You're sitting in your office and look at your phone and see all of the lines are busy.
That's good, you're doing business and your staff is busy.
But what about the caller who calls now? What do they hear? Can they find out about your business hours, address, or fax number? If you have a medical office can they find out about refilling a prescription? If you are a realtor can they be transferred to an agents cell phone? Do they have to hang up and redial another number? Basic voice mail is very limiting.
It does not give the caller any options except leave a message.
It only has one outgoing greeting so it has to have information that works for a caller 24 hours a day.
An Auto Attendant (AKA Virtual Receptionist or Backup Attendant) can replace basic voice mail in small offices and give the caller options other than just leaving a message.
An Auto Attendant can have a menu with options to "Leave a message" of course AND "Reach John on his cell phone" or "For prescription refills press two...
" or "To leave a message for Sales press one, to leave a message for customer service press two to leave a message for billing press three...
" The caller may be calling for information that your staff frequently repeats "Our address is and we are across from...
" or "To refill your prescription call your pharmacy...
" or our fax number is...
" An Auto Attendant will give the caller this information without using staff time or having to call back.
Individual voice mail boxes for each department can deliver the voice message to the appropriate person for greater efficiency in the office.
Another option for offices with separate billing centers is for the Auto Attendant to transfer the call directly to the businesses accountant or outsourced billing company! This is a huge time saver for the office, staff won't have to call the client back only to tell them to call another number.
An Auto Attendant can have multiple outgoing greetings that play on a schedule so during the business day the caller will hear "Thank you for calling ABC Medical.
We are either on the other line or assisting a patient in the office...
" But after hours a different outgoing greeting would say "...
our office is currently closed.
Our office hours are 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday...
" And if the Auto Attendant system is robust it will automatically have major holidays programmed and play a greeting that tells the caller they are closed for the holiday.
And advanced Auto Attendant system will have Voice Mail to Email - voice messages are delivered to an email as an audio file that can be listened to on a computer.
This feature allows messages to reach the office staff even if all of the phone lines are busy.
It will also allow messages to be delivered to the person it is intended (sales, appointments, customer service, etc).
This will benefit the office operations.
A word of caution, make sure to comply with HIPAA/HITECH regulations if your callers would leave personal health information in these messages.
The benefits of an Auto Attendant over basic voice mail are numerous and help both the caller and the office staff when setup properly.
That's good, you're doing business and your staff is busy.
But what about the caller who calls now? What do they hear? Can they find out about your business hours, address, or fax number? If you have a medical office can they find out about refilling a prescription? If you are a realtor can they be transferred to an agents cell phone? Do they have to hang up and redial another number? Basic voice mail is very limiting.
It does not give the caller any options except leave a message.
It only has one outgoing greeting so it has to have information that works for a caller 24 hours a day.
An Auto Attendant (AKA Virtual Receptionist or Backup Attendant) can replace basic voice mail in small offices and give the caller options other than just leaving a message.
An Auto Attendant can have a menu with options to "Leave a message" of course AND "Reach John on his cell phone" or "For prescription refills press two...
" or "To leave a message for Sales press one, to leave a message for customer service press two to leave a message for billing press three...
" The caller may be calling for information that your staff frequently repeats "Our address is and we are across from...
" or "To refill your prescription call your pharmacy...
" or our fax number is...
" An Auto Attendant will give the caller this information without using staff time or having to call back.
Individual voice mail boxes for each department can deliver the voice message to the appropriate person for greater efficiency in the office.
Another option for offices with separate billing centers is for the Auto Attendant to transfer the call directly to the businesses accountant or outsourced billing company! This is a huge time saver for the office, staff won't have to call the client back only to tell them to call another number.
An Auto Attendant can have multiple outgoing greetings that play on a schedule so during the business day the caller will hear "Thank you for calling ABC Medical.
We are either on the other line or assisting a patient in the office...
" But after hours a different outgoing greeting would say "...
our office is currently closed.
Our office hours are 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday...
" And if the Auto Attendant system is robust it will automatically have major holidays programmed and play a greeting that tells the caller they are closed for the holiday.
And advanced Auto Attendant system will have Voice Mail to Email - voice messages are delivered to an email as an audio file that can be listened to on a computer.
This feature allows messages to reach the office staff even if all of the phone lines are busy.
It will also allow messages to be delivered to the person it is intended (sales, appointments, customer service, etc).
This will benefit the office operations.
A word of caution, make sure to comply with HIPAA/HITECH regulations if your callers would leave personal health information in these messages.
The benefits of an Auto Attendant over basic voice mail are numerous and help both the caller and the office staff when setup properly.
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