Virtual Receptionist

Virtual Receptionist
Advanced User’s Guide
Version 2.6
Virtual Receptionist
Contents
What is a Virtual Receptionist?............................................................3
About the Documentation ........................................................................................ 3
Ifbyphone on the Web................................................................................................. 3
Setting Up a Virtual Receptionist.........................................................4
Logging in to your Ifbyphone Account ................................................................. 4
Tutorial 1: Create a New Virtual Receptionist Menu................................... 5
Edit/Add a Menu Item ............................................................................................... 7
Ifbyphone Glossary ..................................................................................12
Appendix ......................................................................................................15
The Record Prompt Page......................................................................................15
Recording Sound Files via PC...............................................................................15
Setting Up A Phone Directory..............................................................................16
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What is a Virtual Receptionist?
An Ifbyphone building block, Virtual Receptionist can be configured to provide
menus for routing incoming callers to multiple Ifbyphone destinations.
An automated telephone answering service, Virtual Receptionist can be
configured with menus for the purpose of routing incoming callers. A Virtual
Receptionist menu can transfer callers to other numbers and extensions; forward callers to
voice mailboxes; initiate a Find Me list or surveys; and play pre-recorded messages.
By following the tutorial outlined in the Virtual Receptionist Stepping through the Basics Guide,
in conjunction with reviewing the extensive manual Virtual Receptionist Advanced User’s Guide,
you may create a custom Virtual Receptionist menu quickly and easily on Ifbyphone’s Web site.
Upon creating menu items and routing options, callers can then connect to your Virtual
Receptionist menu by dialing the telephone number assigned to you during registration.
About the Documentation
The Virtual Receptionist Advanced User’s Guide includes the following documentation:
 Description of Virtual Receptionist features
 Virtual Receptionist basics, including everything that is needed for setup and use
 Step-by-step tutorials, with screenshots and helpful tips for productivity
ICON KEY
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Note
Warning
Tutorial
Throughout the document, icons are used to indicate important reminders,
including tips and common mistakes. Additionally, the telephone symbol
denotes the beginning of a tutorial. Tutorials provide step-by-step
instructions for setting up a Virtual Receptionist and using it effectively.
Screenshots are provided to guide users through the entire process.
Ifbyphone on the Web
Ifbyphone’s Web site (www.ifbyphone.com) contains a wealth of information about Ifbyphone
business services. Customer service contact information, as well as additional user guides and
tutorials, are also easily accessible from the Web site.
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Setting Up a Virtual Receptionist
In this chapter, tutorials and step-by-step screenshots are available to quickly
and easily guide you through setting up a Virtual Receptionist.
Logging in to your Ifbyphone Account
To set up and use a Virtual Receptionist menu, you must have an Ifbyphone account. To open
an Ifbyphone account, please go to our Web site at www.ifbyphone.com or call (877) 295-5100
and say Business Accounts.
Once your account has been activated, follow the instructions below to login:
1. Navigate to the Ifbyphone Web site at www.ifbyphone.com.
2. Login to your account by clicking User Login at the top of the home page.
3. On the Login to My Account page (Figure 1), enter your User ID (your primary 10-digit
phone number—numbers only—with no leading 1) and PIN code (password); then click
SIGN IN.
Figure 1: Ifbyphone Account Login Screen
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Tutorial 1: Create a New Virtual Receptionist Menu
Follow the steps in this tutorial to quickly create a Virtual Receptionist menu that
routes callers through four different types of actions: read, play, transfer and addon.
1. Enter the Virtual Receptionist feature by clicking Virtual Receptionist from either the
Main Menu (Figure 2) or on the top navigation bar under Services.
Figure 2: Account Main Menu
2. To create a new Virtual Receptionist menu, click Create a new Menu (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Create a new Menu
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3. On the Virtual Receptionist (Voice Menu) - Edit/Add Menu page, enter the following
information into the form fields (Figure 4):
• Menu Name: Enter a unique name for the Virtual Receptionist Menu (e.g., “Weekday
Receptionist”). Please note that this field is mandatory.
