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An auto attendant is a term commonly used in telephony to describe a voice menu system that allows callers to be transferred to an extension, person, or department without going through a telephone operator or a receptionist. It is also known as an auto receptionist or auto operator. An auto operator is one of the important features of a virtual phone system. It is cost effective and yet helpful. It completely eliminates the need to hire a human receptionist, which helps you to save dollars and also makes the whole process automatic and effective. It is actually a virtual receptionist for your business. More than Transferring Calls For many businesses an auto attendant has become an important staple for their organizational operations. It works as an automated receptionist that facilitates accurate and effective transfer of calls to relevant extensions of a virtual phone system without the need for a human receptionist. The benefits of this auto operator are not restricted to call transfer only. You can use it as an effective marketing tool and provide your customers important information about your product/service. You can record and play important information to your customers when they are waiting to get their call forwarded. Answers Your Call An auto attendant answers your calls, greets your callers and routes them to the right person or department. Your callers need to follow just few simple instructions of the automated receptionist and can reach the person/department of his choice without wasting much time. It is better to keep the instructions of your automated receptionist easy and simple. For example, “Welcome to ABC Company. Press 1 for Sales, 2 for Customer service…0 to speak to someone directly.” This is the most popular format of an automated attendant that people are accustomed with. Using something different might confuse your callers. It gives your business a professional look that makes your business look and sound big. Customized Messages You also have the flexibility to customize the greetings and messages of your auto attendant according to season, festival or your need. You can record your own message on the auto operator or can also hire a professional voice over artist to record your greetings and instructions. It might make your instructions sound more professional and makes you sound more credible and your business bigger than it is actually. It actually lets you enjoy the best of both worlds – a professional to instruct your callers and that too within your budget. Attend Calls all the Time In today’s age of globalization, your customers are not restricted by any limit - either geographical or time zonal. So you should have somebody to instruct your callers all the time. An auto attendant works 24 hours a day 7 days a week instructing and routing your callers. It does not matter when your customers will call you but you can be sure that your virtual operator will route him properly. It receives any call and forwards it to the right person. If the right person is not available to answer the call, the automated attendant forwards the call to the voicemail box. It can also transfer calls to another extension or to an outside phone number. So it helps you to receive and answer your customer’s call – anywhere and at any time.
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Auto Attendant, Virtual Phone, Virtual Phone System,
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