What does an Automated Attendant do?
Most of us in this day and age have had experience on the receiving end of an Automated Attendant. Whether you call a retail store, local pharmacy, or an 800 number you typically hear a recording that “asks” you to dial a number to get the information or person you need to speak with. We all know that drill, “Dial one for customer service, two for sales, and three for billing. Dial zero if you want to listen to this message over and over and over!”
So what does an Automated Attendant do? Basically it does the same thing as a live operator or attendant would do when answering calls; provide directions, provide store hour and locations, transfer a caller to a specific person or group of people, or take a message. The difference is the Automated Attendant is a machine that “listens” for the caller’s response in the form of a digit or digits the caller dials. And with todays voice recognition technology such as found in our Syspine and D-Link Response Point phone systems, Automated Attendant systems allow the caller to speak the option rather than dialing it.
On a telephone system the Automated Attendant may be a piece of outboard gear or standalone device, or it may be integrated into the telephone system, such as an integrated voice mail product. In any event the Automated Attendant allows the recordings and menus to be customized to meet the needs of the business or application. The menus are programmed to emulate transferring calls to groups, individual people, or to voice mail.
If you are thinking “Sure, but it doesn’t cover every scenario callers are calling for”, you would be correct.
However, properly designed, programmed, and implemented Automated Attendants will have multiple menus that guide the caller to the appropriate choice. They will give the caller intuitive menus and instruction. As well as a method to repeat the instructions, and preferably, a way to opt out for assistance and speak to a live operator.
Automated Attendants have significant advantages both for businesses and their customers. The automated attendant reduces the amount calls an operator receives answering and transferring simple calls, freeing that person to answer the more important and/or least common requests. For the caller, this speeds up the process of getting to the right place quickly.
Be sure to understand the capabilities of the Automated Attendant of the system you are purchasing as this is an excellent example where all Auto Attendants are not created equal. Ask us for details.
So what does an Automated Attendant do? Basically it does the same thing as a live operator or attendant would do when answering calls; provide directions, provide store hour and locations, transfer a caller to a specific person or group of people, or take a message. The difference is the Automated Attendant is a machine that “listens” for the caller’s response in the form of a digit or digits the caller dials. And with todays voice recognition technology such as found in our Syspine and D-Link Response Point phone systems, Automated Attendant systems allow the caller to speak the option rather than dialing it.
On a telephone system the Automated Attendant may be a piece of outboard gear or standalone device, or it may be integrated into the telephone system, such as an integrated voice mail product. In any event the Automated Attendant allows the recordings and menus to be customized to meet the needs of the business or application. The menus are programmed to emulate transferring calls to groups, individual people, or to voice mail.
If you are thinking “Sure, but it doesn’t cover every scenario callers are calling for”, you would be correct.
However, properly designed, programmed, and implemented Automated Attendants will have multiple menus that guide the caller to the appropriate choice. They will give the caller intuitive menus and instruction. As well as a method to repeat the instructions, and preferably, a way to opt out for assistance and speak to a live operator.
Automated Attendants have significant advantages both for businesses and their customers. The automated attendant reduces the amount calls an operator receives answering and transferring simple calls, freeing that person to answer the more important and/or least common requests. For the caller, this speeds up the process of getting to the right place quickly.
Be sure to understand the capabilities of the Automated Attendant of the system you are purchasing as this is an excellent example where all Auto Attendants are not created equal. Ask us for details.
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