• Greeting Text (prompt): Text to Speech (TTS) is the method by which the text that you
enter is translated into speech by a synthesizer. When creating a Virtual Receptionist
menu, you can enter the dialog to be spoken as plain text. Note that you are required to
enter the greeting text, whether you are using TTS or an audio file for the greeting
prompt. The extra text provides a back-up in case of audio file failure.
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NOTE: Typing Out Menu Options
If you check the “Don’t read menu options” box, you will need to type out the menu
options available to your callers (e.g. “To reach the operator, say ‘operator’ or press 0.
To hear directions and hours of operation, say ‘directions and hours’ or press 1. To
speak to a technician, say ‘technician’ or press 2. For a Sales Manager, say ‘Sales’ or
press 3.”). If you leave the “Don’t read menu options” box unchecked, the system will
automatically read the options for you.
Figure 4: Edit/Add Menu Page
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Use this recording: If checked, a recorded sound file will be used in place of the
TTS dialog. You may record the prompt by one of the following methods:
− Record New: If you select Record New as the recording method, Ifbyphone will
call you at the phone number you specify in order to record the menu prompt.
See the Appendix section entitled The Record Prompt Page for more details.
− Upload WAV File: Designate a sound file on your computer to be uploaded to
Ifbyphone and used as the dialog for your introduction. If you do not have a
sound file, but would like to record one, see the Appendix section entitled
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Recording Sound Files via PC. Once you have recorded or uploaded a sound
file, it will become available in the drop-down list.
Set as default menu: Check to make this the default Virtual Receptionist menu for this
telephone number.
Don’t read menu options: If you have uploaded a recording that contains menu options
for your greeting prompt, check this box to block the reading of menu options by the TTS
synthesizer.
Allow barge-in for introduction: Check this box to let users “barge through” the
introduction, allowing them to choose menu options before the introduction message
has finished playing.
Allow barge-in for menu options: Check this box to let users “barge through” the
menu options, allowing them to choose menu options before all the menu options
have finished being read.
Touch Tone (DTMF) only: If you check this box, menu items can only be selected
by touch tone. Voice prompts will not work.
4. Press the Save button to save the Virtual Receptionist menu. Having successfully
created a new Virtual Receptionist menu, click the Add a new Menu Option link that
appears at the bottom of the page (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Add a new Menu Option Link
5. The addition of menu items to your Virtual Receptionist provides your callers with a list
of verbal and telephone keypad instructions for moving around your system. The
Virtual Receptionist Edit/Add Menu Item page (Error! Reference source not
found.) allows you to set actions to route your callers to Virtual Receptionist menu
items.
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Figure 6: Select items for the menu
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Menu Item Tag: This required field is the menu item name that the Virtual
Receptionist announces to callers. For example, your menu items can include a
transfer to the Operator (“Operator”), the reading of your company’s directions and
hours of operation (“Directions and Hours”), an employment application in the form of
a SurVo (“Employment”), or a Find Me list to locate a Sales Manager (“Sales”).
Keypad Number (used): In this required field, type a keypad number to correspond
with the menu item. Keypad numbers that have already been assigned to other
menu items within this menu will be listed (e.g. used: 3, 4). A keypad number can be
up to four digits long. For example, you can set up keypad numbers to route a caller
to an operator, a message for directions and hours, a survey for employment, and a
sales manager “Find Me” list:
− Say “Operator” or press 0.
− Say “Directions and Hours” or press 1.
− Say “Employment” or press 2.
− Say “Sales” or press 3.
Hidden Menu Option: Check this box to block the announcement of a menu item.
Even though the menu item announcement is blocked to callers, it is accessible to
callers who know its private keypad number. For example, if you would like to create
a hidden menu option for the Sales Manager to review her voice mailbox, you may
assign the menu item to a four digit number and check the Hidden Menu Option
box. It is recommended that hidden menu options be between three and four digits
long for enhanced security.
Action: Select an option from the drop-down list to route a caller to the menu item.
