TalkSwitch Auto Attendant Feature

Auto Attendant
Greet callers with up to 9 user configurable self recorded messages to offer touch tone choices and connect callers to the appropriate extensions.

Record up to 9 Auto Attendant greetings.
Load professionally recorded greetings for your Auto Attendant.

Guide callers with touch-tone menus to:

Local Extensions,
Remote Extensions,
Dial-by-Name Directory,
Ring Groups
Voicemail,
Announcements.

Play different greeting messages on each incoming phone line
Schedule different greetings according to time-of-day and day-of-week.
Dial-by-Name directory lets callers quickly find their party by entering the letters of their last name instead of their numeric extension.
Automatically detect and route transmissions to a fax machine extension.
Import any 3rd party professional greetings to use as Auto Attendant greetings.
Create your own music-on-hold or advertising-on-hold (see On-hold Network) simply by plugging in a CD player, stereo receiver, tape deck, or sound card into TalkSwitch's Audio In jack

Caller Options at an Auto Attendant

Use Dial-by-Name Directory to locate their party.
Directly contact a Local or Remote Extension (111, 112, ... and 211, 212 ...)
Detect and route an incoming fax.
Choose a department (which rings a Ring Group)
Jump to another Auto Attendant
Leave a voicemail message with their party.
Listen to an announcement from their party.
It's like having your own receptionist.

Configuring the Auto Attendant is done with the Software.

TalkSwitch Software - Configuring Auto Attendants

This Auto Attendant above might be associated with the message ...

Welcome to our Company.

To reach a receptionist press '0' or stay on the line.
If you know your party's extension you may dial it now, or press '1' for our company directory.
For emergency technical support press '2'.
For sales press '3'.
Finally for more company information such as our address and product descriptions press '4'.

This message is probably a little verbose, but it gives you an idea of the flexibility you have when configuring an Auto Attendant. Notice how incoming faxes are routed to the fax machine (which is plugged into extension 113), and if users don't press any buttons, they will go to the human receptionist at extension 111 - this is particularly useful for callers without a touch tone phone.

Configure the answering sequences as you like.

For example let an extension ring before the auto attendant picks up, or choose to have the auto attendant answer only on certain lines.
Link Auto Attendants together to help disseminate repetitive information.

Example: The first auto attendant could provide the name of your company, then provide choices to get additional information such as contact and mailing information, product or service information. At the same time, frequent callers can contact their party immediately.

Import professional greetings.

Take any prerecorded message and store it as a .wav file on your computer (lots of software can help you do this). Then download the sound files as an auto attendant, voicemail greeting, or even company promotional music-on-hold.

Option to screen incoming phone calls, then choose to accept or re-route the call.

Callers are asked for their name, when you pick up your office or cell phone, their name is played to you. You may then accept the call. If you decline the call, the call is re-routed as defined by you. For example you may choose to send the call to a colleague with a message saying you are busy, or have the caller sent to voicemail, or even have TalkSwitch play a brief message saying you are presently unavailable. The choice is up to you.