atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums TDM Business Telephone Systems Inter-Tel Telephones & Systems Setting up Lunch/Break Greetings

I'm having issues trying to get my phone system to perform a basic function. This is a existing install of Inter-Tel 8.201, running DB Studio 1.51.

I want to set it up so that when my receptionist goes to lunch, a brief message plays, and the caller is directed to leave a message. Also, she should be able to have a different message if she just goes away for a few minutes.

I have set up "Applications" for both of these scenarios, and have associated them with the correct voice recording files for the situation. If I dial the "Application" number into my phone directly, here in my office it works fine (It reads the message about the receptionist being at lunch, then transfers the call to the VMBOX).


How can I route the incoming call to the organization, to the application, during these specific times?

I tried simply using call forwarding (CALL FORWARD >> APPLICATION NUMBER and it DID work on another phone in the system) but it did not work on the receptionists phone. I am not sure why. I think it is possibly because of the way that the calls reach the receptionist. Incoming calls to my organization appear go to a "Hunt Group". The only member of the "Hunt Group" is an Extension List, which is named "P0001" (Description: Dial 0). The Extension list "Dial 0" contains only one member, The Receptionist. So the configuration seems to me to be, the call comes in, goes to the "Day Ring-In-Type" and is forwarded to the application which reads my company greeting, then transfers the call to the Hunt Group for the receptionist, and then that Hunt Group looks up the "Extension List" >> "Station" >> "P0001" which has one member, the station for the receptionist.

I have also tried using the "Do Not Disturb" Feature, and making a Forwarding Path, that should forward the call from the receptionist to the Application, if her DND is on. This DID work on my phone when I tested it. It did NOT work on her phone. When her phone was put into DND mode, it didn't ring, but the call was not correctly forwarded to my application.


Any help is appreciated. I'm happy to answer any questions on the configuration of this system.


Thanks.

Almost my whole problem was solved when I realized I was looking at my incoming calls in the wrong place.

I set up my incoming calls so they are now routed through a Scheduled Time Application Routing service (STAR). If the time on the call is between X:XX and Y:YY then the call goes to the Application I wrote which reads the lunch greeting and then forwards the call to the voice number.

Easy!


I still would like a way to have my receptionist use the Do Not Disturb Button so she can go on brief breaks. Or call forwarding should work too. For some reason the call forwarding and DND re-routing does not appear to be working correctly with her phone, or I am missing something about those functions.

How about setting up "Night mode" for when she has to go on break?

might be a bit overkill, but it sounds like there isn't much happening anyway.

STAR and nightmode don't normally go together, but I think they could in this setup.

Not sure if your incoming calls arrive via a Call Routing Table or directly from the CO trunk group ring-in destination. Doesn’t really matter, except how you flag the forward paths. The following instructions are for a Call Routing Table:

Point the DID directly to the receptionist's phone. Create an immediate forward path to the hunt group for Call Routing Table only. Create another DND forward path for Call Routing Table only to the Call Routing Announcement; make sure it appears first on the forward path list for the reception phone.

When the phone is not in DND, DID calls will ring to the hunt group as usual. When the phone is placed into DND, DID calls will route to the application.

If you need multiple greetings, simply forward the reception phone to the correct application.

If your calls arrive directly from the CO trunk group, make the day ring-in destination the reception phone. Flag the forward paths for CO ring-in only, but otherwise the procedure is the same.