MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System. AT&T MERLIN LEGEND

System Applications

MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System

The MERLIN Mail Voice Messaging System offers integrated call management services at low cost. Its services are as follows:

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Automated Attendant. Telephones are answered automatically and callers are transferred to the appropriate departments or extensions. Callers dial numbers on a touch-tone telephone to respond to a series of recorded prompts. If there is no answer or the extension is busy, callers can be given the option to leave a message or try another extension. Callers without touchtone telephones can be transferred to the system operator, who then handles their calls.

Separate menus for day and night service, as well as multilevel menus and corresponding announcements, can be set up to ensure that callers reach the right person or department as quickly as possible.

In addition, the Automated Attendant can direct calls to a fax machine. If the fax machine is busy or does not answer, the call is automatically disconnected.

CalIs are transferred by the Automated Attendant in one of two ways: either

"blind" or "supervised." A blind transfer means the Automated Attendant dials the extension or department requested by the caller and disconnects. If the call is not answered or the telephone is busy, the call is routed to the system operator.

With a supervised transfer, the Automated Attendant transfers the call and can retrieve it if the transfer is unsuccessful. The Automated Attendant then directs the call to another telephone, allows the caller a second route choice, or provides a failed-transfer announcement, depending on how the application is programmed.

Call Answer. Callers who reach a busy or unanswered extension are connected to the called party’s personal greeting and the caller can leave a message in the called party’s mailbox. If no personal greeting is available, the caller hears a general message with the recorded name of the called party and then is instructed to leave a message.

If the called party’s mailbox is full, Call Answer connects the caller to a general mailbox where the caller hears a message with the called party’s recorded name. The caller can then leave a recorded message. The system manager is responsible for forwarding the messages in the general mailbox to the appropriate users.

Call Answer tells callers when the general mailbox is full and the caller can transfer to another extension.

When a user receives a message, the message LED on the telephone goes on. If a message is left in the general mailbox, the system manager’s message LED goes on.

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Voice Mail. Users can send messages to other extensions in the system, forward messages received with comments, and reply to messages received. Users can also record a personal greeting and program a password to help prevent others from retrieving their messages.

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System Applications

The number of incoming lines and subscribers programmed for Automated

Attendant service and the number of busy-hour calls determine how many

MERLIN MAIL ports are required for the user’s system (see Table 3-5).

Table 3-5 MERLIN MAIL Ports Required

New Application Features

The MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System features that are new for the

MERLIN LEGEND Communications System include the following:

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Outcalling automatically calls the user at a number that the user has programmed when a new message is received. The user then can log into the VMS to retrieve messages.

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Pager Notification calls the user at a designated number when a new message is received. However, the user cannot log into the VMS.

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Broadcast Lists allows the system administrator to send a message to every user on the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System. However, this message does not light message LEDs and does not cause outcalling.

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Fax Transfer directs an incoming fax call to a designated fax station. This fax station can be a single machine or a calling group with several machines.

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Announcement Service allows a caller to enter a code to hear information about specific subjects, such as new product information or marketing programs.

Mode Differences

The MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System cannot be connected to a telephone system that operates in the Behind Switch mode.

Considerations

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The MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System is available in two-port and four-port configurations. Both models have four hours of message storage capacity.

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The size of a user's mailbox — that is, the number of minutes of messages that a mailbox can hold — can be matched to individual needs. A mailbox can be setup to hold a maximum of 15 minutes of messages.

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System Applications

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When users receive voice-mail messages, the message LEDs on their telephones turn on, provided that a mailbox has been assigned to each of those telephones.

Callers who dial from rotary telephones cannot use the features of the

MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System and should be directed to the system operator during business hours.

Automated Attendant can answer calls immediately (Primary Call Handling) or after a delay (Secondary Call Handling), for example, when a call remains unanswered by the system operator after a certain number of rings.

The MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System does not work with the MERLIN

Attendant.

Programming of the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System is done via touch-tone interface. The MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System is equipped with an RS-232 serial port and an external modem to support remote diagnostics.

The following symptoms indicate that the system needs more touch-tone receivers.

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Single-line telephone users do not get dial tone when trying to dial out.

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The MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System fails to transfer calls.

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Calls fail to ring or calls go to coverage prematurely.

Call restrictions should be assigned to the station jacks that connect the

MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System to the system to prevent toll calls from being dialed through this product.