You may choose from the following actions:
Phone Directory: Enables a caller to say or spell the name of the person they wish
to connect to. When the caller spells the person’s name, the system will present a list
of directory names with similar spellings. Note that this must be initially configured
within “Directory Configuration,” located under the “Tools” option on the Main page’s
drop-down toolbar. See the section on Setting up a Phone Directory (in this
document) for additional information.
Find Me: Connect the caller to a list of telephone numbers that allows you to be
contacted around the clock, or will spread out the calls to a multi-employee
department.
Play Audio: A recorded audio file will be played. See the Play action described in
the Virtual Receptionist Advanced User’s Guide.
Read Text: A text message will be read to the caller. See the Read Text action
described in the Virtual Receptionist Advanced User’s Guide.
Schedule Override: If you have a schedule override set up from the schedules
page, select this option (see the Smart Click-to-Call Advanced User’s Guide for more
information on schedules and schedule overrides).
SurVo: Connect the caller to a wide range of interactive voice response applications
ranging from customer surveys to complete order processing systems.
The Ifbyphone Main Menu: Connect the caller to the Ifbyphone main menu.
Transfer Call: Transfer a call to any telephone number in the US or Canada.
Transfer Call w/ Whisper Message: A message is read to the caller and then a
message is whispered to the recipient before the call is transferred (Figure 6).
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Figure 6: Transfer Call w/ Whisper Message
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Voice Mail Greeting: Connect the caller to a personalized Ifbyphone Voice mailbox.
6. Notice that on the Virtual Receptionist (Voice Menu) - Edit/Add Menu, your new
menu items appear in a tabular format (Figure 7). You may edit or delete a menu item
by pressing the Edit and Delete buttons, respectively.
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Figure 7: Edit/Add Menu Page w/ New Menu Items
You may continue to add new menu items by clicking the Add a new Menu Option link.
Also, take note that a new drop-down list has appeared, entitled Default Menu Option
(Figure 8).
Figure 8: Default Menu Option Drop-Down List
The Default Menu Option drop-down list allows you to specify a default menu item from
a list of items. If you have multiple items listed for a menu, and the caller does not make
a selection within 15 seconds, then the system will direct them to the default option. If no
default menu option is selected, then the system will continue to re-prompt the caller for
a choice. Click
to continue.
7. Returning to the Virtual Receptionist page (Figure 9), you will find a list of existing
custom menus (including the two menus that you just created). Existing Virtual
Receptionist menus contain the menu name and prompt, as well as corresponding Edit
and Delete buttons. The “default” or main entry menu is marked with a telephone icon.
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Figure 9: List of Virtual Receptionist Menus
You may now use your Virtual Receptionist to answer callers and route them to
Ifbyphone’s other building block tools.
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3
Ifbyphone Glossary
The purpose of the glossary is to assist you by defining commonly-used
Ifbyphone terms.
Auto attendant
Another term for Interactive Voice Response (IVR). Essentially refers to an automated
telephone answering system that routes calls.
Building Block
Ifbyphone proprietary code that allows you to build a complex voice application that is
accessible via the Web, Email or telephone. Smart Click-to-Call and all destinations are building
blocks.
Click-to-Call (CTC)
Immediately connect a user to a registered business telephone number. Click-to-Call can be
easily set up by registering phone numbers—in addition to the toll free number given to you at
sign up—within the Registered Numbers utility. Click-to-Call can then be configured as a
destination for Smart Click-to-Call, enabling Web site visitors to click a button and immediately
speak with a customer service representative or other call recipient.
Destinations
Destinations are Ifbyphone services/building blocks that can be configured for Smart Click-toCall access. Through Smart Click-to-Call, customers can click a link, type in their phone
number, and connect immediately to a destination.
Destination Configurations
Destination Configurations allow you to setup a destination for use with a specific Smart Clickto-Call.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
A computerized system that allows a telephone caller to select options from a voice menu and
interact with the computer phone system. IVR systems use Dual Tone, Multi-Frequency (DTMF)
signals (entered from the telephone keypad) and natural language speech recognition to
interpret the caller's response to IVR prompts.
Find Me
An Ifbyphone building block and destination, Find Me can be configured to maintain a prioritized
list of phone numbers where a call recipient may be reached (e.g. desk or cell phone, pager,
etc.). If a call recipient cannot be located at any of the phone numbers listed, the call can be
redirected to their voice mailbox.
