Overview of Automated Attendants and Bulletin Boards
This section describes how to define
and administer automated attendants and bulletin boards on an INTUITY
AUDIX system. The section includes examples you can modify to fit your
particular requirements.
This section describes:
- Plan your automated attendant
- Set up an automated attendant,
including multilingual and teletypewriter (TTY) greetings
- Set up a business schedule
and set up a holiday schedule
- Set up a call routing table
- Plan for your bulletin boards
with automated attendant
- Set up a bulletin board
Planning an Automated Attendant
The first step toward setting up
an automated attendant or bulletin board is to understand the concepts.
What
Is an Automated Attendant?
An automated attendant is an interactive
telephone answering system that answers incoming calls with a prerecorded
announcement and routes them based on the caller's response to menus
and prompts.
You set up an automated attendant
so that callers hear a menu of options. Callers then press the button
on their telephone keypad that corresponds to the menu option they want.
The automated attendant then executes the selected option. Callers who
do not have touchtone telephones are typically told that they can hold
or call another number to speak with a live attendant.
You can design an automated attendant
menu system, or menu tree, to contain subordinate layers of menus
or bulletin boards. These submenu's, or nested menus, play additional
options that can include a choice leading to another nested menu.
The menu options that callers hear
are actually personal greetings that you record for the automated attendant's
extension. You can easily change the text of the message just as you
would any personal greeting. You can also use the Multiple Personal
Greetings feature to provide different menus and options for different
types of calls.
What
Is a Bulletin Board?
A bulletin board is an electronic
message system that callers can access to hear messages. Callers dial
the bulletin board telephone number and the system answers and presents
callers with a recorded message. The major difference between a bulletin
board and an automated attendant is that a bulletin board does not have
an option to route the call.
Design Considerations
To design your automated attendants
to make the most effective use of their capabilities, you must first
determine the needs for your business. Will all callers be routed directly
to the automated attendant? Will certain options of an automated attendant
route callers to other automated attendants? Are there any special needs
the automated attendant must address, such as accommodating hearing-impaired
callers?
Automated attendant applications
can include any of the following:
|
Main automated attendant |
The mailbox where the automated attendant
telephone extension connects. The main automated attendant plays
a single menu of options for selecting a final destination or
presents menu options that differ depending on call types defined
with Multiple Personal Greetings, business schedules, or holiday
schedules. See Setting Up a Main Attendant
for more information. |
|
Nested automated attendant |
Two or more layers of automated attendants
— a main automated attendant that contains options leading
to one or more secondary (nested) automated attendants that
play additional submenu's of options. See Setting
Up Nested Attendants for more information. You must create the nested attendant before
you specify it in a main or higher-layer attendant. Create a diagram
on paper of the menu tree that you want to use. Then administer
the automated attendant system starting from the last (deepest)
menu layer and work your way back to the main automated attendant. |
|
TTY (Teletype-writer) |
An automated attendant administered with a
TDD announcement set that provides service to hearing-impaired
callers. (The TDD announcement set is recommended but not required
to set up TTY automated attendants.) Hearing-impaired callers
need a standard, standalone, acoustically coupled teletypewriter
along with a touchtone telephone. See TTY
Automated Attendants for more information. |
|
Nonresident subscriber extensions |
A main automated attendant that contains options
leading to subscribers who have voice mailboxes and call in for
messages, but do not have actual telephone extensions on the switch.
See Setting Up Nonresident Subscriber
Extensions for more information. |
|
Shared extensions |
A main automated attendant that contains options
leading to the mailboxes of two or more people sharing the same
telephone. See Setting Up Shared Extensions
for more information. |
|
10 Options per Attendant |
The automated attendant can have as many as
10 menu options, corresponding to the buttons 0 through 9 on a
touchtone telephone |
|
Automated Attendant Extension on the Switch |
If the automated attendant extension is to
be called directly, administer the switch to route calls to that
extension. You (or the switch administrator) administer the switch
to route all incoming calls to an automated attendant instead
of to a receptionist, or perhaps to route calls to this extension
only after normal business hours. (If the automated attendant
is a nested automated attendant, administer the extension in the
AUDIX system but not on the switch, that is, administer it as
a "phantom" extension.) |
|
COS for Automated Attendants |
If you plan to use a number of automated attendants,
you might want to set up a class of service (COS) with the PERMISSIONS,
Type: field already set to automated attendant.
If you set up an automated attendant COS, be sure that existing
subscribers are not already assigned to that COS. |
|
* 8 Transfers |
You can administer your system to allow callers
to transfer from the automated attendant to a specific extension
by entering * 8, the extension number, and the pound sign
#. Generally, it is more efficient to have callers enter extension
numbers directly. * 8 is typically used when the attendant's
options require use of all the buttons or when the switch dial
plan precludes use of the button that corresponds to the first
digit of internal extension numbers that could be called directly.
The Call Transfer Out of AUDIX feature must be turned on before
callers can use * 8.
Security Risk!
Allowing transfers out of AUDIX increases the risk of toll fraud.
If you set up you automated attendant to use this feature, be
sure you restrict the allowable destination numbers as described
under Controlling Call Transfers. |
|
Direct Transfers
without * 8 |
Callers can dial an extension directly from
the automated attendant without using * 8. To administer
such direct dialing, type an e in the Extension
field for the button whose number corresponds with the first digit
of real switch extensions (on page 3 of the Subscriber screen).
For example, if internal extensions begin with 5, assign button
5 as extension e. This allows the caller to dial any extension
that starts with 5.
Note: For this
feature to work properly, Addressing Format must
be extension on Page 2 of the
automated attendant's Subscriber screen.
Pay particular attention to the switch dial plan when assigning
the e option. Some extensions within the group may not
exist, may not be assigned, or may be assigned to special features.
