Wired Intelligent Edge

Hi, I have a few questions about the automated attendant on a NBX v5000 running 6.5.22p3. I have the automated attendant setup (i.e. press for 1 for sales, 2 for tech support, etc). When the users presses a number they are Single Digit Transferred to the appropriate hunt group.

 

1) We want to start using the office open and closed messages. Unfortunately each department starts and ends at different times. Is there a way to have the automated attendant have our standard menu for when the business is open and when the user selects an option where that department is closed they get a closed message? I.e. the office opens 7:30 with tech support being the only ones there. The standard greeting is played and if the user selects sales they get the message: I am sorry but the Sales Office is closed. Their hours are 8:00 AM to 4:30PM Monday thru Friday. I have looked at the Time dependent greetings but they don't seem to be tied to a hunt group. I think I need to setup something like: hunt group 4001 sales 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM hunt group 4002 tech support 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM with a unique closed message for each hunt group. A quick search of the Administrator Guide reveals that I might have to switch from hunt groups to ACD groups to implement this. Is this correct?

 

2) The users have requested that they should be reachable by their extension. Can I setup the AA with something like: Hi You have reached us. If you know your parties 4 digit extension please dial it now. Otherwise press 2 for sales, 3 for tech support, etc. All of our extensions are in the 1000-1805 range. We only have 98 phones but each department has a hundred block. I.e. Sales is 1000-1010, tech support is 1100-1111, ...., IT is 1800-1805. The prompted transfer looks promising but I don't want the user to press 1 and then the 4 digit extension. I just want the user to enter the extension. Is this possible?

 

3) Is it possible to define holidays that the offices will be closed so the system will automatically use the closed message. Like on Thanksgiving (Thursday and Friday), we will be closed and it looks like I will have to System-Wide Settings > System Mode > Force Close the office on Wednesday night. Is this the correct way to do this? Can I get the system to play a message that says we are closed for thanksgiving? I see the NBX Messaging > Auto Attendant > Select AA > TD Greetings > Add has a date range. Can I put in 11-25-2010 to 11-26-2010 and have the message be we are closed for thanksgiving?

 

Thanks

Greg

Solution ID - 2.0.95279416.3582149

 

Solution ID: 2536

 

Solution 

ID: 467

 

You cannot set up an Auto Attendant to play say at different dates

 

But the rest you should be able to do

 

The NBX can  do timed routes which send callers to different locations at different hours . For example you can send callers on say did #  4500 to say tomed route for 4500 and pick and chose the times of day to send it to a specific device .

wow.. a lot of questions :smileyhappy:

anyway, here is my 2 cents:
1. You are correct... ACD groups are the way to go... you would play the regular "business" recording when the caller hits the AA, then they go to the ACD group and you can set up recordings for that.. closed recordings, even "time in queue" recordings. so, customers would hear the regular greeting at 7:30, dial into sales, and then hear "salesis closed, our hours are 11 -2 because we are sales people"..

 

2. In your Auto Attendant, just have the 1 marked "reserved indialplan".. this will do, then you can record, "if you know your parties extension, dial it now".. they would dial 1xxxx and that hits the dialplan and dials all users beginning with 1.

 

3. The easiest way to change for holidays (others may disagree) is to go into your Business Hours and set them for the week... so you would be closed on Thanksgiving.. then the system would play the closed message (no special message for the holiday, just the regular closed message). I think that is the easiest without screwing around with dialplans, etc.

 

your idea for number 3 will also work !!!

 

Hope this helps !

I ask a lot of questions when I am doing something new. Also the manual doesn't have very good instructions. Finally I don't have any way to test ideas since I only have 1 NBX.

1) I will start to convert the hunt groups to ACD groups later today. I have the hours that the building is open programmed in System-Wide Settings > Business Hours and last night I checked System-Wide Settings > System Mode and it showed closed after the building closed. However I can't find a spot to record a building closed message. In the ACD groups I can have a closed message, but can I have a System-Wide building closed message? Or will the user always have to listen to the main menu, choose an option, and get the ACD group closed message?

UPDATE: I documented the settings of my test hunt group.  I deleted the test hunt group.  I added a ACD group with the same extension but I can't add any extensions to the group.  I also noticed that I can only have a Maximum Number of Agents Allowed: 2.

