A business can deploy automated attendant service in either primary or secondary operational mode.
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 0or those who make no selection.
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.
Typically businesses are considered open during the day and closed during the night. The messaging software 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.
The automated attendant can use the messaging softwares weekly business schedule for time-of-day operation or it can rely on the Communication Manager server to indicate when it should operate in a day schedule and night schedule. It makes no difference to the automated attendant service whether day/night operation is controlled by the Communication Manager server or by the messaging software's own weekly business 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.
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.
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.
Automated attendants can work with rotary telephone users if the messaging 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 orStandalone 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 messaging software 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.