Amanda Soho Usage Manual

							Using Amanda5
Recording Greetings
The recordings let your callers know that they have reached you and feel 
comfortable about your whereabouts.
As a user of Amanda, you can record the following:
 A name and extension recording  
 At least one greeting (to be used when you do not answer or your ex-
tension is busy)
To record your name and extension recording:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +     +  record your name/extension  +     +  
Example:  “Chris Wang. Extension 247.”
Amanda plays this when callers use the employee directory (usually 411) to 
find your extension number. It is also used to identify you. For example, if a 
message is sent to you with verification, the sender hears this recording as 
part of the verification message. 
Until you make this recording, Amanda says only the number of the 
mailbox: 
“Mailbox 2-4-7.”
To record a greeting:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +  the greeting’s number  (1-3)  +     +  record greeting  +     +  
  
(to save)
When Amanda rings your extension and you do not answer, she plays a 
greeting. You can have up to three of these greetings. For example, you can 
have a daytime greeting, an after-hours greeting, and a vacation or on-the- 
						

							6 Using Amanda@SOHO
road greeting. Until you record a greeting, Amanda plays the system 
greeting, “Please leave a message for,” followed by your name and extension 
recording. (If you have not recorded the name and extension recording, 
Amanda plays your mailbox number.)
For example: “This is Chris. I’m away from my desk or on another line. You 
can bypass this greeting by pressing the # sign twice. To speak to someone 
else right now, enter that person’s extension or press 0 for assistance. If you 
leave me a detailed message at the tone, I’ll get back to you as soon as 
possible.”
These greetings can be manually selected by you or scheduled to start 
playing at certain times on certain days. See “Managing Greetings” on 
page 9.
After any recording:
Sample Greetings
This section contains sample greetings for a variety of occasions. It is 
important that each greeting be as informative as possible. See “Recording 
Greetings” on page 5 for a standard example of each type of recording: the 
Name and Extension recording and the Ring No Answer greeting.To D i a l
Review the recording
Rerecord
Add to the end of the recording
Cancel the recording
Save the recording 
						

							Using Amanda7
After-hours Greeting
Many Amanda administrators set up each mailbox so that greeting 1 plays 
for routine working hours and greeting 2 plays for after-hours calls. Here is 
an example:
“You have reached the office of Chris Wang at Homestead, Inc. after hours. 
No one at Homestead can answer your call right now. Leave a detailed 
message at the tone, or call during office hours: 10 
A.M. to 6 P.M., Monday 
through Friday.”
Away-from-the-office Greetings
“Chris Wang of Homestead, Inc. will be out of town until Monday, May 5th. 
While I am gone, my associate, Matthew Lee, is handling all my business 
calls. Please call Matthew at Extension 557. I will be unable to check my 
messages until I return.”
“Chris Wang of Homestead, Inc. will be off-site until Monday, May 5
th. 
While I am gone, my associate, Matthew Lee, is handling my business calls. 
Please call Matthew at Extension 557 or leave me a message. I will be 
checking my messages daily.”
If someone else is getting your  messages, you might want to use the 
following greeting:
“Chris Wang of Homestead, Inc. will be out of town until Monday, May 5
th. 
My associate, Matthew Lee, is handling all my business calls. Call Matthew 
at Extension 557 or leave him a detailed message at the tone.”
Combining a Greeting with a Menu
You can create a menu for your mailbox. For example, your greeting (which 
plays when you do not answer your telephone) can provide menu options for 
your caller. It might say:
“Chris Wang of Homestead, Inc. will be out of town until Monday, May 5
th. 
While I am gone, my associates, Sierra Raby and Matthew Lee, are handling 
all my business calls. To call Sierra, press 1. To call Matthew, press 2.” 
						

							8 Using Amanda@SOHO
Then you create a menu that tells Amanda to redirect the call to Sierra’s 
mailbox (511) if the caller presses 1 or to Matthew’s mailbox (557) if the 
caller presses 2. The mailboxes that you use in your menu must already exist. 
You could also create a menu that offers the caller answers to questions you 
are most often asked. To do this, you need the numbers for some 
informational mailboxes and help from your system administrator. Your 
greeting explains what options provide answers to what questions. Amanda 
redirects the caller to an informational mailbox, and the greeting for that 
mailbox answers the caller’s question.
To create a menu for your mailbox:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +     +   
  + the digit (0-9)   +    the mailbox that Amanda   +      (Amanda repeats 
of the menu calls for that digit both the option and  
                                          mailbox numbers)
          (repeat for each option on the menu)
To review the menu options in a menu:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
 +  
  +     +      
						

