Avaya Partner ACS R7 - some confusion

[stpaulkent]

I've been working in this office for almost a year and I finally decided it was time to master the phone system. We have two extensions, one at my desk and another in an office that isn't currently being used, but will be soon. I have 2 things I cannot understand no matter how many times I read the manual, look at help forums, etc.

1. When I answer a call, I have to push the lit/blinking button, BUT then I hear dialing before the person comes on the line. The caller does not hear the dialing. Why is it doing this/how do I change it so that when the phone rings, I can simply pick up the handset and connect (not press the lit button) and not hear dialing. And also, set it so that I can pick up the handset and dial without pressing a line button.

2. We are a church, so it would be nice to have an auto attendant selector code to play an announcement with our service times, in addition to being able to connect with the receptionist (me) and eventually the second office. I see there is a way to do this, but I cannot make it work for me. When I log in to system admin and select the auto attendant, I can either listen to the auto attendant message, or change it, dialing 9 for
"create announcement" is not available to me, even if I press 9, nothing happens.

Thanks if you can help me resolve this.

 

[WikiTech]

Your Ext # & the other Ext #, need to have line ringing & auto line select assign to them.This is programmed from Ext. programming in system admin (X10 or X11). The auto line select, will give you an outside line automatically when you lift your receiver.I like to program this in reverse order, so if you have 4-lines, you would touch ** then line 4,3,2,1 **.
To eliminate the dialing you are hearing (mode codes) just assign "auto privacy" to your hunt group extension #'s. These are the ext's assigned to voicemail, usually 2 or 4 extensions.
re: selector codes> I would assign a ghost mailbox in lieu of going that route (simple).If you have a phone in the kitchen or another room that does not have voicemail then assign it a mailbox and record the greeting with your church's info and at the end of the greeting add "if you need more info, please dial *8-0. In the auto attendant, you would record, "for church service info, please dial 17 (mailbox # you have chosen)

 

[stpaulkent]

WikiTech,

Thanks for responding promptly. I thought that's what I should do from the manual, but it's not working. I have programmed like you said, but when I pick up the line, the intercom button lights up. I then have to press the line button to dial out.

I have assigned auto privacy to the hunt group extension #'s, but I am still hearing the dialing.

I am going to wait until I fix the other issues before attempting the ghost mailbox, but I see what you are saying and it seems like a good solution.

I'll try not to bang my head on the desk too much in the meantime. Thanks again.

 

[stpaulkent]

Update:

I kept trying and I'm not sure exactly what I did differently (nothing, unless I'm going crazy) but now when I pick up the handset, the correct line lights up. The mode codes are no more. So hooray for that. Is it possible that it just takes a bit for these settings to process?

Now to work on the auto attendant portion.

Thanks so much WikiTech, I will let you know how the message/selector codes work out.

 

[TouchToneTommy]

1. When I answer a call, I have to push the lit/blinking button, BUT then I hear dialing before the person comes on the line. The caller does not hear the dialing. Why is it doing this/how do I change it so that when the phone rings, I can simply pick up the handset and connect (not press the lit button) and not hear dialing. And also, set it so that I can pick up the handset and dial without pressing a line button.

Everything you have described here is what happens when a regular telephone gets assigned to Hunt Group 7, which is the group for the Voice Mail system itself, NOT phones that have mailboxes on the system. Voicemail system ports get Intercom when they go off hook, BUT the Intercom dial tone sounds like "Outside" dial tone. They need to dial 9 to get from Intercom to an outside line (or if mis-assigned to an actual telephone, you can press the line button), when answering an incoming call, you hear "mode codes" before the audio is connected through to the caller. These mode codes signal to the voicemail system how to handle the call it is answering (such as play the auto attendant, play a mailbox, give the log in prompt)

Go into System Programming, and remove the telephone on your desk from hunt group 7
At Ext. 10:
Feature 00
Left Intercom Twice
#505-7-(Extension Number)-2
Feature 00

 

[WikiTech]

When you decide what mailbox to populate with Church info in the greeting, if you decide to use a "part time" phone, assign a "do not disturb" button to the phone and activate it. This way, callers that select "church info" off your auto-attendant day and/or night menu, will get it immediately upon transfer without the 3-4 ring delay.

 

[Dexman]

I installed a Merlin Magix and voiced the auto attendant greetings at my Church. I recorded the Worship and Bible study times under an announcement.

Included in the announcement verbiage are instructions on what to press to return to the main menu, repeat the announcement or end the call.

The main greeting verbiage includes the names and extensions of the 3 staff members.

I know that each Church has different requirements, so, this arrangement might not be ideal for your situation.

I "FEATURE 00"

http://dexman.webs.com/

 

[stpaulkent]

Thanks everyone! Phone is working to my satisfaction. Still trying to decide what to do about auto attendant and the announcements. We only have the two phones, but the other isn't being used, so I suppose I could do the DND feature. The temporary rector will only need to make calls from time to time when he's here, not receive them.