1. leaseman
   Member
   Posted 5 months ago #

   Hello, I'm looking to change my phone system. I'm a one man operation looking to filter my calls using a phone system/answering system that asks questions of the caller in an effort to better serve the caller and get him the information he needs. The best way to describe this is by example (we are a commercial truck financing company):

   "If you need truck financing and have good credit, press one. Otherwise press two"
   "If you have additional collateral to pledge, press one. Otherwise press two"
   "If the additional collateral has a value equal to what your financing press one. Otherwise press two"

   Is there a system available for a small operation like mine? What is a system like this called?

   Thank you for your help.

2. Reece Freeman
   Key Master
   Posted 5 months ago #

   Great question. Our Virtual PBX category manager is looking up a solution to your question as we speak. He'll get back to you as soon as he can.

   Thanks for the post!

3. Casey Jones
   Moderator
   Posted 5 months ago #

   Hi Leaseman,

   An 'Auto-Attendant' is the feature of a business phone system you may program to ask questions of your caller.

   'Call Tagging' is the feature of a business phone system that notifies the person answering what the caller is inquiring about.

   Any Virtual PBX (Private Branch Exchange) service listed on http://virtual-pbx.choosewhat.com will offer an Auto-Attendant. Phone.com and Freedom Voice currently offer Call Tagging.

   With either system, you will be able to record your own voice onto the Auto-Attendant or hire a professional voice actor.

   Lastly, Virtual PBX services do not provide phone line service, but instead offer business class call routing abilities to pre-existing phone lines like your landline or cell phone. If you want business class call routing paired with phone service, look at Phone.com's Business VoIP service.

4. leaseman
   Member
   Posted 5 months ago #

   Does "Auto Attendant" work in a "tree" format where the caller is directed through a series of questions before they get to me? My understanding of an auto attendant is that it is set up to so something like:

   "press one for sales"
   "press two for support"
   "press three for an operator"

   The system I'm looking for would direct the caller based on the answers to their questions. For example:

   "Are you looking to finance a commercial truck?" "If yes, press one" "If no press two" If the customer press two than "Sorry we couldn't help you at this time" If they press two:
   "Press one if you have a down payment" "Press two if you do not have a down payment" and so on. Do you still think the companies you mentioned can offer this or do you have any other ideas.

5. Casey Jones
   Moderator
   Posted 5 months ago #

   Phone.com allows you to set up multiple Auto-Attendant screens before finally connecting the caller which would allow you to set up this tree.

   One thing to note is that their call tagging won't keep track of the path the caller took until the last question has been answered. Therefore, if your last question is the same regardless of how they answered the previous question, you would need to set up multiple copies of the same auto attendant for each possible path in order to program call tags that say "Caller answered Yes to question 1, No to Question 2, and Yes to Question 3" or "Caller answered No to question 1, No to Question 2, and Yes to Question 3".

   With Phone.com the extra auto-attendant interfaces are free. Some other vendors charge you past your first interface. Freedom Voice can also provide multiple interfaces, but they charge an additional $5.00 per month on top of your regular fee for unlimited extra interfaces.

   I hope I've answered your question helpfully. I'd love to help with any follow ups.

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