Modes
Blocks of time established within a specific day when configuring a schedule. Modes are fully
customizable, but are commonly used to represent a workplace’s open, closed, lunch, and after
hours. Once modes have been set within a schedule, Smart Click-to-Call and Virtual
Receptionist can be configured to exhibit different IVR behavior for a specific mode.
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Net Integration
Communication between a SurVo and Web-based server. Net integration may be carried out to
retrieve or post information and to perform a function like user account validation. Typically net
integration is performed when a company is utilizing Ifbyphone business services to add voice
to an existing system.
Schedule
An Ifbyphone tool that allows a user to specify the day-to-day operation of a workplace with start
and finish times. Schedules are configured for Ifbyphone building blocks, including Smart Clickto-Call and Virtual Receptionist. Within a schedule, it is possible to specify a desired time zone,
as well as modes.
Smart Click-to-Call
An Ifbyphone building block that is highly flexible in customization and scalability, Smart Clickto-Call enables routed communication between customers, business services and contacts via
the Web or Email. Through Smart Click-to-Call, customers can click a link, type in their phone
number, and connect immediately to a company’s configured services (commonly referred to as
“destinations” in this documentation). Ifbyphone offers the following services and building blocks
as Smart Click-to-Call destinations: a custom Virtual Receptionist, voice survey, voice mailbox,
a Find Me auto-dial telephone list to locate an individual, and Click-to-Call for immediate
telephony connection. Smart Click-to-Call can be configured based on the day and/or time of
day.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
A software model employed by vendors who both develop and operate network-based
applications for use by customers over the internet. SaaS is typically a low-cost way for
businesses to obtain the same benefits of commercially licensed, internally-operated software,
without the associated complexity and high initial cost.
SurVo
See Voice Survey Form (SurVo)
Virtual Receptionist
An Ifbyphone building block and destination, Virtual Receptionist can be configured to provide
menus for callers to route incoming calls. An automated phone environment, the virtual
receptionist can transfer callers to other numbers/extensions, forward callers to voicemail
boxes, initiate a Find Me list or surveys, play pre-recorded messages, etc.
Voice Form
Similar to a Web form—with voice recognition capabilities, a voice form is a dialog between a
user and the system configured to provide or collect information. At the completion of a voice
form, the information collected can be emailed, saved to a web site or transmitted for further
processing.
Voice Survey Form (SurVo)
An Ifbyphone building block and destination, Voice Survey Forms (SurVo) are used to create
dialogs over the telephone between callers and the system, much like a Web form with voice
recognition capabilities (see Voice Form). A SurVo can be used to conduct employment
screens, provide a customer satisfaction survey, route a call based on a user's answers to a
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series of questions, etc. SurVos have the potential to be invoked in response to a Smart Clickto-Call, an inbound call, an outbound call, a scheduled call, or an API request from a Web site.
VoiceXML
W3C's standard XML format for specifying interactive voice dialogues between a human and a
computer. VoiceXML allows voice applications to be developed and deployed for visual
applications. Analogous to HTML interpretation by a visual Web browser, VoiceXML documents
are interpreted by a voice browser. VoiceXML has tags that instruct the voice browser to provide
speech synthesis, automatic speech recognition, dialog management and soundfile playback.
VUI (Voice User Integration)
Describes the interaction with computers though a voice and/or speech platform to initiate an
automated service or process.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
An international consortium, hosted by MIT, which develops interoperable technologies
(standards, protocols, software and tools) for the Web. W3C’s mission is to promote the
evolution of the Web in a single direction, rather than into splintered factions.
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Appendix
The Appendix defines processes and steps that are useful, although not
essential, to setting up Virtual Receptionist.
The Record Prompt Page
On the Record Prompt page that appears (Figure 10) when you select Record New from the
drop-down list, enter the following information:
• Phone Number: Enter the phone number at which Ifbyphone can call you to initiate the
recording session.
• Name for recording: Enter a filename under which this recording will be saved.
