Call groups listed on extension page

[Voipy]

When looking at the full extension listing of a domain, it is not shown which extension belongs to which call group, if any. The export also does not reflect this.

This means that when a customer wants to know "please tell me which extensions are currently in which call group" they (read WE ) have to go: click on extension, click on advanced, make a note of it, repeat for the next one. When a customer has 5 extensions, (in which case they likely do not have specific groups to start off with) - this is not much of an issue. When they have 100, it's rather cumbersome. Or we get a report that "call pickup does not work" but we have not overview of it to immediately tell whether the issue is that they are not in the same call group. Etc.

The above is to motivate for adding this to the extension overview

 

[pbxgeek]

This is a very rarely used feature, and cluttering the main list view with it makes no sense. However, a report can be created to export the data you need to see. Reach out to support, and we can get this done for you.

 

[Voipy]

Will do. A report will be fine. I am surprised it's a rarely used feature though - how do others deal with this then? Probably one of the first things a new customer asks us is "how do we pick up a call that rings at another extension?". I myself am not much in favour of it, but rather use ring groups with a delay so that there is no need to pick up the call but many customers prefer just being able to pick up the call.

 

[pbxgeek]

If you don't put anything in the pickup group options, it works too. Are you doing it via BLFs, right? I personally haven't tested it, but my impression has always been this: if you put something in the pickup group, you are limiting the pickup ability to just that group.

 

[Voipy]

It does work fine without using call groups - but for bigger customers that is often not suitable. We don't do it via BLFs - users just dial *8

Customers often have multiple branches - let's use one as an example who have 17 restaurants. A call comes in to restaurant A, and at the same time another call is for restaurant B. Restaurant B rings at ext 200, but the manager hears it ring and wants to pick up the call from his phone. Presses *8 and by doing so gets the call that was ringing at Ext 100 that was meant for Restaurant A. The same of course applies to other scenarios with multiple inbound numbers that are for different departments even if they work in the same location. Someone in support does not want to pick up a call that is meant for accounts.

 

[pbxgeek]

I see what you are doing. Well, we personally address that with BLFs, restaurant A only gets BLFs from their location and Restaurant B only gets their BLFs.
Then, when they pick up calls, there is no mix-up between the locations. This could easily be done within different departments too in the same office. I also think BLFs are nicer because not everyone always is close enough to the front desks to hear the phone ring. BLFs light up when calls are coming in, so a manager in their office can still pick up the call even if that office is in the back of the restaurant.
I'm not discouraging you from using your way. Your way is fine too. Just sharing our process since you asked for it.

 

[Voipy]

Maybe I have not understood BLFs for what they are. I have only ever understood them to show that someone is engaged, nor for any other purpose. A quick google shows me that it can also be used to show someone else's phone is ringing and you can then use it to pick up the call.

But that aside - typically a phone only has room for a few I think? So you'd need an expansion module for every phone out there to be able to use it that way? And portable phones, which many people use in our customer base, don't have them at all. Or is my perception of how this work just completely wrong?

I must also say that I usually encourage people to just have a strategy where you have to do nothing. If a call is not answered within X rings, just make sure it then goes to a whole lot of extensions so that it WILL get answered. That to me is always the easiest and most reliable way.