							Using Amanda9
To change a menu option:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +     +     + the digit (0-9)     +    the new mailbox for that digit   +  
to be changed
To remove a menu option:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
  +  
  +     +     +  the digit (0-9)    +     
to be removed
Sample Menu
If you had created the menu that allowed your caller to reach Sierra or 
Matthew using menu options, you would have done the following:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
  +  
  +    
  +
     +     +      +  
  +
     +     +      +  
Managing Greetings
Use the greetings menu to:
 Listen to the current greeting
 Use a different greeting 
						

							10 Using Amanda@SOHO
 Record or rerecord a greeting (See “Recording Greetings” on page 5 
for information about recording greetings.)
 Schedule a greeting to start playing at specific times on weekdays, 
weekends, or everyday
Reviewing the Current Greeting or Name and Extension 
Recording
You can review your current greeting or your Name and Extension 
recording. 
Review your greeting to find out what your callers hear when you do not 
answer your extension or when you have turned on Do Not Disturb.
To listen to the current greeting:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +  
You hear the greeting number, the time and days for which the greeting is 
scheduled (if it is scheduled), and the greeting.
Review your Name and Extension recording to know what callers hear when 
they search for you in the employee directory. The Name and Extension 
recording is used to identify you in other ways, too. For example, it is part of 
the system greeting.
To review your current Name and Extension recording (as well as the 
setting for Do Not Disturb):
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
 +  
  +   
						

							Using Amanda11
Changing What Greeting is Currently Played
To change which greeting is played for callers:
Scheduling Greetings
Amanda can be configured to automatically change your greeting at a 
particular time on weekdays, weekends, every day, or holidays. When you 
schedule a greeting, you schedule the time it will start playing. It plays until 
another greeting starts. The new greeting can start because it was scheduled 
or because you selected it as the current greeting. For example, if greeting 3 
explains that you have stepped out of the office, you select it before you 
leave and select a different greeting when you return. For events that occur 
with regularity, such as coming to work at a certain time or leaving work at a 
certain time, you can schedule the change of greeting. For example, you may 
want greeting 1 to be your work-hours greeting and greeting 2 to be your 
after-hours greeting. In this case, you might schedule greeting 1 to start 
playing at 8 
A.M. weekdays and greeting 2 to start playing at 5 P.M. 
weekdays. Notice that greeting 2 plays on week nights and all weekend—if 
only greetings 1 and 2 are scheduled.
Notice that you cannot schedule the system greeting—although you can 
make it the current greeting.
  +    + 
the greeting’s number (1-3)  +  
(Optional)   (to listen to the greeting)
(See “Logging into Amanda” on
page 2.)  (for the system greeting)  +   
						

							12 Using Amanda@SOHO
To schedule a start time for a greeting:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +  greeting number (1-3)  +   
 (weekdays)   (for A.M.)
  + 
 (weekends)   +   the hour and 
minutes +     +        
 (everyday)  (for P.M.)
NOTE:Use 1 or 2 digits for the hour and 2 digits for the minutes. 
If you use 13 through 23 for hours after noon, you are not 
asked whether you meant 
A.M. or P.M.
To play a holiday greeting on business holidays:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +    (Use greeting number 3  +     
for holiday greetings.)
  (for 
A.M.)
   +   
 (holidays)  +   the hour   +     +     
and minutes
  (for P.M.)
A holiday list must be made by your Amanda administrator for this to be 
effective. 
						

							Using Amanda13
Reviewing All Your Greeting Schedules
You can hear a list of what greetings are scheduled at what time, giving you 
an overall idea of how you set up your greetings.
To listen to all scheduling information:
   (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +  
Becoming Unavailable
On hectic days or when you are out of the office, you can use Amanda’s Do 
Not Disturb to keep Amanda from ringing your extension. Callers hear your 
greeting immediately and can leave you a message. Your coworkers are also 
not disturbed by your ringing extension.
To turn Do Not Disturb on or off:
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +    
To review the current setting for Do Not Disturb (as well as listen to 
your Name and Extension recording):
  (For login information, see “Logging into Amanda” on page 2.)
+  
  +   
						

							14 Using Amanda@SOHO
Being Notified about Messages
If your telephone has a message light, Amanda automatically turns it on 
when you have messages waiting and turns it off after you listen to those 
messages. You can add other types of notification so that Amanda calls:
 Your extension. This is often used by users whose telephones do not 
have message lights.
 An outside number. For example, Amanda can call you at home.
 Your pager number. 
You can also review your notification records to double-check their accuracy 
or to remind yourself about the records you created.
Creating Notification Records
You can create up to three notification records. You specify the days of the 
week that you want to be notified and where Amanda should call or page 
you.
 When you provide a number for a pager or an outside line, be sure to include 
any extra numbers that must be included. For example, you might need to 
dial   for an outside line or   for long distance. Use   for a two-second 
pause. For example, if you need a pause between the number for an outside 
line and the telephone or pager number, you would start with  .