VOIP Auto Attending Explained. How it works!
Many businesses contact Rich Technology Group to get information regarding auto-attendants, their internal working, what are their personalized features, and which service providers offer the best attendant according to the specific business communication needs.
To help get the best information of what auto-attendants actually are and what are their key features, Rich Technology Group has composed the following information.
VOIP Auto Attending Explained. How it works!
What is an Auto-attendant?
An Auto-attendant is essentially an AI-powered virtual receptionist that can screen and filter business calls according to specific needs. It hands over the calls to certain parties and transfers the results as needed based on the caller’s requirements without the need for actual human involvement.
Virtual Receptionist = Auto Attendant & Vice Versa
Typically used a sequence of options and menus, virtual receptionists can be utilized to screen certain types of calls because of its natural filtering mechanism. Auto-attendant feature filter calls by implying different inputs entered by the user. Thus, the user listens to the automated robotic voice and selects the options according to his/her requirements to reach the desired result. This in turn minimizes the ratio of unproductive calls to productive ones.
How is an Auto-attendant programmed?
Unlike old phone systems, voice-over IP with virtual receptionists resides in the cloud. It is not programmed on the specific hardware; however, a user may need to implement it separately depending upon the VOIP service they go with. To make changes to your auto-attendant in the past, a user was required to call specialized technicians or telecommunication experts.
Similarly, to troubleshoot problems or to change the receptionist messages depending upon days, holidays, vacations, etc., there were quite a few solutions to get a grasp of. With the latest VOIP and hosted VOIP solutions, all the above-mentioned auto-attendant options can be accessed and administrated from anywhere. As it is always backed up to prevent vulnerable situations, it can be regarded as very efficient and effective for businesses dealing with complex day-to-day operations.
Let’s talk about VOIP Auto Attendant. How does it work & what’s it’s benefits?
Most Popular Auto Attendant Features
- The most notable and most popular feature typically included with an auto-attendant or virtual receptionist is the unlimited auto-attendance option.
- One of the other features includes utilizing the non-options schemes or formatting different keys for different options.
- There are as many options as the dial pad allows, which is usually up to nine but the star and pound keys can also be used to repeat a menu if the user wants to listen to the prompt again.
After Hours Attendant – VOIP Auto Attending Explained. How it works!
Depending upon the organization’s working hours, after-hours is another really important feature most businesses look for. Although different providers have different names for this feature, after-hours attendants have the ability to have a different auto-attendant recording outside of normal business or working hours.
For example, if a user calls Rich Technology Group outside the working hours, a message saying that “You have reached us outside the Business hours” or some other message may appear.
As it can be set according to a business’s choice, it gives a bigger picture as people want to have different recordings outside of their working time. It can be programmed to specific days and hours and it is 100% automated, a user can just set it and forget it.
Vacation Auto-attendant
Vacation auto-attendant is the ability to have a completely different recording during a vacation or off-time schedule. A business has to specifically set this up and the beauty of this feature is that most providers offer this setting in a way that it can be set individually for different holidays and vacations. Once the holiday or vacation time is over, it will automatically go back to the regular settings.
Dial By Name
Even though Rich Technology Group does not personally use dial by name, it is really popular among a lot of businesses. An employee might be calling into a company but he/she may not know the extension number. To be able to press an option that says the person’s full name and gives the ability to dial by name is of great use in this case. It is a very powerful way to find people within a large or mid-sized organization where a user can’t remember the extension numbers.
Extension Number
The extension number is the ability to give each individual a unique number. It is not only used by people working in the offices but for people to be able to dial the number while listening to the auto-attendant on the go. It is a pretty obvious thing but the most auto-attendant feature has to go by a minimum of three-digit extension.
This number can go up to as high as five digits. Often it is a requirement for businesses to have an extension number length of three digits, but it can go up. It is most commonly used to be able to transfer calls back and forth to someone’s extension or to make conference calls.
How much does an Auto-attendant cost?
Most of the popular service providers include auto-attendant in their standard package. It is free in most general cases even if a user goes for a basic or mid-tier VOIP communication package. Not only it is a free feature included but some providers also provide unlimited access to auto-attendant.
So, if no one answers the call, it is directed to auto-attendant. However, if a user does not want to use it, this feature can be turned off. Some customers prefer direct human interaction rather than their customers dealing with robots for a personalized touch so turning it off can be useful.
Auto Attendant is extremely effective at Reducing Spam Calls
One final pro tip that Rich Technology Group wants to highlight regarding auto-attendant is that it can be really effective in blocking unwanted spam and robotic calls. We have personally seen great results in minimizing the rate of spam calls at a massive level. Thus, to avoid cumbersome, annoying, and time-consuming spam and anonymous calls, auto-attendant can be used.
If you are still wondering whether auto-attendant is right for your business or not or want to find the answer to which voice-over IP offers the best auto-attendance for your business at the right price for their package, give us a shout. We represent all of the major voice-over IP service providers in the market.
Our consulting service and demos are free so you have nothing to lose. Also, we can provide special pricing that you would otherwise not be able to get on your own if you reach out to the provider directly.
So, if you require one, you can directly reach these phone pages or get in touch with us. Moreover, if you have additional questions about these devices or are looking for special pricing depending upon your business requirement, feel free to reach out to us.
We represent all the major VOIP phone system service providers and internet providers and our consulting service is 100% free.
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