Dial by Name

Last Updated : Sep 08, 2012 |

Use the Dial by Name feature to dial a number by entering the person’s name from your touchtone keypad. You can access this feature by using Call Vectoring and the integrated announcement circuit pack. This creates an auto-attendant procedure whereby callers can enter a person’s name instead of the extension number. The system processes characters of the name received, and when a match is found, the number is dialed automatically.

Note:

You must set the Dial by Name field to y to create a vector for this purpose.

A typical scenario includes the following call processing features:

  • When a call comes in to the system (usually to an LDN call), a vector routes the call to an announcement that says, Hello. You have reached A1 Hotel. Press 0 for an operator, press 1 for front desk, press 2 if you know the extension, press 3 if you know the name, press 4 to choose from a list of extensions, or press 5 to hear the options again.

  • If the caller selects 3, the caller is prompted to enter the person’s name.

  • As soon as a match is found, the call is placed at the person's extension.

You can assign several vectors that define how to handle calls as users select the different prompts. The following example shows an auto-attendant procedure that can be used to access the Dial by Name feature. Step numbers 1-20 contain the basic auto-attendant steps, and steps 21-32 contain the Dial by Name steps.

Example Dial by Name vector

change vector 2                                               Page   1 of   3
                                   CALL VECTOR

    Number: 2                 Name: Dial by Name                         
                   Attendant Vectoring? y             Lock? n
     Basic? y   EAS? n    G3V4 Enhanced? n    ANI/II-Digits? n   ASAI Routing? n
 Prompting? y   LAI? n   G3V4 Adv Route? n    CINFO? n  BSR? n    Holidays? y

01 wait-time    2   secs hearing ringback
02 collect      1  digits after announcement 381
03 
04 route-to     number 0                with cov n if digit             =  0
05 route-to     number 105              with cov n if digit             =  1
06 goto         step   12  if digits           =      2
07 goto         step   21  if digits           =      3
08 goto         step   19  if digits           =      4
09 goto         step   16  if digits           =      5
10 route-to     number 0                with cov n if unconditionally
11
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

change vector 2                                          Page 2 of 3
                             CALL VECTOR

12 collect      3  digits after announcement 382
13 route-to     digits with coverage y
14 route-to     number 0               with cov n if unconditionally
15 
16 goto         step   2   if unconditionally
17
18
19 collect      3  digits after announcement 383
20 goto         step   13  if unconditionally
21 collect      4 digits after announcement 661
22 route-to     name1 with coverage y
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

change vector 2                                          Page 3 of 3
                             CALL VECTOR

23 goto         step 30 if nomatch
24 collect      11 digits after announcement 662
25 route-to     name2 with coverage y
26 goto         step 30 if nomatch
27 collect      2 digits after announcement 663
28 route-to     name3 with coverage y
29 goto         step 30 if nomatch
30 collect      1 digits after announcement 660
31 goto         step 21 if digits = 1
32 route-to     number 0                with cov n if unconditionally

This example includes the following call processing features and functionalities:

  1. When someone calls the system, the caller receives a ringback for 2 seconds.

  2. Announcement 381 plays. This announcement asks the caller to do one of the following:

    • Press 0 for an operator. If the caller presses 0 or waits for the time-out, the call is routed to the operator.

    • Press 1 for front desk. If the caller presses 1, the call is routed to extension 105, which is the front desk.

    • Press 2 if the caller knows the extension. If the caller presses 2, the call is routed to announcement 382, which prompts the caller to dial the extension.

    • Press 3 if the caller knows the person’s name. If the caller presses 3, the following sub-procedure occurs:

      1. Announcement 661 plays prompting that the caller enter the first four characters of the person’s last name.

        • If there is a match, the call is redirected.

        • If there are multiple matches, continue with ii.

        • If there is no match, go to iiii.

      2. Announcement 662 plays prompting the caller to enter the rest of the person’s last name, followed by the # key.

        • If there is a match, the call is redirected.

        • If there are multiple matches, continue with iii.

        • If there is no match, go to iv.

      3. Announcement 663 plays prompting the caller to enter the first two characters of the person’s first name.

        • If there is a match, the call is redirected.

        • If there is no match, continue with iv.

      4. Since there are still no matches, announcement 660 plays prompting the caller to press 1 to try again, or press 0 to speak to an operator.

    • Press 4 if the caller knows the department (such as housekeeping) that the caller wishes to access. If the caller presses 4, the call is routed to announcement 383, which gives the caller a list of several departments that the caller can dial directly.

    • Press 5 to start again. If the caller presses 5, the caller hears announcement 381 that repeats all of the options.

    • If the caller dials anything else, the call is routed to the operator.