Press the Call Me to Record This Prompt button to save your settings. Ifbyphone will call you
momentarily.
Figure 10: Record Prompt
Recording Sound Files via PC
You may record a WAV audio file using a microphone and the Sound Recorder utility that is
included with Windows operating systems. Follow the instructions below:
1. To start Sound Recorder, left-click the Start button on the Windows menu toolbar, and
then click Open.
2. Double-click the Programs folder, then the Accessories folder, and finally the Multimedia
or Entertainment folder.
3. Double-click on Sound Recorder. The Sound Recorder utility will appear. Make sure that
you have an audio input device, such as a microphone, connected to your computer.
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Figure 11: Sound Recorder Utility
4. On the Sound Recorder File menu, click New.
5. To begin recording, click Record (the button with the red dot). To stop recording, click
Stop (the button with the black rectangle). To hear the file you recorded, press Play (the
button with the single arrow).
6. On the File menu, click Save to save the recording to a location with a name that you will
remember. Recorded sounds are saved as waveform (.wav) files.
Setting up a Phone Directory
1. To set up a Phone Directory action item within a Virtual Receptionist menu, click
“Directory Configuration,” located under the “Tools” option on the Main page’s drop-down
toolbar (Figure 30).
Figure 30: Select Directory Configuration
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2. Click the Create a new Phone Directory or SurVo Directory link (Figure 31).
Figure 31: Create a new Phone Directory or SurVo Directory
3. Select Phone Directory and click the Create button.
4. On this page, you will need to give your Phone Directory a distinct Name, and select an
Operator Action (Figure 32). The operator action is used to transfer a caller to a phone
number, Virtual Receptionist or Find Me list when they hit “0” or say “operator.” Click the
Add/Update button to continue.
Figure 32: Directory Name and Operator Handling
5. Now, you have the option of either choosing Create a new Phone Directory Item or
Upload Phone Directory Items from a CSV file (Figure 33). Initially, let’s create a new
phone directory item by clicking the Create a new Phone Directory Item link.
Figure 33: Options for creating phone directory items
6. The following fields are available on the Enter a Directory Item page (Figure 34):
• Name: Enter a person’s name or specific position (e.g. florist or pharmacist if you
own a grocery store).
• Confirmation Response: The phone directory will read the name back to the caller.
Be sure to type in an appropriate pronunciation if it is not easily distinguishable (e.g.
“James Bakke,” where Bakke is pronounced “Bach e,” not “Bake.”
• Value: You have three choices for transferring calls when this directory name is
selected, including:
o Transfer to a Phone Number
o Transfer to a Virtual Receptionist
o Transfer to a Find Me list
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Figure 34: Edit a phone directory item
7. Click the Add/Update button to proceed. To continue adding people manually to your
directory, click the Create a new Phone Directory Item button. However, to demonstrate
adding employees with a CSV file, click the Upload Phone Directory Items from a CSV
file link (Figure 35).
Figure 35: Upload from CSV link
8. Create your CSV file if you have not already done so. Your CSV file should be formatted
in the following manner (Figure 36):
• Three columns—name, confirmation response, value.
• The first row of your CSV file contains column header information.
• Name entries must be unique across all items in this Phone Directory. Duplicates
are subsequently ignored.
• Each Value is expected to be properly formatted as a 10-digit phone number, or
for the more advanced: start with the letter V or F, followed by digits that identify
a corresponding Virtual Receptionist ID or Find Me List ID as found in the
Building Block IDs page for your account. Value is the phone number or
Ifbyphone Building Block that a Name will transfer to.
Figure 3612: Sample CSV
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9. Click the Browse button to search for your CSV file (Figure 137). Click the Upload
button once you have located the file.
Figure 137: Browse for CSV file
10. Map your CSV file headings to the appropriate fields (Figure 38). Click the Process CSV
button to continue.
Figure 38: Map Phone Directory Item Columns
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11. You will receive a confirmation message if your import is successful (Figure 1439). If any
of your items did not import successfully, you can edit them manually, by clicking their
respective Edit icon. Delete any of the items by clicking their respective Delete button.
Figure 14: Confirmation Message and Imported Items
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