Any of these situations may cause problems if a caller attempts
to dial anything but a voice extension.
|
|
Coverage to AUDIX |
The automated attendant extension must be
administered to cover to the AUDIX extension with Call Coverage
(Call Forwarding, if your switch is a DEFINITY switch). Calls
are then sent to the automated attendant mailbox where the menu
of options is heard. |
|
Call Routing |
INTUITY AUDIX provides a conditional routing
capability. You can use a routing table to vary automated attendant
operation based on as many as four separate business schedules
and as many as four holiday schedules. (If your switch is a MERLIN
LEGEND switch, you can also base operations on the switch's night
service schedule.) See Setting Up a
Call Routing Table for more information. Additionally, a call can be routed to an automated
attendant during an alternate time associated with a business
schedule, such as lunch time. |
|
Addressing Messages |
If you design an automated attendant so callers
have the option of leaving messages for multiple AUDIX subscribers,
the AUDIX feature of addressing messages by name or extension
applies. It is a good idea to include this information in the
recorded greetings and prompts callers hear. |
Automated
Attendant Modes of Operation
A business can deploy automated attendant
service in either primary or secondary operational mode.
Primary
Mode Operation
An automated attendant service deployed
in primary mode is expected to answer all incoming calls as soon as
they come in. The company receptionist backs up the automated attendant
by handling overflow calls and calls from people needing assistance,
for example, those who press 0 or those who make no selection.
Secondary
(Backup) Mode Operation
An automated attendant service deployed
in backup mode defers as many calls as possible to the company receptionist.
The automated attendant service is configured to back up the company
receptionist by handling calls the receptionist is unable to answer.
Operational
Schedule
Typically businesses are considered
open during the day and closed during the night. The INTUITY AUDIX automated
attendant service can be designed to answer incoming calls on a 24-hour/day
basis or only at night, depending upon your business needs.
Business
Operational Schedule
The automated attendant can use
the INTUITY AUDIX weekly business schedule for time-of-day operation
or it can rely on the telephone system to indicate when it should operate
in a day schedule and night schedule. Note that some telephone systems
(for example, MERLIN LEGEND) can provide day/night status to INTUITY
AUDIX, while other telephone systems (for example, DEFINITY) cannot.
It makes no difference to the INTUITY AUDIX automated attendant service
whether day/night operation is controlled by the associated telephone
system status or by the INTUITY AUDIX system's own weekly business schedule.
Holiday
Operational Schedule
The automated attendant can be administered
to deviate from the normal business schedule for a day at a time. You
might use these schedules to play different greetings and to handle
calls differently on holidays. There are four holiday schedules.
Alternate
Operational Schedule
The Alternate Service Hours feature
allows the automated attendant to play a different menu and/or handle
calls slightly differently during lunch time or any other time. The
routing table provides a way to do this. This feature can be used independently
of the telephone system's night service status.
Routing
Table
These operational schedules are tied
together within a routing table. A routing table applies the business
schedule and a holiday schedule to an incoming called number such as
an incoming trunk or covered extension. You then assign a schedule to
the automated attendant mailboxes you want to handle the calls at the
various times.
See Setting
Up a Call Routing Table for more information on operational schedules
and routing tables.
MERLIN
LEGEND Schedule
MERLIN LEGEND can be administered
to change from day schedule operation to night schedule operation either
by administering the schedule on the telephone system or by pushing
a Night Service button on the attendant console. If the INTUITY AUDIX
automated attendant service schedule is linked to MERLIN LEGEND's status,
the two are guaranteed to be synchronized.
The MERLIN LEGEND telephone system
can be programmed to route calls differently when Night Service is in
effect. This feature can be used to provide automated attendant service
only when the MERLIN LEGEND telephone system is in Night Service mode.
Using
Rotary Telephones with an Automated Attendant
Automated attendants can work with
rotary telephone users if the AUDIX system has an attached pulse-to-tone
converter. A pulse-to-tone converter is a box located between the switch
and the central office.
To use pulse-to-tone conversion properly,
you must allow enough time for the converter to convert the pulse to
a tone. Set the Between Digits at Auto-Attendant or
Standalone Menu field on the System-Parameters Features
screen to between 3 and 12 seconds (5 or 6 seconds is recommended).
This value must be sufficient to allow the converter to work. Depending
on your system and your converter, it may take actual use to determine
the best value.
If a caller fails to enter any tones
at an automated attendant menu, the AUDIX system uses the time-out value
administered on the automated attendant's Subscriber screen. This time-out
value should be greater than the Between Digits at Auto-Attendant
or Standalone Menu field on the System-Parameters Features
screen. If it is not, the automated attendant could time out before
the first digit can be entered.
If you are not using a pulse-to-tone
converter, leave the Between Digits at Auto-Attendant or Standalone
Menu field on the System-Parameters Features screen at the default
of 3.
Multilingual
Automated Attendants
You can set up a multilingual automated
attendant, the first level of which might ask the caller to select a
language. Subsequent levels implement the automated attendant in the
language chosen. You can implement a multilingual automated attendant
using multilingual system announcement sets or the Multiple Personal
Greeting feature.
Multilingual
Feature
If you have purchased multiple language
announcement sets, the Multilingual feature should be set to ON (check
the Feature Options window accessed from Customer/Services Administration
on the Main Menu). Your automated attendant can use 2 languages to greet
callers during prime and non-prime hours.
The first menu in the automated
attendant should be one where the caller chooses a language (such as
"Press 1 for English or press 2 for Canadian French"). You can then
set up separate menu trees for each language.
For example, your company operates
in a U.S. English/Canadian French bilingual environment and uses an
automated attendant to redirect calls to the appropriate extension.
The following scenario is typical of nested, multilingual automated
attendants.
- The recording for
the main or first-level automated attendant is in US English (except
for the invitation to press 1).
"Hello, this is ABC Company."
"Pour Fran�ais, appuyez sur le un."
"To talk to a sales agent, please press 2."
"For billing problems, please press 3."
"If you know the number of the person you want to reach, please enter
it now, or you may wait and an operator will be with you shortly."
- The caller presses
1. The recording for the second-level automated attendant is in
Canadian French.
(In Canadian French)
"To talk to a sales agent, please press 2."
"For billing problems, please press 3."
"If you know the number of the person you want to reach, please enter
it now, or you may wait and an operator will be with you shortly."
(If the caller presses
* 4 for help, Canadian French prompts are used if the primary announcement
set is Canadian French.)
- The caller enters
extension number 432.
(In Canadian French)
"Please wait."
- The call is transferred
to extension 432. If the call covers to your AUDIX system, call treatment
in the call answer scenario will be as described above.
To administer an automated attendant
to make use of this feature, see Step 2:
Administering the Automated Attendant as a Subscriber.
