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356
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Manual Line Selection

chuck47172
Level 1
Level 1

Is it possible to program my 8851 phone so that when any line key is ringing that I will be forced to press the line key to get the call rather than just going off hook and automatically getting the call?

5 Replies 5

Rob Huffman
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Hi Chuck,

You can use the setting called "Always use Prime Line" this way when users pick up the handset it will always use Line 1 and not inadvertently pick up one of the other lines.

Cheers!

Rob

Thanks for the feedback however; "Always use Prime Line" is not what I'm after. If I were to give the feature a name, I would call it "Manual Line Answer Only". In other words; anytime that any line rings on the phone, I want to force the user to press the line key to get the call. 

Here the scenario... Jack and Jill share a phone. Jack has line 1 and Jill has line 2. Each line has a different ringtone and each line has the user's name shown on the display. Company rules dictate that Jack is only allowed to answer line 1 and Jill is only allowed to answer line 2.

Example: Someone calls Jill's line and Jack picks up the handset and says "whoops!, I accidentally picked up Jill's call because I'm too stupid to recognize her ring tone and the flashing line key next to her name display because I have the attention span of a dead cat".

Yes, this is the stupidity I deal with on a daily basis. And believe it or not, Jill makes the same mistake. Ideally, in my mind, I'm thinking that if I set the phone where the only way they can get a call is to press the ringing key, and train them to only press the key with their name on it, I may be able to solve the problem. This is doubtful although possible as I have high hopes. So when someone calls Jill's line and Jack presses his line button, he will get dial tone rather than getting Jill's call at which point he will think "boy, I'm happy my phone guy set my phone so that I have to press my line key to get my calls otherwise I probably would have screwed up again for the umpteenth time and break the rules by answering Jill's call."

Maybe there is a better way to approach this although this is all I can think of at the moment.

All suggestions welcomed.

What if you set the device up as Rob notes but, change the configuration of the line buttons.

a - move the two user DN's to lines 2 and 3 and leave line 1 (the prime line) unassigned / blank / empty.  Calls into and out of the phone now require the user to select the correct line.

b - move the two user DN's to lines 2 and 3 and assign a new / non-did / phantom number to line 1.  Your the users would get dial tone when they pick up the handset rather than silence but would have to choose their line to pick up the call - as you've noted above.

Not high tech but it would solve your issue.

Rob Huffman
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Hi Chuck,

Your latest description of the issue was very,very funny my friend! Still laughing :)

I think the method listed by my old friend Les may be the only way to mitigate this problem. +5 to Les for his good thoughts and +5 to you for your awesome sense of humor!

You could also give them a phone like the one in the image above.

Cheers!

Rob

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