[FoxhallVoIP]

In larger 3CX installs, we see the call pick-up [*20*] sequence becoming a problem.
A user typically will only want to pick up a call in their own department / room, and are also under management pressure to answer calls quickly. We try to make call pick-up fast by programming speed-dial 9 as *20* - so the user just presses 9 and picks up the handset to grab the ringing extension. However, the down-side of this is if there was [already] a phone ringing somewhere else in the company, that 'oldest' call is grabbed rather than the one the user wanted!

Yes you can dial *20* followed by the extension number - or you can use a phone with BLF - or you can use the 3CX Assistant. But, we find that;
a) by the time that the user has looked up his colleague's extension number, the call has pretty much rung out (you don't often ring people in the same room! - How many times does your colleague ask "What's your extension?" when they have a caller for you).
b) Predicting how many BLF keys and deploying different phones to different departments is a pain [our standard phone is the Cisco-Linksys SPA942 which doesn't have BLF], and people want to use the programmable keys on their phones as speed diallers anyway.
c) Not all our users actually have a PC next to the phone.
d) And the Ring Group argument doesn't wash because this situation is usually associated with extension specific incoming DDI calls, calls from other internal extensions, and/or calls transferred by other users or receptionists.

My request is this - Can we have 'Call pick-up Groups' please ... Most traditional PBX platforms, and hosted VoIP services, will allow you to configure the extension with a 'Pick-up Group number'. All extensions made part of pick-up group 1 can use the generic (e.g. *20*) pick-up code to grab a call ringing on any other extension configured as a member of call pick-up group 1, all extensions in PU Group 2 can pick up those group 2 member calls etc. And then, if you do want to pick up a call outside your group, you can use the pick-up code followed by the extension number e.g. *20*230.

With this configuration, users would be able to use a generic speed-dial or single programmed button, as a call pick-up key, knowing that they would only pick up ringing calls in their own department / room - and also knowing that they did not have to look up extension numbers or sacrifice buttons on their phones to cover the other people in their department.

Transferring this to 3CX, it would mean that we could allocate 3CX extensions to pick-up groups and then - on the phones, have a single button or speed dial associated with the pick-up function.