Multiple
Personal Greetings Feature
You can also use the Multiple Personal
Greetings feature to customize an automated attendant's spoken personal
greeting for calls of various types. This customizing could be cosmetic,
such as a formal or informal personal greeting depending on whether
the call is external or internal, or it could voice a different set
of options, such as offering a restricted menu of choices to out-of-hours
callers.
You can record personal greetings
in any languages needed and apply the greetings to the various automated
attendant menu options the caller hears. Since the automated attendant
is administered as a subscriber, you have 9 personal greetings to use
for various language options at each menu layer you administer.
TTY Automated
Attendants
To access your automated attendant,
hearing-impaired callers need a standard standalone, acoustically
coupled TTY along with a touchtone telephone. The TDD-English announcement
set makes it more convenient to set up teletypewriter (TTY) automated
attendants that provide service to hearing-impaired callers.
|
Note: The TDD announcement
set is recommended, but not required, to set up TTY automated
attendants. |
Planning
Your TTY Attendant
The following are recommendations
and requirements for planning the use of the TTY automated attendant
feature:
- The TDD announcement set
should be activated when administering the TTY automated attendant
menus. If the TDD announcement set is not running, you must put
your ear to the handset resting in the TTY acoustic coupler to hear
the spoken INTUITY AUDIX announcements that you need to follow while
administering the automated attendant menus. Without the TDD announcement
set, a hearing-impaired person cannot set up automated attendant
menus.
- To record automated attendant
menus, you need a standalone, acoustically coupled TTY (available
from many telephone equipment stores); a TTY with a buffer is recommended
since you may want to edit a menu before downloading it to your
system. (Refer to the user's guide that came with the TTY for instructions
on using your TTY.)
- The TDD announcement set
needs to be identified on the Subscriber or Class of Service screen
for the automated attendant by setting the
Login Announcement
Set: and Call Answer Primary Annc. Set: fields
to TDD.
- The use of separate telephone
numbers for TTY and voice automated attendants tends to be more user
friendly for the intended audiences. While this is not required, it
is strongly recommended.
- The Multilingual feature
can be used to administer an automated attendant with nested TTY menus
and nested voice menus. However, TTY callers see either nothing or
only unreadable characters resulting from voiced prompts or greetings,
and hearing callers encounter TTY messaging noise.
- The TTY automated attendant
can be administered to use name addressing. The caller must use the
touchtone keypad rather than the TTY keyboard to address a message
by name.
- TTYs use the Baudot communications
protocol in which the same 5bit code can represent either a letter
or a non-alphabetic character, such as a number or figure. (For
example, the binary code 00001 is both the letter "E" and the number
"3".) This sharing of 5bit codes is made possible by having a letters
mode and a numbers/figures mode.
If a TTY receives the
5bit code 11111, it is set to letters mode. The TTY then assumes all
subsequent 5bit character codes received are letters. By contrast,
if a receiving TTY is set to numbers/figures mode (by receiving the
5bit code 11011), it then assumes all subsequent 5bit character codes
received are numbers and figures. This is important because a TTY
that is not in the same mode as the device that is transmitting to
it displays characters on the receiving TTY that make no sense to
the caller.
All INTUITY AUDIX TTY
announcements contain the appropriate mode reset codes to ensure
that the receiving TTY stays mode-synchronized with your system
during announcement playback. It is, however, your responsibility
to ensure mode synchronization when recording automated attendant
menus.
- Each subscriber or caller
who wants to communicate with the TTY automated attendant needs
a standard standalone, acoustically coupled TTY and a touchtone
telephone. Devices that bypass the touchtone telephone, such as
computers with non-dialing TTY modems, are unable to issue commands
to the INTUITY AUDIX system.
Mode
Synchronization when Recording Menus
Some TTYs have both a letters and
a numbers/figures key for switching to the indicated mode. On such devices,
if the first character in an automated attendant menu is a letter, press
the letters key before you type anything else. If the first character
in an automated attendant menu is a number or figure, press the numbers/figures
key before you type anything else.
If you do not have these separate
keys, synchronization of modes is less convenient, but can be accomplished
in the following way:
- If the first character you
need to type is a letter, type / (a slash) and press the space
bar a few times before you start typing. This causes the system to
reset to letters mode.
- If the first character you
need to type is a number or figure, type x and press the space
bar a few times before you start typing. This causes the system to
reset to numbers/figures mode.
TTY users need to use both the keypad
on their touchtone telephones and the keyboard on the TTY. In menu instructions,
make it clear which to use. You might use the word "dial" when the user
needs to use the telephone keypad and the word "type" when the user
needs to use the TTY keyboard.
When using a TTY to type directly
to the system, AUDIX captures and preserves any misspellings, hesitations
in typing, and so on. For this reason, it is recommended that you use
a TTY with a built-in buffer and completely edit the menu before calling
the INTUITY AUDIX system to download the buffer. Refer to your TTY user's
guide for instructions on editing and downloading the TTY buffer.
TTY
Feature Operation
Assign the TTY announcement set
on the automated attendant Subscriber or Class of Service screen, and
record a TTY automated attendant menu using a TTY (the menu is actually
the personal greeting for the automated attendant extension). Instead
of speaking the menu greeting into the telephone, type the menu greeting
using the TTY keyboard. Callers who reach the TTY automated attendant
must use a TTY to interact with the automated attendant.
Here is how a TTY automated attendant
relates to other AUDIX features.
- Automated Attendant: The
TTY Automated Attendant feature enables you to set up automated
attendants for hearing-impaired callers. Any number of sub-attendants
can be administered.
- Multilingual: It is recommended,
but not required, that TTY automated attendants have a separate telephone
number than voice automated attendants (Call Answer Language Choice
set to n [no]). Call Answer Language Choice can be set to y
(yes) to administer an automated attendant with nested TTY menus and
nested voice menus. However, TTY callers see either nothing or unreadable
characters resulting from voiced prompts or greetings, and hearing
callers encounter TTY messaging noise.
- Multiple Personal Greetings:
TTY automated attendant menus greetings must be recorded with a
TTY. TTY automated attendants may take advantage of the Multiple
Personal Greetings feature to record different menus for out-of-hours
and internal and external calls. If the Multilingual feature is
on and Call Answer Language Choice is y (yes), you record
menu greetings using personalized Dual Language Greetings rather
than Multiple Personal Greetings.
