atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Telephony Discussion Phone & VoIP Systems Avaya - Lucent Telephones & Systems Automated Attendant Configuration Question

Hello,

I am new to the forum so please forgive me if this solution is posted elsewhere.

I have a Merlin Legend 7.0(i think) and Merlin Messaging 3.0 system.

I am pretty familiar with configuring the auto-attendant once it's up and running but I am a bit confused on how to get it to answer the phone when someone calls in.

We are using a DS1 card connected to a PRI circuit for our phone lines so no POTs lines for incoming/outgoing.

When someone calls our main number, how do I get the auto-attendant to answer the phone immediately and not go to operator?

Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you

The PRI routes calls based on the incoming number. For instance, your telephone number is 555-1212, and the phone company sends in the last 4 digits (1212) and the call automatically routes to Extension 1212.

So, you set up a "phantom" extension 1212 and cover it to voicemail. In the Merlin Messaging, when you create mailbox 1212, you have the option to point it the auto attendant instead of a regular mailbox.

That's the premise, but there's more involved in programming it up, so you might be wise to find someone local to set it up for you.

Thanks Tommy. Another question relating to this...

When the auto-attendant picks up and the person calling in dials the extension of person, I noticed the phone just keeps ringing and doesn't go to voicemail. However, if you call the extension directly via DID or from an internal phone extension, it does go to voicemail.

Here's another piece of the puzzle... the extensions that this odd behavior is happening to are not directly connected to the system. They are remote systems that are connected to the central system via modem or other telephony means. All extensions connected locally to the central system are not having this issue.

Any thoughts why it wouldn't go to voicemail when being transfered from the auto-attendant for the remote extensions?

Because the remote system should provide the coverage.

I don't recall the release that it started with, but there is a feature called RCF with External Alert, vs. plain Remote Call Forward. Using a PRI, the Legend/Magix would be able to tell that the call was not answered at the remote forward number after a certain number of rings, and would stop ringing the remote number and cover to the internal voicemail. If you don't have that feature available to you, the call is simply a forward to an outside number, and will only be answered by whatever is at the far end.

Update:

I did some further testing and it seems that when you call into the auto attendant and dial one of the remote building extensions I mentioned in my previous post, the call is instantly routed to the operator. Once again, extensions dialed locally to the building transfer just fine but extensions that reside in a remote building system are just sent to the operator by the auto attendant.

Seems kind of odd because the system recognizes the remote extensions if you were to just pick up a phone in the local building and dial them but the auto attendant can't seem to transfer to them.

Ideas?