Play message to the one who answers the call ?
SteveInWA:
All kidding aside: yep, it's very reliable, but it does occasionally break or suffer degradation, or (most likely) the user screws up some setting, or "accidentally" deletes their account, or they can't remember their password and expect Google to tell them what it is, etc.
It's not a matter of "if something goes wrong", but when something goes wrong.
We have thousands of posts on the GV help forum from business users who chose to ignore this warning, and then post a frantic and/or outraged plea for help. It usually includes wording like "I printed 1000 business cards and/or flyers and/or paid for ads using my GV number, and now it is gone! I need it back!" or "It suddenly stopped working and my clients can't reach me! Who can I call to get this fixed ASAP".
As I always say, you don't get what you don't pay for.
Lavarock7:
As mentioned, GoogleVoice is not meant (nor would I use it) for things like a call center.
However, an account with a VOIP service (with appropriate channels for calls) COULD work fine for you. A call comes in, a message is played and the call goes to a call taker.
However a better solution would be either an online PBX or a small PBX running in the office. I use a RaspberryPi with FreePBX (the unit was less than $50 and the software free). Alternatively, a PC running the software might be better.
Then a call comes in, the PBX answers, delivers a message and puts the caller in the queue with announcements as to where they are and that their call is very important, all with background music. For the cost of a cheap computer and free software this might cost $100 and be way more professional.
With the PBX idea, the call takers would need an adapter or IP phone. Adapters could be as cheap as $10 each if you want to hack them.
http://voip.planet-aloha.com/ has some other ideas.
I am a big fan of the Obis but you are trying to get it to do something it was not designed to do.
I guess the GoogleVoice call could be forwarded to a free NYC number with a CallCentric account which would play the message, then send the call back through the internet to the Obi device, but why then would you not just port the GV number to a voip provider that can do the announcements for you. Trying to save money with GV is commendable for a person at home, but for a business is kinda high on my cheap scale.
drgeoff:
@Lavarock7
I think you have not grasped that the recorded message is to be played to the call centre agent, not the caller.
@Prez
I think the agents would very quickly come to hate hearing that message (or any message) every time they answer a call and it could even become counter-productive. Surely better and simpler to instil this behaviour during the training phase and repeat it every so often at team meetings.
SteveInWA:
Quote from: drgeoff on November 05, 2014, 11:34:13 am
@Lavarock7
I think you have not grasped that the recorded message is to be played to the call centre agent, not the caller.
@Prez
I think the agents would very quickly come to hate hearing that message (or any message) every time they answer a call and it could even become counter-productive. Surely better and simpler to instil this behaviour during the training phase and repeat it every so often at team meetings.
+1
Working in a call center is hard enough, without some Dilbert boss telling me to be polite EVERY TIME I answer a call. I'd quit after one day.
We've flogged this discussion to death, but bottom line, Google Voice is totally unsuited for this application.
Lavarock7:
Quote from: drgeoff on November 05, 2014, 11:34:13 am
@Lavarock7
I think you have not grasped that the recorded message is to be played to the call centre agent, not the caller.
Yes, I did miss that nuance. In my defense, I think all call center people should be polite anyway :-)
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