Setting
Up an Automated Attendant
Once you design the automated attendant,
complete the following steps to set up and check its operation:
Step
1: Enabling Call Transfers Out of AUDIX
Before an automated attendant can
route calls, you must enable the Call Transfer Out of AUDIX feature.
|
Security Risk!
Enabling callers to transfer out of AUDIX has significant security
implications. These implications are described under Fraudulent
Transfers. If your system is administered to allow transfer
by "digits," ensure that the extension you assign to your automated
attendant falls within the range of allowed numbers. See Controlling
Call Transfers for more information. |
To enable call transfers out of
AUDIX:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter change system-parameters features
The system displays the
System Parameters Features Screen.
- Press F7
(NextPage) twice.
- The system displays
the System-Parameters Features screen, page
3; Enabling Call Transfers Out of AUDIX.
- Type basic
in the
Transfer Type: field. (Type enhanced if
the switch is a DEFINITY switch.)
- Press F3
(Enter) to save the information in the system database.
The cursor returns to
the command line, and the system displays the following message:
Command Successfully
Completed.
Step
2: Administering the Automated Attendant as a Subscriber
Automated attendants are administered
as regular subscribers except that you type auto-attendant in
the PERMISSIONS, Type: field of the Subscriber screen,
page 2. Once administered in this way, a new page (Page 3) becomes available
for setting the special features associated with an automated attendant,
such as the actions the automated attendant performs when a caller presses
specific buttons.
You must create a nested attendant
before the main or higher-layer attendant that will contain it (see
Planning an Automated Attendant).
For complete information on adding
a new subscriber, see Adding Subscribers.
To administer the automated attendant
as a subscriber:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter one of the following commands:
- add subscriber extension,
where extension is the extension number of a new extension
that will be the new automated attendant.
- change subscriber extension,
where extension is an existing extension number you want
to use as an automated attendant.
The system displays
the Automated Attendant Subscriber screen,
page 1.
- Complete the fields
as follows:
-
Name: –
Enter a 1- to 29-alphabetic character name for the automated attendant.
The name must be touch-tone unique.
-
Extension:
– Enter the extension of the automated attendant. The extension
can be determined as follows:
- If you are using a routing
table, the extension of the main automated attendant is the number
you defined in the table. (See Setting
Up a Call Routing Table for more information and instructions.)
- If you are not using a
routing table, the extension of the main automated attendant is
the telephone number callers will dial to access the attendant.
- For a nested automated
attendant, the extension is an extension accessed as an option on
a main or higher-layer automated attendant.
|
Security Risk!
The extension you enter in this field should be an administered
extension on the switch to minimize the possibility of toll
fraud. |
-
COS:—
Enter the class of service (COS) name or number you want for this
automated attendant. You may create a special COS that identifies
the PERMISSIONS, Type: as automated attendant. If you
do so, enter the name or number of that COS in this field so you
do not have to customize Page 2 of the automated attendant Subscriber
screen.
|
If you decide to set up an automated attendant COS, be sure
that existing subscribers are not already assigned to that
COS. |
-
Switch Number:
— Enter the number of the switch on which the automated attendant's
extension is administered. A valid entry in this field is an integer
from 0 to 64. A 0 (zero) in this field means that the attendant
has an AUDIX mailbox, but does not have an extension on the switch.
The default is the administered host switch number from the Switch
Interface Administration window.
|
Note: The message
waiting indicator (MWI) does not work properly unless the
switch number on this screen is the same as the host switch
number assigned on the Switch Interface Administration screen.
Normally, there should be no need to use anything other than
the default value on this screen. |
- Press F7
(NextPage).
The system displays the
Automated Attendant Subscriber screen, page
2.
- Complete the fields
as follows:
-
Addressing Format:
- Enter name if you
want callers to be able to enter names rather than extensions to
select certain destinations.
- Enter extension
if you want callers to enter extension numbers to select certain
destinations.
-
Call Answer Language
Choice?
- Enter y if you
purchased multilingual announcement sets and are using the Multilingual
feature to give callers the option to listen to voice prompts in
another language.
- Enter n if you
are using either the Single or Multiple Personal Greetings feature
to record the voice prompts for the automated attendant menus.
-
Call Answer Secondary
Annc. Set: — Enter the name of the secondary language
set you want callers to be able to select. This only applies if
you purchased a second announcement set and entered y into
the Call Answer Language Choice? field. If you are
using Multiple Personal Greetings for the voice prompts, skip this
field.
-
PERMISSIONS, Type:
— Enter auto-attendant
- Press F7
(NextPage).
The system displays the
Automated Attendant Subscriber screen, page
3.
- Complete the fields
on this screen using the following information:
- When you finish
entering the automated attendant information, press F3 (Enter)
to save the information in the system database.
The cursor returns to the command
line, and the system displays the following message:
Command Successfully Completed.
- Enter exit
or another administrative command at the
enter
command: prompt.
Step
3: Recording Greetings for the Automated Attendant Menu
Use your touchtone telephone to record
the automated attendant menu greetings that callers hear when they press
a key on their telephones. You record an attendant menu greeting in
the same way you record a personal greeting. The only difference is
that you record the greeting for the attendant extension, and the greeting
describes the options for the attendant.
It is a good idea to write down a
script for the menu greeting ahead of time and read it aloud to a colleague
before recording it. We also recommend that you write down the menu
greeting numbers so that you have both the number and the corresponding
greeting script if you need to re-record any greetings at a later date.
You might want to consider including
the following in the menu greeting script:
- A "hello and welcome" greeting
followed by the menu choices available to the caller
- An instruction on pressing
* 8 to transfer to a specific extension (if this option is
active) and press the pound sign
- An instruction to wait if
a time-out extension is administered
- An instruction on pressing
* 4 to repeat the menu selections
|
Note: You can also
set up a one-button press to repeat the menu by putting the
automated attendant's extension in the Extension
field and call-answer in the Treatment field. |
Recording an Automated Attendant Menu Greeting (No Multiple Personal
Greetings)
To record a single automated attendant
menu greeting (the Multiple Personal Greetings feature is not used):
- Log in as the automated
attendant using the extension and password (if any) you assigned on
the Subscriber screen.
- At the activity
menu, press 3 to administer the attendant menu.
- Press 1
to record the attendant menu greeting.
- At the tone, speak
the scripted greeting for the menu and then press 1 to stop
the recording.
- Press 1 again to
record from where you last stopped.
