Best auto attendant phone system small business on a budget. First of all should you use auto attendant anyway, we give you the answers
What is auto attendant and how does it work
Your phone system automatically answers you phone calls and places them in a queue. This is great in high traffic areas because it can both smooth out the traffic flow and direct the call to a relevant department.
It may use a simple prompt saying “You have called Bifold doors, we are all busy however someone will pick up your call in a moment”
Then you are placed in a queue where you can enjoy music or on-hold messages whilst you while away your time waiting to be attended.
Perhaps we take this a step further and answer as;
You have called Bifold doors, so we can handle your call more effectively please chose from the following;
- Press 1 for sales
- Or Press 2 for accounts
- OR 3 for installations
- Sometimes if you know the extension number of the person use that now.
There are any number of choices and in fact you can even go further than a simple choice;
Press 1 for sales
- now press 1 for new clients
- or 2 for Ben Brown
- 3 for Fiona Edmunds
Furthermore we don't stop there,
Thank you for calling Fiona Edmunds, she can't take your call now so please leave a message after the tone and she will call you back.
And there is more
When 2 is pressed for Ben Brown and he does not pick up the call it is forwarded to his mobile phone.
Best auto attendant phone system, so many options
So many options so what can go wrong
Well, nothing really if it is set up properly although maybe that is not quite true.
First of all when I call Bifold doors I am answered by a machine that says make a selection,
Press 1 for sales
now press 2 for Ben Brown
The phone rings for a few times then I hear a call transfer;
The mobile phone is busy so I go to a private message bank to leave a message or I may bounce back to the auto attendant to leave a message or even press another choice.
What the heck am I ringing a bank or something, all I wanted to do was buy a new door and I get shunted around the system because they can't be bothered taking my call.
That is just a personal perspective because I believe phone calls are important.
Hosting on a cloud system verses traditional hardware
I might get some arguments here but I think phone systems are like petrol driven cars,
soon to be a relic of the past.
Hardware for auto attendant is often expensive and maintenance costs are high with tech call outs costing as much as computer repairs. Furthermore you are at their mercy unless you have highly competent in-house personal.
Cloud based systems have computer driven access so any half competent person can do a good job of programming.
In your country there will be half a dozen alternatives that offer a package that will host auto attendant, message bank, on-hold messaging and perhaps call queuing.
These are all facilities that come with most Cloud based systems although a small monthly premium my apply
If you are unsure about a virtual Pabx let me help you out.
On a broadband network most if not all home phones use a hosted system. Your selected carrier builds a big system and we all log into that and share the bits we want. We install a hand set and make and receive calls plus share a bundle of options.
A business is no different except that we install a bundle of handsets that all share the same group of features. Things like call rotation, call forwarding number display and in most cases actual call costs.
When I started in this business a call between US and Australia would cost over one dollar a minute and now just a fraction of a cent per minute. Things change and phone systems are one of them.
Expensive hardware will depreciate overnight and quickly be outdated as things change.
Best auto attendant phone system are not all equal
Unfortunately many companies will also lag behind the times
I have just spent many hours trying to get a feature added to a new system with a major telephone company. Talk about a horror story, no one wanted to know or could not help with a simple request.
Another company only runs customer service between work hours in their state which is three hours different to mine.
And furthermore yet another lacked the feature sets to allow a proper service build.
Cloud systems have their own problems and you need to know the questions before you start spending money on a service. Particularly when sighing a term contract.
My three decades in this business provides me with greater insight than most and I don't say that to brag.
It is important to remember that you buy a product and not be sold one. There is a difference.
You need a specification sheet of the things you need now or might require in the future.
| Call package included | Check for 1300/1800 inclusion |
| Call parking | Put them on hold |
| Hunt Groups | Calls flow through lines |
| Caller ID to be shown | A caller list is also great |
| Call diversions available | Immediate, no answer and busy |
| Message bank | One that is useable |
| On-hold messages | Or good music, not chimes |
| Transfer to outside lines | Including a mobile phone |
| Support services | Live, chat and email |
Where do you get all this at a price you want to pay
Finally we get to a decision time. First of all tick off what you need to achieve from the above list. remember to think into the future you don't need to use them all when you start.
Next consider price however beware the cheap trap. The most important feature is SUPPORT.
I have just spent a better part of two days trying to get a simple feature added to a Telstra account for a client and without success.
However I have a client with a small issue with Vonex and she is tracked every step of the way.
I have had time with Telstra, Optus , Commander, Engin and a few others however none of them come close to my current supplier in Vonex. In fact I love the product so much I even bought a bundle of shares.
Contact me and I shall send you brochures and pricing plus how to get thousands of Qantas points for free.
I will walk you through a checklist of your needs and make recommendations to provide you with a service you want. When you are happy we need just a few days to get you up and going.
Conclusion
It was not my intention to explain auto attendant and then branch off into a whole new system. I don't particularly care for automated answering except for the occasions when your phones are unattended. Phone calls are often the lifeblood of a business and to mess them around is really counter productive.
I rang a prospective client today and explained that the day before the phone had rung out twice. Her reply was “sorry we must have been busy”. I wanted to jump down the phone line and scream you just lost a big client and you don't need to.
You will spend a heap of money to make the phones ring therefore you really need to answer the thing because you never know.
