Employing additional personnel for call management is an effective but sometimes unaffordable option for small businesses. A very feasible solution is for them to go in for a VoIP phone system with the auto attendant (virtual receptionist) feature. A good alternative for live receptionists, the virtual receptionist effectively manages all calls.

Auto Attendant - Functioning Like a Live Receptionist

Some of the important features of the auto attendant include:

Attends calls professionally – The auto attendant is programmed to deliver the best customer service. It greets callers professionally. When calls are made to your office, callers are welcomed with pleasing, professional sounding greetings. These messages can be personalized to suit business hours, after-business hours and holidays. Routes calls efficiently – Callers need to reach the proper extensions. The virtual receptionist comes with special call forwarding features to accomplish this. Callers are presented with a menu of options to route calls, which includes dial by name, dial by extension and zero-out to live operator. The interactive voice responses help them reach the right person or department. The virtual receptionist can handle several call arriving simultaneously with ease. Round-the-clock Service – VoIP phone systems ensure that you do not miss any important business calls. If you are not available in your office, callers are directed to the voice mail boxes of the phone system where they can leave voice messages. Calls are also forwarded to pre-assigned personal email accounts. When you are on the move, calls are redirected to designated cell phones, home phones or other personal numbers. You can therefore keep in touch with your callers all the time.

Auto Attendant – Cost-saving Feature

The auto attendant that is a good alternative for a live receptionist is a cost-saving feature of the VoIP phone system. A small business office using this telecommunication solution can save the expense of employing a real receptionist. With advanced call management features facilities like direct inward dialing (DID), call conferencing, caller ID, call waiting, call queuing, call screening, call transfer and other user-friendly features, VoIP phone systems offer streamlined telecommunication solutions for small business offices.

About the Author:

AccessDirect provides auto attendant phone system with the features of a premise-based PBX phone system. The auto attendant system forms the core component of virtual PBX telephone system.