Update 4 Beta 2 Released

[N_G]

The questions is..
In the MCM Group, will it be possible to define a different destination for public holidays (for each MCM Group) ?

So, If Service Department is closed for a holiday, the caller should not reach the "Standard Office Close / after hour" IVR. .
We need the caller to reach the "Service Department " HOL IVR. Not a "Global HOL IVR".

Sorry to insist but this question is important to plan our future strategy, we are about to "deliver" a client with over 100 departments.

in group mode, you can have different destinations PER GROUP for
Office open
Office closed
Break
Custom

Now holidays go to office closed. Why do you need to have a different destination for a holiday compared to closed?

Custom is another one you can use, you can override all rules for a period of time or until manual change back, and set it to go to another destination. So if the receptionist knows there is a public holiday or lets say the office is closed for training, you can set it to go to another destination and another prompt.

 

[Evolute IT]

Hi thank you for your sharing. Wondering where to find the option for the MCM? is it available on on 3cx hosted? I try to go to user - groups - select group - group right. but can't see this option. My version is 18.0 Update 4 (Build 965)Version

You can't on 3CX Hosted as you don't have access to the Parameters settings page.

 

[Kacey Tan]

You can't on 3CX Hosted as you don't have access to the Parameters settings page.

oh I got it... Thanks you for the tips

 

[bit101]

Hi,

after update i cannot find the Auto-Switch feature in the extensions. Where are these settings?

 

[Evolute IT]

Hi,

after update i cannot find the Auto-Switch feature in the extensions. Where are these settings?

In the user's webclient. Read the few latest blog posts.

 

[bit101]

In the user's webclient. Read the few latest blog posts.

Thanks. Is this feature, now in the users client, switchable to disallow for the user?
Especially changing the custom business hours should be set to disallow by admin

 

[SweetAction]

Thanks. Is this feature, now in the users client, switchable to disallow for the user?
Especially changing the custom business hours should be set to disallow by admin

Currently no. I've gathered a bunch of information on this here: https://www.3cx.com/community/threads/auto-switch-based-on-time-dissapeared.115247/#post-534692

 

[TeldataSolutions]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE add the ability to have separate Music On Hold files to be allocated to different DID trunks or Ring Groups so a callee listens to a different message for each DID number or Ring Group they arrived on. Rather than just the option for one MOH file to be played for the entire system. I don't want different divisions for companies using the same MOH file for their advertising I also don't want to create multiple 3CX accounts then having them BRIDGED together. I've been asked many times from my clients if this feature will ever be available.

 

[CentrexJ]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE add the ability to have separate Music On Hold files to be allocated to different DID trunks or Ring Groups so a callee listens to a different message for each DID number or Ring Group they arrived on. Rather than just the option for one MOH file to be played for the entire system. I don't want different divisions for companies using the same MOH file for their advertising I also don't want to create multiple 3CX accounts then having them BRIDGED together. I've been asked many times from my clients if this feature will ever be available.

Call queues have individual moh. Upgrade to pro. Ring groups are more basic and have less features.

 

[Jack.Staples]

@Nick Galea will MCM eventually allow duplicate numbered extensions in different groups to avoid extensions being assigned out of order for a company when added through the webclient?

I.e. currently if I add an extension for "Company 1" and then "Company 2" the extension in "Company 2" will be the next number in the sequence. (Company 1 ext 100, Company 2 ext 101).

Ideally, I would be able to have ext 100 in company 1 and ext 100 in company 2 as they cannot dial each other anyway.

Obviously MCM isn't ready at the moment, so I figured I would ask. Thanks.

 

[TeldataSolutions]

I'm aware THAT the call Queue can have different MOH messages, I want the callee to hear a different MOH file when placed on HOLD or PARK when answered from a different ring groups or DID numbers, other systems support this feature why not 3CX

 

[N_G]

@teldata As @CentrexJ correctly points out, you can use a separate call queue for that. The feature you mention is not coming to 3CX.

@Jack.Staples No this is not possible to have same extensions numbers. One per system. In fact in startUP extension length is much bigger than in dedicated so that it can have more extensions. Of course one group can have 1100 and the next 1200 and so on but never same.

@bit101 - it will be manageable centrally yes. Users can currently only configure their OWN time, not office hours btw.

 

[bit101]

Hi Nick,
thanks for the info. It sould be possible to prevent that the user can set own office hours. It has to be prevent that user have to much settings possible to prevent received calls

 

[bravad]

in group mode, you can have different destinations PER GROUP for
Office open
Office closed
Break
Custom

Now holidays go to office closed. Why do you need to have a different destination for a holiday compared to closed?

