INDeX Automated Attendant

 

Overview

Unanswered or engaged telephones are not only frustrating for potential and existing customers but could mean the difference between winning and losing business. It is vital that an organisation is never unavailable for business due to a busy or unmanned reception/operator. Most companies see large fluctuations in call volumes throughout a typical day making it difficult for operators to always answer incoming calls within an acceptable time. There are a number of solutions to this problem, such as implementing direct dial numbers into different parts of an organisation, or empowering callers themselves to direct calls to the required person or department.

The Automated Attendant has been developed with the objective of achieving this caller empowerment by providing virtually all of the functionality of a human operator 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Unlike a human operator it can handle more than one call at a time, quickly and efficiently increasing staff and caller productivity and allowing the operator to provide more detailed help and assistance when required. A tireless but always pleasant voice is able to answer incoming calls on the first ring. Calls can be routed to particular individuals, departments or extension numbers. Callers unable to make a selection either through lack of a DTMF telephone or uncertainty of the person required may hold for operator assistance.

The benefits of Automated Attendant are numerous, enabling businesses to provide fast, courteous call handling whilst retaining a personalised service. A consistent quality of response and constantly available information enhances the service a company is able to provide to its customers. An Automated Attendant assists greatly in improving operator efficiency by ensuring that call peaks are managed without the need for further human resource. In addition, since the human operator has a guaranteed back up, it enables the operator to provide a consistently courteous service to external callers without the pressure of large call queues. An Automated Attendant is able to ensure that the most critical phase of a new call - the welcome - is professional and consistent.