- Press 2 3 to listen
to the recording.
- Press * 3 to delete
and re-record.
- Press #
to approve.
Recording
an Automated Attendant Menu Greeting (Multiple Personal Greetings)
With multiple personal greetings,
your automated attendant menu greeting can change according to the type
of call. For example, you can have one greeting for out-of-hours calls
and another for calls during regular business hours. You can also have
different menus for internal and external calls.
|
Note: If your system
loses any voice messages, for example, due to a disk crash, you
must check each of the automated attendant menu greetings to ensure
that none were lost. It is a good idea to write down the scripts
for the menu greetings as a precaution. If an automated attendant
menu greeting is lost, re-record it.
If an automated attendant menu is lost or was never recorded,
callers hear a system announcement indicating that attendant services
are not available. The system also makes an entry in the Administrator's
Log each time a caller dials the automated attendant extension.
You can view these logs at any time (see The
Administrator's Log). |
Step 4:
Confirming Automated Attendant Administration
The process of defining an automated
attendant menu system is complete when all of its submenu's are defined
and all the voice prompts including any announcements such as attendant
menus are recorded. INTUITY AUDIX provides a testing utility. This
is a convenient way to test the structure of a menu so that callers
do not encounter an incomplete automatic-attendant menu tree.
To access the testing utility:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter display auto-attend-routing menu-tree
The system displays the
Auto-Attendant Menu Tree screen.
|
Tip: The display
command can be preceded by print. This way the display
is printed on your system printer. |
- Complete the fields
in this screen using the information in the table for Field
Definitions: Auto-Attendant Menu Tree screen.
- Press F3
(Enter) to begin testing the menu tree.
The testing utility searches
automated attendant menus to verify that each mentioned automated
attendant mailbox exists and that the necessary personal greeting(s)
have been recorded.
The program tests nested
mailboxes until they have all been tested. As the testing proceeds,
the results display on the screen.
- Press F1
(Cancel) to return the cursor to the command line.
- Enter exit
or another administrative command at the
enter
command: prompt.
Examples
of Automated Attendants
The examples in the following topics
describe some applications for the Automated Attendant feature. Use
these examples as models when defining your own automated attendants.
Setting
Up a Main Attendant
A main attendant is an attendant
that can be reached directly by callers who dial through your switch.
This attendant can answer your company's main telephone, or an individual
department's main telephone. It must be associated with an extension
that is administered on the switch.
The Automated
Attendant Subscriber screen, page 3 example shows the administrative
entries for setting up this type of main automated attendant.
For this example, the automated attendant
is set up to answer the company's main telephone. It offers callers
the option of leaving a message for the sales department; transferring
to the accounting, personnel, or payroll departments by pressing a number;
dialing any internal extension that begins with 3; or transferring to
a receptionist. If the caller does not respond within 5 seconds (perhaps
because the caller has a rotary telephone), the call is transferred
automatically to the receptionist.
If the caller chooses to transfer
to accounting or personnel, the caller immediately hears the call answer
greeting active for the mailbox associated with extension 37200 or 37300.
The caller is not transferred through the switch because of the call
answer treatment. Finally, to repeat this menu, callers can press 9.
Switch administration determines
when calls are routed to the main attendant's extension. For example,
the switch can be administered to route all incoming calls to this extension
instead of to a receptionist, or to only route calls to this extension
after normal business hours or during busy periods.
Setting
Up Nested Attendants
A nested attendant is an attendant
that is invoked by another attendant. The nested attendant can also
be a main attendant. That is, the extension can be reached directly
by internal and external callers who dial the extension number directly.
For example, callers who dial the
accounting department's extension directly can hear voice options from
a main attendant for that department, as can callers who transfer to
the accounting department by pressing 4 at the main menu in the previous
example. The accounting department's attendant is said to be nested
beneath the company's main menu.
Additional menus can be nested beneath
the accounting department's attendant, such as for transferring to the
payroll or accounts receivable desk.
To administer an automated attendant
system that contains nested attendants, you must start from the bottom,
or deepest, layer and work your way backwards to the main or higher-layer
attendant that will contain it. For instance, to administer the menu
system described in the example below, you must define and administer
the accounting department automated attendant before defining and administering
the main automated attendant.
A good approach to setting up nested
automated attendants is to diagram the complete system on paper, including
telephone keypad options and their corresponding menu or call treatment.
You might also want to write the scripts for the menu greetings at this
time. Once you are satisfied with the structure of your menu tree, start
administering the tree from the last layer, and continue backwards until
you reach and administer the main automated attendant.
A simple example of this application
is shown below. In this example, pressing 2 at the main menu
transfers the caller to the accounting department's attendant, and pressing
3 at that attendant transfers the call to the payroll department's
extension.
|
Attendant |
Button |
Extension |
Treatment |
Result |
|
main |
2 |
52200 |
call-answer |
go to accounting attendant |
|
accounting |
3 |
52205 |
transfer |
transfer to payroll extension |
To the caller, this nesting is transparent
because the nested attendant is invoked immediately by the system without
transferring the caller through the switch. The caller in this example
hears the main attendant options, presses 2 to transfer to accounting,
hears the accounting department attendant options, and presses 3
to transfer to the payroll extension without the delay that is associated
with transferring back through the switch.
Setting
Up Shared Extensions
If several subscribers share a single
telephone extension, a simple method is required for a caller to leave
a message for any of the subscribers or for a specific individual. An
automated attendant can handle this task by providing callers with options
to leave a message for the extension or any of the individuals who share
it. The attendant extension is administered at the switch. Nonresident
subscriber extensions in the AUDIX system, that is, extensions that
are not administered at the switch, are used for each of the sharing
subscribers. The automated attendant can transfer callers directly to
these mailboxes to leave messages.
|
Note: Because message
waiting indicators (MWIs) are associated with individual telephone
sets and not with AUDIX mailboxes, the MWI for a shared extension
is be activated when a new message is in the mailbox for the extension
number that is shared, but not when new messages are in the mailboxes
of the individual subscribers only. If you administer your system
to use shared extensions in this way, inform your subscribers
to check their mailboxes periodically, whether or not the MWI
is active. |
For example, a company sets up an
information desk with a single telephone to provide callers with any
necessary information or assistance as described in Example:
Setting Up an Automated Attendant for Shared Extensions. Two people
answer the telephone during the day. They do not have individual telephones
and can be reached only through the information desk. They are administered
as AUDIX subscribers and are associated with extensions in the AUDIX
system that are not administered on the switch.