System Feature Interactions

Coverage

All extensions that need to be covered are assigned to a coverage group through system programming. The calling group that is made up of MERLIN

MAIL Voice Messaging System ports is designated as the coverage receiver for the group.

An internal call on a VMI port that transfers to an internal extension will not go to coverage. It will continue to ring at the internal extension.

If a sender programs his or her telephone so that only outside calls are sent to coverage, calls received on intercom or System Access buttons will not be sent to voice mail.

Group Calling

All the station jacks to which the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System ports are connected are assigned to the same calling group through system programming.

Calls that overflow from one calling group to another calling group with integrated VMI ports are treated and identified as coverage calls. This occurs because the control unit sends the appropriate coverage call mode codes along with the calling group number.

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System Applications

Leave Word Calling

Night Service

Privacy

Ringing Options

Transfer

System Programming

If a Leave Word Calling message is left in a mailbox in a system with heavy VMI traffic, the user may have to dial out manually for messages.

The MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System Automated Attendant works with the system’s Night Service feature to provide specialized after-hours service.

Automated Attendant can answer calls on lines it does not handle during business hours or can direct calls to ring at a specific night extension or department, such as Building Security. A special night announcement can greet after-hours callers.

If the Automated Attendant only handles after-hours calls, a dummy station (an unused station jack) must be programmed as a member of a Night Service group associated with a system operator. In turn, this dummy station is covered by a calling group with integrated VMI ports as members. If an incoming call is not answered in the programmed number of rings, the control unit sends the call to the calling group with the VMI ports. Because of prior programming, the

MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System recognizes the call to be from the dummy station and provides Automated Attendant service rather than the usual

Call Answer service.

Privacy must be programmed for each port designated for the MERLIN MAIL

Voice Messaging System.

If lines set for answering by the Automated Attendant also appear on telephones other than the system operator console or a backup station, these lines should be programmed for "no ring."

VMI ports can transfer an incoming call to an outgoing line/trunk.

If a call received on a line/trunk is transferred to a VMI port, the direct inside access mode code is sent and the call is treated as a transferred call; the caller hears the internal greeting.

If a caller incorrectly specifies the answering VMI port as the desired transfer destination station, the VMI port can inadvertently park the call.

Any calling group, calling group member, or station can be programmed to be a

VMS transfer redirect extension. If a QCC is programmed as such, the transfer redirect call is delivered to the QCC as a returning call and is not placed in the

QCC queue.

If a transferred caller gets no answer and returns through voice mail to the system operator, the system operator has no indication of the original or the call.

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Assign all the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System ports to a calling group and set the group type to "VMI integrated."

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System Applications

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Program VMI loop-start ports for the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System for "reliable" far-end disconnect.

Specify the touch-tone duration and interval between digits in codes sent between the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System and the communications system.

Specify the number of rings before a call transferred by the MERLIN MAIL

Voice Messaging System is sent to the backup position (system operator).

Specify that telephone company dial tone must be provided for intercom dial tone.

Assign Privacy for each station jack used to connect the MERLIN MAIL Voice

Messaging System.

Assign call restrictions to each station jack used to connect the MERLIN

MAIL Voice Messaging System.

When the Automated Attendant is used only for Night Service:

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If the lines/trunks set for answering by the Automated Attendant appear at other stations, set the "no ring" option for the other stations.

■ Assign the dummy station to a Night Service group for each system operator position.

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Assign the dummy station to a coverage group and assign the VMl calling group to cover that coverage group.

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Specify the VMl ports that provide Automated Attendant to be Automated

Attendant ports.

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Specify immediate answer (one ring) for the VMI ports.

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Specify the dummy station to have a Class 15 mailbox (Class 15 mailboxes have Automated Attendant instead of Call Answer).

■ Specify the business schedule for the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging

System.

Hardware Requirements

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MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System unit and power cords

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■ remote maintenance device (with a wall-mount transformer) modem cable with a 9-pin connector at one end and a 25-pin connector at the other end to connect the remote maintenance device to the serial port on the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System unit

D4BU modular cords (2 for a 2-port system or 4 for a 4-port system, plus 1 for the remote maintenance device)

012 basic telephone module

Note: Additional touch-tone receivers (TTRs) may be needed to allow the

012 module to handle a large number of voice connections.

Figure 3-8 shows the connection of a MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System

unit to the control unit.

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System Applications

Figure 3-8 Connection of MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System

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