2) That works great. Thank you for the information.

3) You suggestion is a good one. It is nice to have confirmation my idea would work. I will have to try both. Thank you,

hi. for the "building closed message", you can find out what auto attendant message is playing. For example, suppose it is 5500.. then go into AA 5500, go to TD greetings and put in the time for an open greeting and a closed greeting.. you put in the start time only. The system knows that the end time of your open greeting is start time of closed greeting.. Record these two greetings.. don't forget to Activate the AA when you are done. You will see an ">5500", the ">" means that you need to activate your changes.

 

FOr the ACD groups, I am sorry. I had forgottne that the system comes with 2 agents and you need licenses to add additional agents... but you should be able to add 2 agents. .first you need to make them agents by going to the CAll Distribution Groups/ACD agents.. and add two agents here..then you can add those two agents to your ACD group.

 

Hope this helps.. Let us know !

The menu prompts are the open building greeting.  I went into the AA the building and added a TD Greeting called BuildingClosed that is time dependant of 7:30PM Monday thru Friday.  I think I will have to add another TD Greeting called BuildingClosedWeekends and have it be time dependant on Saturday and Sunday.  Does this sound correct?  This configuration is now active and I will waiting until tonight to see what happens.

 

So I need 8 agents?  One for each department?  Or do I need an ACD agent license for each user?  I think 3com should give us the codes to unlock all of features since this system has been discontinued.  I won't be able to get funding to buy something for a phone system that won't be supported much longer.

 

Thanks,

hi.

Don't forget that the start of one greeting is the end of another.. so you will have to record an open greeting and have that start at your open time, M-F.. then a closed greeting that will start on friday at 7:30... it will go until the open greeting which would be set to start on Monday.

 

You need licenses for however many agents you want.. If you have an 8 agent license, then those 8 agents can be in more than one ACD group.

I have created 3 TD Greetings:

BuildingClosedMR 7:30 PM Mon Tue Wed Thu checked

The building is closed until tomorrow morning 7:30 AM

BuildingClosedF 7:30 PM Friday checked

The building is closed for the weekend.  We will return 7:30 AM on Monday.

BuildingOpenMF 7:30 AM Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri checked

Hello

 

I activated the AA with the above changes last night at 5:15 or so.  I called in 10PM and received the main menu and not the BuildingClosedMR message.

 

Do I need ACD agent licenses?  I read the administrator's guide and I am a little confused over what an agent is.

Thanks,

 

..that is quite strange. Are you sure you are hitting the correct Auto Attendant? Check CDR to make sure the call went to the AA that you changed. An agent is like a hunt group member. You would need a license for each user you want to join an ACD group. .. so if you have a total of 8 users to join, you would need 8 agent licenses.. those 8 agents could be members of multiple ACD groups.

NBX Messaging > Auto Attendant

Extension 500 - Default Menu

Extension 501 - Voicemail AA

 

Those are the only 2 AA I have. I will go back and triple check all of the settings.

 

Since each of my business phones needs to be in an ACD group I will need 83 licenses.  I would how much that will cost :(

Maybe I will just live with a building open and closed message.  Not quite as professional but probably awhole lot cheaper.

 

Thanks,

 

..my opinion is it is not a good idea to modify the default AA's. better to create a new one. 1. create new AA and then fix the time dependent greetings. 2. Not sure if you have a PRI or ALC, but then you need to point to the new AA.. IF PRI, go to PRI groups and change 500 to your new AA.. if analog line card, go to analog line card, click on the line and change to the new AA... Since ACD is really a lot and you are not using much of the functionality of the ACD, you could also create another AA, a closed AA.. and then during the closed hours have the calls go there... make the same changes to the PRI and ALC as above..... Don't forget that the NBX will send calls to these numbers only if your dialplan is not sending them someother place.. so you may have to change your dialplan also.... Many different ways the NBX gives you...

I checked my pri groups and there is the open, closed, lunch, other options.  I could just create an AA for open and closed.  I won't get an option for weekends but I don't really need that.

 

The nice thing about the NBX is you have alot of power.  The bad thing about the NBX is you have of options and various ways of doing some things.  That many options confuses me sometimes.

 

Thanks,