If someone calls the information
desk and the telephone is not answered or is busy, the call is routed
to the automated attendant. The automated attendant in this example
prompts callers to leave a message for the information desk or for one
of the individuals who staff the desk.
If the caller selects an individual
(button 2 or 3 in this example), the caller goes directly to the subscriber's
AUDIX mailbox to hear the individual's call answer greeting and then
leaves a message. If the caller does not respond to the automated attendant
prompt within 5 seconds, the AUDIX system plays the system guest password
greeting, "Please leave a message for <name>." The voiced name
in this example is whatever name is recorded for the subscriber with
extension 37001. This name is probably "information desk," since that
is the name of the extension.
In this example, a message left
in the mailbox of the information desk extension activates the extension's
message waiting indicator (MWI). A message left in the mailbox of one
of the sharing individuals does not. These individuals must call into
the AUDIX system to check for messages or use the Outcalling feature.
Setting
Up Nonresident Subscriber Extensions
Nonresident subscribers are
AUDIX subscribers who do not have an extension on a switch that is served
by the AUDIX system. Mailbox numbers in the system for these subscribers
correspond to AUDIX extensions that are not administered on the switch.
(The subscribers with extensions 33304 and 33305 in the previous example
are nonresident subscribers.)
|
Security Risk!
Setting up nonresident subscribers with numbers that begin with
trunk dial access codes could contribute to toll fraud. Always
assign extensions that do not allow access to any outside lines.
For more information about guarding your system against toll fraud,
see Security. |
An example of a nonresident subscriber
is an outside sales representative who needs to receive messages from
clients. To accommodate this type of subscriber, an automated attendant
can be set up to move callers directly to nonresident subscriber mailboxes
as described in Example: Setting Up an Automated
Attendant for Nonresident Subscriber Extensions. The caller needs
to know only the number of the automated attendant and the nonresident
subscriber's mailbox number to leave a message. Once in the nonresident
subscriber's mailbox, the caller hears either the system guest greeting
or the nonresident subscriber's call answer greeting, depending on the
transfer treatment that is specified on the Subscriber screen.
In this example, the extension number
for each nonresident subscriber is a 5-digit number beginning with 3,
and the extension number for the automated attendant is 37001. The nonresident
subscriber provides clients with the telephone number of the automated
attendant and the subscriber's own mailbox number.
With the system administered in
this way, clients dial xx3-7001, listen to the automated attendant menu,
enter the nonresident subscriber's mailbox number, listen to the subscriber's
personal greeting, and leave a message. If the caller does not enter
a mailbox number within 5 seconds, the call is transferred to a sales
clerk.
If the treatment for calls that go
directly to mailboxes is "guest-greeting" instead of "call-answer,"
callers hear the system guest greeting "Please leave a message for name"
instead of the nonresident subscriber's personal greeting.
Setting
up Automated Attendant Fax Extensions
An automated attendant can be set
up to relay faxes to subscribers' primary or secondary fax extensions.
The advantage of this arrangement is that you can provide fax delivery
for your subscribers without paying for additional Direct Inward Dialing
(DIDs) lines or personal trunks for fax extensions. The disadvantage
is that incoming calls cannot be automatically dialed because the caller
must enter touchtones to select from the automated attendant menu.
Set up an automated attendant with
fax extensions in the same way you set up an automated attendant for
nonresident subscribers. See Setting Up Nonresident
Subscriber Extensions. The warning in that section also applies
to fax extensions.
Administer secondary extensions as
described in Administering a Secondary
Fax Extension. If the secondary extensions are not to be associated
with DID lines, ignore the caution statement about setting up a DID
line for each secondary fax extension.
Setting
Up Automated Attendants to Transfer by Name
Automated attendants can allow callers
to transfer to subscribers by spelling out subscriber names.
For transfers by name, you must:
The Example:
Setting Up an Automated Attendant for Call Transfer by Name illustrates
an automated attendant administered to allow transfers by name.
The voiced menu for this type of
automated attendant should tell the caller to spell the person's name
to which they want to transfer, last name first, by pressing the keys
on the telephone keypad. Because callers use only the numbers 2 through
9 to spell a name, you can code buttons 1 and 0 to transfer directly
to another destination (such as a live attendant). In this case, the
menu should also instruct callers on how to transfer by extension (for
example, "To transfer to an extension, press star 8 (*T) and the 5-digit
extension number, followed by the pound sign.").
Using
Multiple Greetings for Automated Attendants
The Automated Attendant feature can
be quite flexible when used with the Multiple Personal Greetings feature.
Since the voiced menu is the personal greeting for the automated attendant's
extension, administering personal greetings for an automated attendant
is the same as for any subscriber.
The Multiple Personal Greetings feature
allows you to specify as many as 9 unique personal greetings for the
extension, and to specify circumstances for using different greetings,
such as for internal and external calls, busy and no-answer calls, and
out-of-hours calls. Use the System Parameters Features screen to define
the out-of-hours period. Calls made outside of prime time as defined
on that screen are considered to be out-of-hours.
If an out-of-hours greeting is selected,
it overrides internal/external and busy/no-answer identification for
all calls received during the period designated out-of-hours. Note that
multiple greetings can be set up for either internal/ external or busy/no-answer,
but not for both at the same time. Internal/external and out-of-hours
make sense for most automated attendants.
When used for an automated attendant,
multiple personal greetings allow you to provide not only different
greetings, but to voice different options for selected types of callers.
Even though the voiced greetings are different for different types of
callers, the available menu options remain the same for each call.
For example, you can define the following
greetings for the automated attendant:
- For all external
calls, the greeting is:
- "Thank you for calling
Smith and Jones."
- "To transfer to a specific
extension, enter that extension now."
- "To reach the sales department,
press 1."
- "To reach the accounting
department, press 2."
- "To reach the personnel
department, press 3."
- "To get further assistance,
press 0 or wait."
|
Note: You may
want to have a main automated attendant that has a greeting
similar to, "Thank you for calling Smith and Jones. If you
have a touchtone telephone, press 1. If you are calling from
a rotary telephone, please wait and an attendant will be with
you shortly." |
- For all internal
calls, the greeting is:
- "To reach a specific person,
enter the extension."
