Default Call Handler

[neilcperry]

I have a multi-site centralized deployment of Cisco Unity and am having some issues with calls destined for remote stores ending back up at the host site.

I have created Call Handlers as backups for each remote site operator in a Busy/NA situation. This then acts as the main greeting for backup during hours and the main Automated Attendant after hours.

If this AA picks up the call and the caller enters a sequence of digits that is not understood by Unity or isn't a valid DN in the Unity database Unity automatically defaults to the original default Call Handler, which is the host site Main AA Greeting. Needless to say, customers are getting upset when they call a branch office and end up at a totally different store and then have to be transferred again.

Is there a way to keep that call local to that remote store regardless of the digits entered by a caller?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. I'm sure details are missing.

[lindborg · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can change this behavior. What you're seeing is the hidden "error greeting" which defaults to the opening greeting call handler created by setup. The easiest way to deal with this is to use BulkEdit to change the error greeting behavior to "loop back to self" for all call handlers and subscribers in your system - this will then just replay the greeting the user was on when they fat-fingered an option.

You can read more about the error greeting and other issues you may run into in a multiple site deployment in the "audiotext applications in Unity" paper on the Documents page of www.CiscoUnityTools.com.

[neilcperry]

You have no idea how many issues that just cleared up for us. Thank You!!!

Is there a way to edit that greeting and re-record it an apply different error greetings for different Call Hanlders or subscribers?

Thanks again!!!!

[lindborg]

Each call handler has it's own error greeting - you can expose it by turning on the "Administration - Expose error greeting for subscribers on the SA" option in the Advanced Settings Tool (you'll find this in the Tools Depot on your desktop). So you can do different things for each call handler or subscriber if you want - you can record custom greetings for each and send users to different places all you want.

The error greeting is also exposed in the Audio Text Manager (ATM) tool which you'll also find in the Tools Depot on your desktop.

Personally I think looping the caller back to the same handler/subscriber again makes the most sense and is the easiest thing to do since BulkEdit provides a function just for this - but you can go wild if you want.

[neilcperry]

Again, thank you. All I really want to do is re-record that message in our personalized voice so it's familiar to our callers.

[williams.jeff]

Pretty cool stuff. Any way to make this part of a template so I don't have to set it for each new CH / user?

TIA,

Jeff

[neilcperry]

Yes, make this change to each Subscriber Template used to create users. This will enforce this change upon all newly created users.

For Call Handlers it's pretty much the same way. You would typically create a Call Handler with some general settings that apply to your organization or setup, then create all subsequent Call Handlers based on that template.

Hope this helps.

[williams.jeff]

That's what I thought should happen- but I don't see how to reference it properly in the template. I go to greetings, select error, then select send to subscriber... then what? Since I'm working with the template what subscriber do I chose? (Guess I muddied the waters a bit by draging call handlers in- I have a good idea how to handle it with them.)

Thanks!

Jeff

[neilcperry]

I think Jeff, from Cisco, mentioned it earlier in the thread but if you go to the Unity Tools Depot - Administration Tool - Advanced Settings Tool - Expose the error greeting for subscribers on the SA and set the value to "1".

You can then view, change, and do whatever with the Error greeting on the Greetings page for an individual Subscriber or a Template in this case just as the standard and other greetings.

Hope this helps.

Neil

[neilcperry]

Are there other situations that would cause Unity to pass a call back to the default call handler? I've heard only a few complaints from users but that was shortly before the unity ports stopped responding and I had to reboot the server.

Anyway, are there other causes for this behavior?

Thanks,

Neil

[lindborg]

There are a few places that are still hard coded to go to the opening greeting handler - for instance if you go into subscriber sign in and then exit out without finishing the sign in. There's a couple others - I talk about this in the pitfalls of tenant services type setups in the "audiotext applications in Unity" paper on www.CiscoUnityTools.com.