When calls only ever go to one person, that person becomes a bottleneck. They're on a call, another call comes in, and the second caller either waits or gives up. Call distribution solves this by spreading incoming calls across multiple team members — so no single person is overwhelmed and callers are more likely to reach someone quickly. This article explains how call distribution works in Romulus and how to set it up.
Why This Matters
Uneven call distribution is one of the most common causes of missed calls in a small business. If one team member handles 80% of the calls and gets busy, calls start going unanswered. Distributing calls fairly across your team keeps wait times short, reduces missed calls, and prevents burnout for your most available team members.
How Call Distribution Works in Romulus
Romulus distributes calls using a queue system. When a call enters a queue, the system assigns it to the next available team member based on the distribution method you choose. Common options include:
Round robin — calls rotate evenly through team members in sequence, so each person receives a similar number of calls over time
Simultaneous ring — all team members ring at the same time; whoever answers first takes the call
Fixed order — calls always try the first team member first, then move to the next if they don't answer
Callers waiting in a queue hear hold music (which you can customise) instead of ringing. You can also set a maximum wait time — if a caller waits longer than the limit, the call moves to voicemail or another destination automatically.
How to Set Up Call Distribution
The full step-by-step guide is here:
Add a queue block to your inbound rules, assign the team members who will receive calls, choose your distribution method, and set a maximum wait time.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
Only logged-in team members receive queued calls. If a team member has the Romulus app closed or is logged out, they won't receive calls from the queue. Make sure your team knows to stay logged in during business hours.
Always set a maximum wait time. Callers who wait too long without an answer will hang up anyway — but without a max wait time, they won't hear any acknowledgement before they give up. Setting a limit ensures the call falls back to voicemail gracefully instead of ending abruptly.
Round robin is the fairest option for most teams. If you're not sure which distribution method to use, start with round robin. It distributes calls evenly without requiring you to manually assign who handles what.
When You're Ready
Your team is now set up to handle incoming calls together. For businesses that want to go further, the final step in Lesson 2 is turning on your AI agent — so it can answer calls automatically when your team is busy or unavailable.