- "To reach Sales, press
1."
- "For Accounting, press
2."
- "For Personnel, press 3."
- "For Security, press 8."
- "To access employee bulletin
board information, press 9."
- For all out-of-hours
callers, the greeting is:
- "Thank you for calling
Smith and Jones."
- "Our normal office hours
are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday."
- "To leave a message for
a specific person, enter the mailbox number using the keys on your
touchtone telephone."
- "If this is an emergency,
please press 8."
The example above allows the automated
attendant to voice specific information for different types of callers
and to exclude or include options depending on caller type.
|
Note: All options
listed on the Subscriber screen are available to all callers;
they are just not mentioned as options in the greeting. |
Setting
Up a Call Routing Table
INTUITY AUDIX provides a conditional
routing capability. You can use the routing table and its associated
screens to base automated attendant operation on as many as 4 business
schedules and as many as 4 holiday schedules. (If you have a MERLIN
LEGEND switch, you can also base operations on the switch's night service
schedule.)
Overview
of Business Schedules
The business schedules divides the
24-hour day into three parts called day service, night service, and
alternate service.
Day and
Night Service
Calls can be routed to one mailbox
for day service and to another for night service. A business may, for
example, set day-service hours to be the period when the business is
open, and it may send calls to a night-service mailbox during the remaining
hours and on weekends.
If your switch is a MERLIN LEGEND
switch, you can set day and night service for a particular business
schedule in either of two ways. You can:
- Fill in the day-service
hours in a business schedule
- Choose to have a business
schedule follow the night-service schedule established for the switch
Since 4 business schedules are available
to you, you can use both arrangements as necessary for differing purposes.
Alternate
Service
Alternate service is a period of
time that you can define when calls may be sent to a third destination
during either day- or night-service hours. This period may be used,
for example, to provide a special automated attendant to handle calls
from other time zones during the transition from day to night service.
Alternate service can also be used to cover for an operator during the
lunch hour.
Overview
of Holiday Schedules
Holiday schedules make it possible
to deviate from the normal business schedule for a day at a time. You
might use these schedules to play different greetings and to handle
calls differently on holidays. There are four holiday schedules. On
each of them, you can record up to 26 dates along with the automated
attendant mailbox to be used on each date. If you have separate schedules
for the sales office and for the warehouse, for example, you could send
sales-office calls to one mailbox during a sales conference, and warehouse
calls to another mailbox during inventory time.
Overview
of the Routing Table
The business and holiday schedules
are tied together within a routing table. A routing table applies the
schedules to an incoming called number such as an incoming trunk or
covered extension. You administer the routing table so that the automated
attendant extension you want to handle the calls at the various times
is also tied with the appropriate schedule.
When a caller dials a number that
appears in the leftmost column of the routing table, for example on
the Auto-Attendant Routing Table screen,
the holiday schedule is checked first. If the current date does not
appear in the holiday schedule, the business schedule is checked. If
the time of day is covered in the business schedule under alternate
service, the call is sent to the alternate service mailbox. If not,
then depending on the time of day, the call is sent to the day-service
or to the night-service mailbox.
Setting
Up a Business Schedule
See Overview
of Business Schedules for a detailed description of the process
for setting up a business schedule.
To set up the business schedules:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter change auto-attend-routing business-
schedule schedule_number where schedule_number
is a number from 1 to 4 that corresponds to the schedule you want
to administer.
|
Note: The name of
the schedule can be substituted for the number. |
The system displays the
Auto-Attendant Routing Business Schedules screen.
- Complete the fields
on this screen using the information in the table for Field
Definitions: Auto-Attendant Routing Business Schedule screen.
- Press F3
(Enter) to save the information to the system database.
The cursor returns to
the command line, and the system displays the following message:
Command Successfully
Completed.
- Enter exit
or another administrative command at the
enter
command: prompt.
Setting
Up a Holiday Schedule
See Overview
of Holiday Schedules for a detailed description of the process for
setting up a holiday schedule.
To set up the holiday schedule:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter change auto-attend-routing holiday-schedule
schedule_number, where schedule_number
is the number (1–4) that corresponds to the schedule you want
to administer. (The name of the schedule can be substituted for the
number if you prefer.)
The system displays the
Auto-Attendant Routing Holiday Schedules screen.
|
Note: The automated
attendant must be set up before you can type it in the Mailbox
field. |
- Complete the fields
on this screen using the information in the table for Field
Definitions: Auto-Attendant Routing Holiday Schedule screen.
- Press F3
(Enter) to save the information to the system database.
The cursor returns to
the command line, and the system displays the following message:
Command Successfully
Completed.
- Enter exit
or another administrative command at the
enter
command: prompt.
Completing
the Routing Table
Now that the schedules are set up
to suit your business purposes, you are ready to complete the routing
table. See Overview of the Routing Table
for conceptual information about routing schedules.
To complete the routing table:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter change auto-attend-routing routing-table
The system displays the
Auto-Attendant Routing Table screen.
The routing function redirects
calls to specified numbers according to the instructions given in
the business and holiday schedules and the routing table.
Using the Auto-Attendant
Routing Table screen as an example, if a call came in on trunk
802 on New Year's Day, the call would be routed according to the Holiday
Schedule hol1. Referring to Auto-Attendant
Routing Holiday Schedules screen, you see that on 01/01 (New Year's
Day), calls are directed to extension 9999. This extension might be
administered with a greeting that tells the caller that the office
is closed for the day. If the call came in on trunk 802 during a regular
business day, it would be routed to extension 9003.
- Complete the routing
table using the information in the table for Field
Definitions: Auto-Attendant Routing Table screen.
- Press F3
(Enter) to save the information to the system database.
The cursor returns to
the command line, and the system displays the following message:
Command Successfully
Completed.
- Enter exit
or another administrative command at the
enter
command: prompt.
Viewing
a List of Automated Attendants
The List Attendants screen lists
the automated attendants by their extension numbers. The list is in
numerical order of extension number starting with either the lowest
extension number or the extension specified in the command line.
To view a list of automated attendants:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter list attendant auto_attendant/extension
where auto_attendant/extension is the name or extension number
of the automated attendant with which you want the list to start.
