provider receives it straight away, like a call typed into the Log a call form. You do not need to give your name or email address: the call is recorded with your own name and sign-in email address as the contact, whatever name you say.
- The kind of call — Victoria offers the same kinds of call that What is it about offers you on the Log a call form, the ones your service provider has set up for your sign-in.
- The description — Victoria writes up what you tell her as the call's one-line description, the same line as In one line on the Log a call form, shown under the heading on the call's own page, and as its Details.
- No engineer is booked yet — your service provider decides who comes and when, and once they book it the visit appears on the call's Visits card and on your Visits page, if your sign-in includes engineer visits.
A call logged by voice has no phone number, no purchase order (PO) number and no Your reference. If you need a PO number on it, open the call afterwards and select Edit, if your sign-in may change calls. A phone number or another person to contact can be added to its Details with Note in the same way. If your own reference matters, log the call with Log a call instead, because Your reference can only be given on that form.
Victoria only logs new calls. She cannot tell you how one of your existing calls stands, change or cancel one, or book an engineer or a time. For any of those, use your Calls list and the call's own page, or contact your service provider and quote the call number.
What does the message at the foot of the screen mean after I log a call by voice?
When a voice call ends, the Customer portal checks with your service provider's system what was logged, and then shows a message bar at the foot of the screen, above the menu on a phone. It says what happened, and stays until you use its button or select × ("Dismiss") beside it.
- "Call" and its number, "logged by Victoria" — your call is logged. Under it are the kind of call and its one-line description. Select Open call to open the call's page and check what was taken down.
- "Call" and its number, "is logged", with "The office has it. It won't appear in your calls, so quote this number if you ring." — your call is logged and your service provider has it, but your sign-in does not show this call in the Customer portal, for example because it shows only calls of some statuses. Write the number down; there is nothing to open. Do not log the problem again.
- "Call" and its number, "logged by Victoria", with no Open call — your call is logged, but the Customer portal could not check it with your service provider just then. Note the number and look for the call on your Calls list later.
The message bar moves with you as you go between pages of the Customer portal, so you can carry on with something else. If you log several calls by voice, the bars stack up with the newest on top, three at most. A message is lost if you reload the page or close the browser, but the call is not: find it on your Calls list, if your sign-in shows it.
If you hold Ctrl and click Open call (Ctrl+click), the call opens in a new browser tab and the bar stays where it is. A screen reader announces each bar politely, in an area named "Calls logged by voice", without moving your place on the page.
What if Victoria couldn't log my call or couldn't confirm it was saved?
The message bar at the foot of the Customer portal tells you when a voice call did not end with a call logged, and offers the safe next step. Nothing is lost by reading it first.
- "Victoria couldn't log that call", with "Nothing was saved. Try again, or type it in." — no call was created. Select Log a call on the bar to open the Log a call form for the same account and type it in, or select Log by voice and try again.
- "Victoria couldn't confirm the call was saved", with "Check your calls, or ring the office, before logging it again." — the call may well have been logged, so do not log it a second time straight away. For about a minute the Customer portal keeps checking, and if the call turns up the bar changes by itself to say the call is logged, with its number. Otherwise select Check calls to open your Calls list and look for it, or ring your service provider.
If you end the conversation before Victoria has logged anything, no message appears at all: nothing was logged, and you can start again whenever you like.
Pointing at the words on a bar may show a short technical note beginning "AgentDesk:". It is meant for whoever supports you; if the same thing keeps happening, tell your service provider what you were trying to log and what the note said.
Why is there no Log by voice button in my Customer portal?
Log by voice appears beside Log a call only when both of these are true: your service provider has switched voice logging on for their Customer portal, and your sign-in is allowed to log calls. If you have no Log a call button either, your sign-in is not set up to log calls, and Victoria would refuse your calls too; ask your service provider if you would like to log calls yourself.
If you have Log a call but no Log by voice, your service provider has not switched voice logging on, has switched it off, has not finished setting it up, or the Customer portal could not check it just then. It is not something about your account. Reload the page first; if the button is still missing, ask your service provider. If they tell you they have just switched it on, reload the page, by pressing F5 or with your browser's reload button: the Customer portal checks for it when a page is first loaded.
The button also waits until the account's name has arrived, so for a moment after a page opens only Log a call may be showing.
What if Log by voice will not start, or says I am not set up?
Most problems with Log by voice in the Customer portal are explained in its own menu or in the voice panel. Here is what each means.
- A way marked with a warning sign — under Talk here or Call me back, the words "Blocked on this address. Hover or press for why". Pointing at it, or selecting it, explains that the address you opened the Customer portal at is not a secure page; for Talk here it begins "Browsers only let a secure page use the microphone", and for Call me back "AgentDesk’s call-back screen needs a secure page too". Open the Customer portal at the address beginning "https" that your service provider gave you, or use Pair a phone, which still works.
- "AgentDesk’s panel is already open — close it first." — a voice panel is already open in this page. Close it, then choose again.
- "AgentDesk’s voice widget could not be loaded. Check this computer can reach AgentDesk, then try again." — the Customer portal could not load the voice panel just then, often because the internet connection dropped. Check your connection and choose the way again.
- The voice panel tells you to ask your administrator — your sign-in has not yet been added to the people who may use Victoria. Ask your service provider to add you; meanwhile, log the call with Log a call.
- Victoria will not start although Log by voice is there — your service provider may have switched logging by voice off since you opened the page. Reload the page: if Log by voice has gone, that is why, and Log a call still works.
- Your browser blocked the microphone — allow the microphone for the Customer portal's address in your browser's settings and choose Talk here again, or use Call me back with a paired phone.
If none of these fits and voice logging keeps failing, type the call in with Log a call: it reaches your service provider just the same.