Custom is another one you can use, you can override all rules for a period of time or until manual change back, and set it to go to another destination. So if the receptionist knows there is a public holiday or lets say the office is closed for training, you can set it to go to another destination and another prompt.

Yes,
Curious, I didn't think we were the only ones experiencing this need, especially since it's VERY popular request at Bravad (Currently managed by Call Flow). I'm surprised to learn that it's an "Edge Case".

I don't seem to be the only one with more segmented scheduling needs

Before you asked me, I just posted the idea on the appropriate category , Click here for view.

That said, I will answer your question.

To begin with, managing the unitary modification of the rules before a public holiday and coming back to them after a public holiday is unthinkable. We offer the "System with complete management", we configure in advance, around 2x per year "holidays" in customers systems with certain exceptions .

With the amount of customers we have, we could not "monopolize" a member of our team to go around the systems and modify the rule to then ask him again, the next day of the Holiday, I replace the configuration, especially that this requires making the change probably on weekends (We are closed on weekends) given that the majority of public holidays are Fridays.

Why not just route calls as "closed office"?
The answer is simple:
Customers take the opportunity to advertise alternatives. Unlike evenings and weekends.

Several examples (from different of our customers) will allow you to understand how essential this functionality is.

- Based on your logic that you suggested to me (Apply group/department schedules AFTER the first choice made in the home IVR). A caller who chooses the service but it is closed, it is crucial to warn the caller that the technical support is open... (On different IVR) The caller will immediately think that all the departments are closed! And will not attempt to try again at another department.
View your post

- The office in the province of Quebec is closed because Quebec Holiday ?, No worry, calls must be redirected to offices located in Ontario (Without Holiday).You have thought of managing different time zones, which is great, so you take into account that customers can be located in several time zones but you do not allow this "logic" to be solicited during public holidays applicable only in a province or of a country OR forward to external Call Center.

- During "long holidays" (Exceptions) for example;
Construction holidays, Spring Break, Christmas, New Year's Days .. our customers mention in their messages their closing periods and notify callers when they will be open again.

- The peoples available "on call" (emergencies) during "holidays" are not the same as the people available on evenings and weekends

- Some customers use the "Holiday" function even if they are open to route to a different IVR to play a "special" message for a day, or a week to mention a promotion.

I will stop here in the examples but I have at least 4 other scenarios in which we are currently using, via CallFlow, custom routing ( Holiday ). But customers complain that they can't intervene "themselves" for some exceptions. I understand it, especially since they did it on their old outdated systems. ( Aka ; Panasonic , Thosiba ect.. ) Or worse, in competing systems, ( Aka ; R*ngC*ntral (censored lol ) )

Take a look at how in the attachment (PDF) other custom call routing systems work.

Screenshot from .. [ Not important ] , the goal is not to promote another system.
This would replace the "dummy" extensions.
Creating schedules with dummy extensions is like asking an electrician to use a thermostat as a dimmer (light).. with some imagination it could work, but imagine what the customer would think.












Just for Laughs,
Creating schedules with dummy extensions is like an electrician installing a thermostat as a lights dimmer. With a little imagination it could probably work, but... do you really want it ? / Would it really meet the customer's needs ?

I hope I'm not insulting any electrician with this untenable comparison.​

 

[N_G]

@bravad I have not understood completely the requirements but i do believe i am one step closer to understanding how Trudeau became president of your country

Jokes aside, first of all you can keep using the CFD. You are describing scenarios which are quite complex and the majority of businesses dont require. I also dont agree that you cant have an IVR which directs people to the right department first (or use a DID)

I am not completely against time based rules in extensions but as i said with groups you can already configure 3 time ranges
1.Open,
2.closed,
3.break.
If you think a fourth is necessary please make an idea and lets see how many votes it gets?

But please dont tell me that its easier to configure a Panasonic because i owned a panasonic in a previous company. Next thing you are going to tell me is that pigs fly in Canada

 

[mperrin]

Hi Nick,
It seems there has been a whole lot of work done (which we appreciate) but very little documentation around the changes (I checked the blogs and academy and couldn't find much). Thankfully I have auto updates turned off as I have a few systems where I use dummy extensions as time conditions that the end user IT dept is allowed to change based on office availability.
Can you please point us in the direction of some full documentation?

My thoughts:

1. I think bravad is 100% spot on in that there is a big difference between closed and holidays. Holidays can be scheduled for a date range to do something "different" to closed. This is 100% required and you will see more and more calls for this if not implemented.
   Love the idea of time based on groups as I have wanted to ask for office hours to be on queues for a long time (especially useful for chat queues) but we are only a silver partner so unable to post in ideas forum.
   
