Lucent Technologies MERLIN LEGEND 6 - Manual (Page 166)

MERLIN LEGEND Communications System Release 6.0
System Manager’s Guide
555-660-118
Issue 1
February 1998
Features and Applications
Page 4-34 Features
4
Feature Descriptions 4
This section provides more detail about certain groups of related features, so that
you can gain additional insight when it is necessary to match features with
changing business needs. Here, the focus is on the differences among your
choices, and not all system features are described. In addition, features that affect
security receive special attention. The
Feature Reference includes complete
information about all the features, including their interactions, modes of operation,
and the ways that features work on different system equipment.
Covering Calls 4
The system provides numerous methods for covering calls, allowing one or more
users to handle incoming calls for others. In many systems, operators direct calls
to groups and individuals. In others, automated attendants perform all or most of
this function. When a person is not available, voice mail is often used, and the
system allows voice mail, too. There are also several ways that two or more
people can work together to personally handle one another’s calls, and that is
primarily what we describe here.
There are several factors you should keep in mind when you plan for covering
calls:
■ How heavy is the call volume of the people involved? Can the covering
person(s) handle the volume, and is there a backup alternative when they
cannot?
■ When should calls be covered? Should they be covered all of the time,
some of the time, or only when the covered person does not answer
immediately? Have you decided how to set ringing delays for each
extension (Release 4.1 and later systems only) that is part of a coverage
group and/or is covered by Primary or Secondary Cover buttons at
co-workers’ telephones?
■ Are programmed line buttons required for the method you have chosen?
Do the phones at the extensions have these buttons available for
programming?
■ Is a voice mail system providing coverage? Do users need programmed
buttons to turn this coverage on and off?
■ Should you set Night Service to work with your voice messaging system
(Release 4.1 and later systems only), so that telephones’ programmed
Coverage VMS Off buttons are set centrally to turn voice messaging on
during Night Service and turn it off again during normal business hours?
The system includes a group of capabilities called coverage features, which are
described in “Coverage” on page 4–37 . However, there are several other features
that also help people cover calls, and a discussion of these follows.