Avaya Partner VS - Setting up Auto Attendant with selector codes 2

[KathleenD]

I have been trying to set up an auto attendant when people first call our business. What I would like to have happen is an automated voice saying, "Thank you for calling, etc. For our mass times please press 1. To speak to a member of our staff please press 2." When people press 1, it will take them to another recording of the times. When people press 2, it connects them to the office. Is anyone able to help me with this? I have searched, and called, and cannot find this anywhere!!

Thanks!

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Do you want callers to be able to dial 2-digit extension numbers directly? ("If you know your party's extension number, you may dial it at any time"). If so, consider that your extension numbers start with 10 and go up to some maximum, probably in the 10's or 20's, depending on how many phones you have. So, you can't have callers press 1 for some function and also dial extension numbers that start with a 1, the system won't wait to see if they dial anything more after the initial digit.

However, I've seen most churches want calls to filter through the office, and not allow callers to dial extensions, like the Father, directly, so you may want to set it up to NOT allow callers to dial 2-digit extension numbers directly.

Since there were 5 release of Partner Mail VS, the features available differ. In general, create a mailbox that is not associated with a particular telephone, record your mass times as the outgoing message, and in the Automated Attendant, make Selector Code transfer to that extension. The mailbox will answer, the caller will hear the mass times, and be prepared to have people leave messages and get mad that no one checked them and called them back!

Make Selector Cose 2 transfer to your Office extension. If you need more than one phone to ring when the caller selects the office, you need to put the office extensions into one of the 4 calling groups, and then make Selector Code 2 transfer to that group.

To find out which release your VS mail is, log into the System Administrator's mailbox, (99), and just listen to the full announcement, which will be something like "Partner Mail VS, Release 5"

Post more detailed information, and detailed steps can be given

 

[KathleenD]

Thanks so much, so initially I wanted to do the selector codes, but I don't believe I have the ability to do that. We have an Partner Mail VS, Release 5. So then I started looking into doing an automated greeting that would go to all calls - "Thanks for calling, here are the Easter mass times, if you need anything further please hold and we will be with you shortly." and then it would start ringing. I was researching in the manual and it said the phones need to have an answering service PC card installed? I'm not sure if I'm looking in the right section or if we just do not have that capability.

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Release 5 was the last one of the VS series, so it has all of the features you are looking for. You absolutely have the ability to use Selector Codes, so that you don't have to completely re-record your Automated Attendant greeting every time there is a change to the mass schedule. However, you must also see it from the perspective of your callers, do you want them to have to dial digits to hear the schedule?

No idea what you saw regarding "an answering service PC card" - never heard of something called that.

In its simplest form, you would record the automated attendant prompt just like you described, set Selector Code 0 (which is also the "timeout" option) to transfer to Ext. 10 or to your desired extension. You might also add, at the end of the message, something like "In the future, to bypass this message and ring through to the office, press 0 at any time". That way, they hear the schedule the first time they call, and if they remember, they don't have to listen to it every time they call.

If you want to prevent callers from dialing extension numbers directly, set each selector code from 1 through 9 to also transfer to your office extension.

 

[KathleenD]

Thanks so much for all your help - I think the best thing to do is an automated greeting, so that we only put it on when there are "different" masses, or emergency information people may need asap and then all the other "normal" times we would not have the automated message on. Do I need to do this from ext 10? I have been trying to do this literally all day...I've been very productive today... :/

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Do not have to use Ext. 10, you can do it from any phone

Try this

Intercom 777
When the voicemail system answers, dial 99#
Dial the System Administrator's password and press #
Press 9 for programming
Press 3 for Automated Attendants
Press 1 for Automated Attendant No. 1
Press 1 for the Day greeting
Press 6 to Modify the menu
Dial *# to keep the current selector code settings intact
Press 1 to record a new greeting for the Automated Attendant
Start speaking after the tone, and press 1 when finished
Press 23 to play back the recording
If the recording is OK, press *# to APPROVE and SAVE the message
If you need to re-record the message, press 21 and you will immediately return to the beep to start recording

See my cheat sheets and info at

http://www.touchtonetommy.com/files.html

 

[KathleenD]

You are a true hero!

So to then turn it off again - how do I do that?

 

[TouchToneTommy]

You want to make the Automated Attendant not answer at all?
You want to make the Automated Attendant only answer when you push a button on Ext. 10 to toggle it on and off?
You want to control how many rings before the Automated Attendant answers?

We know your voicemail system is Partner Mail VS R5, but we don't know which model and release your Partner phone system is. At a display phone, press Feature and dial 59. If the display shows "P ACS Rx.x", post back what you see. If nothing happens when you press Feature and dial 59, get on a phone call on an outside line, then press Feature and dial # 1. You will hear a series of beeps, count them, note if they are grouped with spaces between them, then post as something like 3 beeps, pause, 1 beep

So, the system routes incoming calls to the automated attendant, via some programming parameters, on a per line basis. Depending on which Partner model and release you're using, you can set it to answer immediately or after a delay, and day, night, or both

 

[crumthwacket]

KathleenD:

We all think TTT is great.

Why don't you send your appreciation by selecting the "Great post!" option at the bottom right of his reply.

"It's the right thing to do"

Wilford Brimley

 

[KathleenD]

When I dial Feature, 59 I see R3.0.3 C01

I would like to have the automated attendant on when we have "weird" mass times (i.e. Easter, Christmas, etc.) So I dont need it on all the time. So having the ability to turn it off and on again would be great.

Thanks!

 

[TouchToneTommy]

I would suggest that you set the Automated Attendant to answer when the system is in "Night Service", which is a button on Ext. 10 to toggle that mode.

You would add the button to Ext. 10
Set the automated attendant to only answer in the Night Mode
Set the number of rings it should wait before answering
Re-record your message in the NIGHT greeting

At Ext. 10
Feature 00
Left Intercom Twice
#503, 3, press the button that you want to assign as night service
#507, (dial 01 for line 1, 02 for line 2, etc), 3 (Night Only)
#506, 2 (Night Mode), (2-digit line number), (Number of Rings from 0 to 6)
Feature 00 to quit

 

[KathleenD]

Thanks - will this also give me the option to turn it off when it is no longer needed?

 

[TouchToneTommy]

It will only answer when you press the Night Service button that you add to Ext. 10, and the light next to the button is lit. When you turn the button off, the automated attendant will no longer answer incoming calls

 

[KathleenD]

okay, thanks!