   
2. I'm not sure if anyone else has thought of this (including your dev team) but managers receive unsolicited "chat messages" when the PBX licence is coming due for renewal as far out as 30 days (from memory and possibly even emails from their extension email address). We own the licences and the clients lease them along with the PBX hosting, support, hardware, and trunks etc.
   Where we allow clients into the MC to do restricted admin duties, now (from what I gather) we will need to make them managers exposing them to these chats / emails. Will that be the case?

 

[N_G]

Hi Nick,
It seems there has been a whole lot of work done (which we appreciate) but very little documentation around the changes (I checked the blogs and academy and couldn't find much). Thankfully I have auto updates turned off as I have a few systems where I use dummy extensions as time conditions that the end user IT dept is allowed to change based on office availability.
Can you please point us in the direction of some full documentation?

@mperrin It would help if people would review the blog posts and the comments that i made previously
a. You can use dummy extensions as much as you want. Time restrictions are there and in the management console.
b. you will not find any documentation on the group mode because it has not been released yet, not even in beta. It will be at least a month or more before we release anything.
c. Yes you can not block messages in regards to the license expiry. If you own the license then do not register it on their name. If they own the license they will get the notifications (you get them 15 days before). And 30 days is absolutely reasonable to remind about the expiry of a communications system.

 

[mperrin]

@mperrin It would help if people would review the blog posts and the comments that i made previously
a. You can use dummy extensions as much as you want. Time restrictions are there and in the management console.
b. you will not find any documentation on the group mode because it has not been released yet, not even in beta. It will be at least a month or more before we release anything.
c. Yes you can not block messages in regards to the license expiry. If you own the license then do not register it on their name. If they own the license they will get the notifications (you get them 15 days before). And 30 days is absolutely reasonable to remind about the expiry of a communications system.

@Nick Galea I did start by saying i read as much as i could find in the blogs and other posts (what's cooking in the kitchen as well as the Update 4 and update 4 revision 2 posts).
Addressing points a and b here:
I know from reading those posts that i can use dummy extensions but what i cannot do is assign time conditions (office hours) to those dummy extensions now from the MC so without any documentation I still have no idea how to manage those time based routes.
Who makes a feature change like this to a Management Console without leaving the old way in there until documentation is made???? This is irresponsible ... if my systems had been set to auto update i would be scrambling right now reading pages of forum threads to find out how to log in to make changes if required.
I am no novice in 3CX so please do not treat me as one.

Point C
I never register an end user email account as the licence does in fact belong to me. This is in relation to Q managers getting licence expiry emails and have been for the last 2 years or so. I get around this by not having real email addresses for people that are Q managers. Instead i send to another mailbox that passes through everything except Licence expiry emails.
They don't own the licence - I do. I should be the only one to get the expiry emails and if they need to get a message of some sort then it should be them getting at 15 days and me at 30 days out !!!
I am, however, unable to block the messages to their chat so this was more a question of whether you were aware of this behaviour as now our end users will need manager rights on groups to manage extensions etc. Are these the same rights that are on Queues and will they be targeted by these chats and emails as well?

 

[bravad]

@bravad I have not understood completely the requirements but i do believe i am one step closer to understanding how Trudeau became president of your country

LOL !!! I see you are well informed lol

Next thing you are going to tell me is that pigs fly in Canada

LOL !!! If they are on a plane , yes, it is indeed possible!

a. You can use dummy extensions as much as you want. Time restrictions are there and in the management console.

Let's go back to the dummy extensions.. let's say we continue with this..

Without Call Flow because the problem with Call Flow is that customers don't like not being able to be self-sufficient. And it is not possible to "export" a project that has already been imported to allow other people to make changes to it, and then re-import it...

You can use dummy extensions as much as you want. Time restrictions are there and in the management console.

But... In the Dummy extensions... do not allow setting up custom routing based on date range and time range.

That's what I'm trying to explain to you.

You know Panasonic, then you will agree that it is possible to activate "Time Service Switching Mode" independently on each extension.. Based on a date. ( Not only based on the day of the week, from Sunday to Saturday ).

If you don't remember, I will be happy to take a screenshot for you when I have access to the system of our client that we are trying to "win".



Friendly ,

Guillaume

 

[bravad]

@bravad

I am not completely against time based rules in extensions but as i said with groups you can already configure 3 time ranges
1.Open,
2.closed,
3.break.
If you think a fourth is necessary please make an idea and lets see how many votes it gets?

The 4th choice could be "custom"... and, please, provide the function to choose one of its statuses based on a date and time, not just a weekday.

Simply put, everyone would be happy, I'm convinced!

I published an idea.. which could probably be a fairly simple solution to implement and would undoubtedly meet the exception cases

Can you read please ; https://www.3cx.com/community/threa...-a-specific-range-date-and-range-time.115611/

What do you think of this?