If you want to see a list that starts with the lowest extension number,
just enter list attendant.
|
Tip: The list command
can be preceded by print. This way the list is printed
on your system printer. |
The system displays the
List Attendants screen. The table for Field
Definitions: List Attendant screen contains descriptions of the
fields on this screen.
- Press F1
(Cancel).
The cursor returns to
the command line, and the system displays the following message:
Command Successfully
Completed.
- To verify that
your automated attendant menus are working as you intended, follow
the procedures in Step 4: Confirming Automated
Attendant Administration.
Viewing
a List of Automated Attendant Schedules
The Auto-Attendant Schedules screen
lists the automated attendant holiday schedules and business schedules
by name and number. The list is in numerical order by schedule number.
To view a list of automated attendant
schedules:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter list auto-attend-schedules
The system displays a
listing of the names and numbers of all business and holiday automated
attendant schedules.
- Press F1
(Cancel).
The cursor returns to
the command line, and the system displays the following message:
Command Successfully
Completed.
- Enter exit
or another administrative command at the
enter
command: prompt.
To verify that your automated
attendant menus are working as you intended, follow the procedures
in Step 4: Confirming Automated Attendant
Administration.
Setting
Up a Bulletin Board
A bulletin board is an electronic
message system that callers can access to hear messages. Callers dial
the bulletin board telephone number or reach it via an automated attendant,
and the system answers and presents callers with a recorded message.
The major differences between a bulletin board and an automated attendant
are as follows:
- A bulletin board does not
have an option to route the call.
- A bulletin board does not
present a menu of buttons for callers to select.
- A bulletin board does not
have the capability to allow callers to replay the greeting.
This extension is administered on
the switch to immediately forward calls to the INTUITY AUDIX system.
The message that callers hear is the personal greeting for the bulletin
board's mailbox.
Bulletin boards are administered
as regular subscribers, with some exceptions, such as typing bulletin-board
in the PERMISSIONS, Type: field of the Subscriber screen.
|
Note: The INTUITY
AUDIX system does not disconnect the call after a caller listens
to a bulletin board greeting. In the bulletin board greeting,
you should instruct listeners to hang up after listening to the
message. |
Step
1: Completing the Subscriber Screen
See Adding Subscribers for complete tasks and field
descriptions on adding a new subscriber.
To complete the subscriber screen
for setting up a bulletin board:
- Start at the Messaging Administration main menu and
select under Messaging Administration:
Enter your login.The system then displays the AUDIX
Command Prompt screen.
- At the
enter
command: prompt, enter one of the following commands:
- add subscriber extension,
where extension is the extension number of a new extension
that will be the new bulletin board.
- change subscriber extension,
where extension is an existing extension number you want
to use as a bulletin board.
The system displays
the Bulletin Board Subscriber screen, page
1.
- Complete the fields
as follows:
-
Name: —
Enter the name of the bulletin board. This name should describe
the bulletin board's function.
-
Extension:
— Enter the bulletin board's extension. Use an extension that
is administered on the switch if you want callers to access the
bulletin board using the dialed number. Use an extension that is
not administered on the switch, that is, a phantom
extension, if you want callers to access the bulletin board via
an automated attendant.
-
COS: —
Enter the class of service name or number you want for this bulletin
board. You may create a COS that identifies the PERMISSIONS,
Type: as bulletin-board. If you do so, enter the name
or number of that COS in this field so you do not have to customize
Page 2 of the Subscriber screen.
-
Switch Number:
— Enter the number of the switch on which the bulletin board's
extension is administered. A valid entry in this field is an integer
from 0 to 64. A 0 (zero) in this field means that the bulletin board
has an AUDIX mailbox but does not have an extension on the switch.
The default is the administered host switch number from the Switch
Interface Administration screen.
- Press F7
(NextPage).
The system displays the
Bulletin Board Subscriber Screen, Page 2.
- Complete the fields
as follows:
-
PERMISSIONS, Type:
— Enter bulletin-board for bulletin board.
-
Mailbox Size, Maximum:
— Enter the maximum number of seconds of mailbox space for
the bulletin board. A valid entry is a number from 0 to 32767. Normally,
you enter a small number, for example, 800, since in most cases
a bulletin board does not receive voice mail, but still needs enough
space to record the bulletin board message.
- Press F3
(Enter) to save the information to the system database.
The cursor returns to
the command line, and the system displays the following message:
Command Successfully
Completed.
- Enter exit
or another administrative command at the
enter
command: prompt.
Step 2:
Recording the Bulletin Board Message
You record a bulletin board message
in the same way you record a personal greeting. It is a good idea to
write down a script for the bulletin board ahead of time and read it
aloud to a colleague before recording it.
|
Note: The INTUITY
AUDIX system does not disconnect the call after a caller listens
to a bulletin board greeting. Therefore, you should instruct listeners
to hang up after listening to the message. |
To record the bulletin board message:
- Using your touchtone
telephone, call the AUDIX system and log in using the extension and
password of the bulletin board.
- At the activity
menu, press 3 to record the message.
- Press a numbered
button to specify the greeting number (if multiple personal greetings
is active).
- Press 1
to record the bulletin board greetings.
- At the tone, speak
the scripted greeting for the menu and then press 1 to stop
the recording.
- Press 1 again to
record from where you last stopped.
- Press 2 3 if you
want to listen to the recording.
- Press * 3 if you
want to delete and re-record.
- Press #
to approve.
- Press Y
to activate the recording.
With multiple personal greetings,
your bulletin board message can change according to call type(s) (for
example, use one message for internal calls and another message for
external calls).
Using Bulletin Boards with an
Automated Attendant
An automated attendant may present
multiple choices for listening to bulletin board messages that are set
up with the information service Bulletin Board feature. Use the call
answer treatment on the screen for bulletin board extensions to route
callers directly into the selected bulletin board's mailbox.
For example, you could set up three
different bulletin boards, then set up an automated attendant as shown
in the Example: Using Bulletin Boards with Automated
Attendants.
In this example, the automated attendant
would prompt the caller to press the appropriate button to hear a bulletin
board message. Callers are not allowed to use * 8 call transfer
from this attendant, as it is denied on the Subscriber screen.
Bulletin board extensions in this
example are AUDIX extensions that are not administered at the switch.
These extensions can only be reached by dialing this automated attendant.
Callers who select one of these extensions are forwarded directly to
the extension's mailbox to hear the call answer greeting.
