Note - Please leave the Time Frame as "Default" when creating a new auto attendant. 

Since Oct 19, 2020 there is a more strict enforcement of DTMF not being allowed while an Intro greeting is being played. If you provide instruction for a user in the intro greeting, this will fail. Please ensure all Auto Attendant instructions are in the menu prompt recording

This article will go over Automated Attendant creation, features, and management.

Prerequisites

• Manager Portal access with Office Manager scope.

Displaying the Auto Attendants Page

All auto attendant tasks are performed from the Auto Attendants page. To display this page, click the Auto Attendants icon on the menu bar:

The following figure shows an example of the Auto Attendants page. The  button at the top-right side of the page refreshes the information on the page.

Adding Auto Attendants

The following procedure describes how to add auto attendants.

• From the Auto Attendants page, click the Add Attendant button. The Add an Auto Attendant pop-up window appears.
  
• Complete the fields

• Click Continue. A page similar to the following appears.
  
  
  
  
• Complete the fields.

• Click Save

Recording Intro Greetings and Menu Prompts

2/19/2019 - When recording Intro Greetings and Menu Prompts leave the Time Frame as "Default". This is required due to the feature currently behaving in such a way that will affect your ability to use timeframes in the inventory and other places. The feature if used outside of the default timeframe will create duplicate unlabeled versions of the Automated Attendant per each recording.

Each auto attendant can have an optional introductory greeting that plays when a call is directed to the auto attendant followed by the menu prompt. An example of an introductory greeting might be:

"Thank you for calling Acme Corporation. You've reached us outside normal business hours."

A menu prompt might be:

“Press 1 for sales, press 2 for marketing, or press 0 for operator assistance.”

Separating intro greetings from menu prompts allows you to change greetings for holidays or night-time hours, for example, without re-recording the entire message.

To record an intro greeting:

• From Auto Attendants page, click the  icon next to Intro Greetings. A Manage Greetings pop-up window similar to the following appears.
  
• From this pop-up window:
  – To play a greeting, click the icon.
  – To upload a new greeting, hover over it, and then click the icon on the right side of the row. For New Greeting, click Upload. Click the Browse button, navigate to the MP3 or WAV file you want to use for your greeting, click the file, and click Open. Click Upload.
  – To record a new greeting, hover over it, and then click icon on the right side of the row. For New Greeting, click Record. In the Call me at field, enter the number to call (either an extension or a telephone number such as your cell phone) and click Call. Your phone will be called. At the prompt, record the new greeting, and then press # when you finish your recording.
  – To delete a recording, hover over it, and then click the icon at the far right of the row. At the confirmation prompt, click Yes to delete the recording or No to retain it.
  – When you finish, click Add Greeting followed by Done.

To record a menu prompt:

• From Auto Attendants page, under Menu Prompt, click either the field Click to add a new menu prompt or click the  icon next to the field. Either step displays a Manage Audio pop-up window similar to the following.
  
• Complete the fields

• Click Save in the Manage Audio pop-up window.

Editing Auto Attendants

There might be times when you need to edit auto attendants.

• From the Auto Attendants page, either:
  – Click a name
  OR
  – Hover over a name, and then click the  icon at the far right of the Auto Attendants page. For example:
  
• Either step displays a pop-up window similar to the following.
  
   
• Complete the fields.
• Click Save.

Multi-Language Support

The Auto Attendant system can handle multiple languages as it uses a configurable greeting and can also better handle invalid user input as the system will redirect back to the same Auto Attendant that was called into. If you would like this enabled on your domain, please contact support.

• Log into the Portal with a scope of Office Manager or higher and navigate to the Auto Attendants tab and click on the edit (pencil) icon next to the auto attendant you wish to edit.
• Click on the specific numbered option you wish to add the Directory to and select the Directory option; as shown below.
  
• After selecting this option you can now see a language drop-down displayed to the left of the Menu Prompt name box; as shown below.
  
• This allows you to select the language of the company directory message that is played, and also better redirection to the Auto Attendant the caller started for in the event that an unexpected input is received.

Deleting Auto Attendants

If you no longer need an auto attendant, you can delete it from the system.

• From the Auto Attendants page, hover over the auto attendant, and then click the  icon at the far right of the row. A confirmation prompt appears.
• Click Yes to delete the auto attendant or No to retain it.

Auto Attendant Best Practices

When configuring your auto attendant, observe the following best practices:

• Consider your callers. Do they know with whom they want to talk or what function they need (customer service, sales, and so on)? Taking your callers into account will help you determine how to configure your auto attendant.
• If callers know with whom they want to talk, assist them by providing options such as:
  – “Dial your party’s extension at any time.”
  – “Press x for a dial by name directory.”
  – “Press x for the first available person/general voicemail.”
  – “Press 1 for Bob, 2 for Susan,” and so on. However, this approach does not scale well.
• If callers do not know a specific person but need a function, provide options such as:
  – “Press x for a dial by name directory.”
  – “For sales, press 1.”
  – “For customer service, press 2.”
  – “For accounting, press 3.”

Keep greetings brief. Do not flood callers with too much information (hours, directions, fax numbers). Instead, place that information into a “play message” option.

Flowchart