Is
your Auto Attendant User-Friendly?
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"Thank you for calling Main Resource. To monitor quality, your call may
be recorded. To speed the processing of your call, please choose from
one of the following options: You may dial your party's extension number
at any time. To use our spell by name directory, press pound............."
If your company uses an automated attendant that sounds like this, it
is important to make sure that the system is easy to use and that people
can easily reach the party they wish to talk to. If your system is difficult
to use and leaves a caller frustrated that indicates that your company
itself will be difficult to deal with. You will want to consider three
types of people when reviewing your auto attendant: people who call you
regularly and want to be able to move through your system quickly, people
who are used to other auto attendants and assume they all work the same,
and people who are not used to auto attendants.
Try out your system (during the day and again after hours), testing it
from the perspective of all three "types" of callers. First of all, check
to see if those calling in who know your system and the extension they
are trying to reach can dial without having to wait for the entire announcement
to play. Call in to your system and enter an individual extension immediately.
Call in again and enter the number for a hunt group ("press 1 for sales").
Do you have an extension that provides a recorded message that will give
callers your fax number, address, directions, etc? Are the departments
with the highest call volumes listed first in the menu?
Next, make sure the "0" key gets callers to a live attendant immediately.
Some people will not use your auto attendant no matter how easy it is
to use. Also, try not following the instructions properly. What happens
if you enter too few numbers in the directory or do nothing at all? Your
system should send you to the live attendant. It should not hang up on
you! 
Are any critical instructions left to the end of the announcement? For
example, if your system requires callers to press the "#" key after making
a selection, make sure that requirement is stated in the beginning of
the announcement. Try entering an extension number without pressing the
"#" sign.
Test the company directory. If you have an option to hear the names of
all the people in the company, are the most frequently called people listed
first. In a "dial by name directory, the system may direct you to enter
the first 4 letters of the person's last name (dial by first name directories
are confusing). What happens if a caller enters more than 4 digits? More
advanced systems will use the additional numbers entered to narrow your
selection. Let callers know what to do in order to make a selection from
the directory. Do they have to press the extension number or the "#" sign,
or will the system dial it for them automatically?
If your company employs two or more persons with the same last name,
put the name of the most frequently called person first in the list. If
you include your extension number when you record your name for your mailbox,
the when the selection is made callers can record it for future reference.
Another note about mailbox administration: be sure you password protect
your mailbox, or you may find that someone has changed all your greetings
to offensive messages!
It is likely that in the process of your investigations you will find
other features of your auto attendant that need a little fine-tuning.
Keep good notes so
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