It's Like Magic

Lately I have noticed a surge in callers wanting to utilize our service as a busy no answer service. Basically what that means is the office had the first chance to answer the call and if the line either goes unanswered or is busy it will roll over to us for voicemail. I think today alone I have helped three customers set the necessary features up with their local phone company.

This feature also works great for companies who use their phones for outbound calls but still wish to utilize their Auto Attendant. Here at AccessDirect, we have a full time auto attendant but use individual lines to call out on. I have noticed that because so many people have Caller ID, they call back on the same number that called them rather than calling the number left in the message. Using the busy no answer feature any calls that come in on my desk phone if unanswered are rolled over to the auto attendant. This saves the hassle of trying to get the voicemail set up on each desk phone in the company as well as on each person’s extension on the auto attendant. Now all messages for Sally are all in her single voicemail box and the same goes for Joe.

But Bob wants his office’s busy no answer just to feed into one voicemail box for him instead of an auto attendant. Not a problem. Busy no answer works with all types of programs. You tell us how you want your package to work and we will make it happen. It’s like magic.

Technorati Tags: voicemail, auto attendant, voice mail, voicemail service, phone auto attendant

A Makeover Story

One of my favorite shows to watch is Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I love how they take deserving people who are working hard to provide for their family and completely change their lives. The show provides the family with bigger opportunities than they were able to accomplish on their own. And that's what my job does.

Today I programmed two auto attendants, which isn't really out of the ordinary. What is incredible about the programs were they were both for one gentleman who is working hard at building two companies. I feel privileged to create a program in which I am providing more opportunity than he is able to do on his own. Now with his programs he will be less likely to miss an important phone call with his find-me extensions and those he does miss will be able to leave a message in his voice mailbox. In tough economic times, these advantages could be the difference in success and failure for a small business.

I may not be Ty Pennington, but I get to participate in my own extreme makeover; the business edition.

Technorati Tags: voice mail, auto attendant, voicemail, call forwarding, hosted pbx

What's in a Name?

"That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet."
-Juliet

Auto attendant, virtual receptionist, hosted pbx. All the same, but what exactly is in these names? Shakespeare alluded to the fact that a name posed does not change the essence of an object. A label does not negate the benefit. So perhaps the question to ask is, what is the benefit?

To understand the benefit, you must first understand the essence. Essentially, the job of a virtual receptionist is to greet current and potential clients with a professional recording, direct callers to the desired department, and deliver messages within seconds of being left.

The perks of an auto attendant are vast. It creates a professional, polished appearance, enables small businesses to seem larger, connect a nationwide corporation through one number, and have messages and faxes delivered to multiple email addresses. The fragrance of this 'flower' will linger, regardless of the name you call the program.

Technorati Tags: virtual receptionist, virtual pbx, hosted pbx, voip pbx, auto attendant

Sit. Stay. Rollover.

If you were a dog, the command "roll over" would be understood. Lay down, roll over, get a treat. This, however, is not the state in which we find ourselves and when instructed to put the features call forward, no answer and call forward, busy, no answer on a rollover group I can understand the confusion.

Also known as a hunt group, a rollover group consists of all your telephone lines. Its function is that if a line is busy it will automatically roll to the next line until it ends at the last line in the group. When a company wants the phone in their office to ring, giving them a chance to speak with a client live before going to the auto attendant, it is necessary to have specific features placed on this rollover group.

Essentially, the desire is for a caller to be routed to voicemail when a line goes unanswered. This feature is called call forward, no answer. This feature would be placed on all the lines in the hunt group. To avoid a busy signal, the feature call forward, busy, no answer would need to be placed on only the last line of the group. This feature is only placed on the last line since the rest of the lines are working as a rollover.

Although it cannot replace the talents of man's best friend, the rollover group combined with the features call forward, no answer and call forward, busy, no answer provide a treat in themselves; increased customer care and business productivity.

Technorati Tags: auto attendant, virtual receptionist, virtual pbx, voice mail, call forwarding

Auto Attendant - Features of the Best Telephone Systems

In tune with the increasing business needs of today, auto attendant systems are becoming more common in office environments and are designed to eliminate the need for dedicated telephone operators serving 24 hours. These systems can be programmed to play pre-recorded messages and information and can also reroute calls to other telephone extensions within an office. Auto attendant is one of the significant features of the best telephone systems.

Most of the auto attendant systems available in the market come with many exceptional features and are now made available at much cheaper rates. These auto attendant phone systems provide their services round the clock and can be installed either at your premises or hosted by your private PBX provider.

Modern auto attendant systems are being programmed with professional quality voice and hence callers to your corporate firm will be greeted in a professional manner. These auto attendant systems have detailed audio menus and features such as dial by extension, dial by name, 1-4 digit extension numbering, group dialing, zero out to live operator and more.

The call forwarding facility in auto attendant systems is of great help to callers. The system can easily reroute calls coming to your office phone to alternate numbers such as cell phones and residential telephones, based on the telephone extension they have selected and hence your callers will never have to be disappointed by unattended telephones.

A great deal of customization is offered by auto attendant systems and this includes recording messages in your own voice. The system can also be configured to present different greetings and menus based on the time the calls are received. For callers calling after business hours, the option of voicemail enables recording their messages that can be later played back by your office executives. Thus the system, apart from serving as your dedicated telephone routing system, can also provide better customer care for your business firm, thereby achieving a good reputation for your firm.