Saving time when communicating between company employees and customers and among themselves is an important factor in the effectiveness of communications. Therefore, telephony means are becoming more and more popular, allowing you to minimize the search for responsible and necessary persons for the subscriber. One of the most relevant and effective ways to optimize telephony is an extension number, also called an internal number. With its help, a call is forwarded to a person who has the authority and competence to resolve the issue of the caller.
An internal subscriber number is an opportunity to contact the required employee not only by a landline phone, but also by a mobile, SIP, Skype account on electronic gadgets. When using it, calls are forwarded from a short number. The subscriber hears a greeting and, using voice instructions, dials an extension number - this allows him to be “taken away” from the main line and establish communication with intermediaries.
The mechanism is implemented using numeric identifier codes that are assigned to individual lines or divisions of the company. Before calling an extension number, you need to dial the main number, and then - the internal one, which connects the subscribers with the people they need. Therefore, the code contains four digits - from 0001 to 9999. The first two indicate the number of departments in the general forwarding list, and the second - to the personal one that identifies employees.
What is an extension number in terms of digital telephony? This is a part of cloud PBX, a forwarding point in a single communication space. Internal phone:
- erase the physical, spatial boundaries between employees and customers of the company;
- will help to establish work without additional costs for renting premises, purchasing office equipment and laying engineering networks;
- will help to get access to employees wherever they are - it can be connected to the home, mobile phones of the personnel, and before dialing an additional one, it will be enough to call the main number of the company.
How extensions work
How to call an internal number and what is the principle of its operation? A useful communication tool is widely used in companies where departments are "physically" isolated from each other, and it is inconvenient to call the right employee from the office at the other end of the corridor. The subscriber dials the main city number of the company (often the only one), and after connecting - the internal one.
Before calling with an extension number, you need to know it. Therefore, if the system is recently installed, or the company has many heterogeneous partners and customers, it is recommended to record a short instructional announcement in the voice greeting. At the stage of establishing interaction, it is worth indicating the extension number in all forms of communication.
Modern landline telephones are equipped with pulse-tone switches to select modes. If the subscriber's PBX supports tone dialing, before calling the extension number, you need to move the telephone switch to the Tone position. If only the pulse mode is provided, you need to call and press the "star" button. Any further keystrokes on the phone will be transmitted as tones. Switching is not required if the subscriber uses a mobile phone.
How do I call extension numbers from mobile phones?
The standard action before calling an extension from a mobile is to press the Pause button after dialing the main landline phone. Then you need to enter the remaining digits of the employee / department code. Let's see how to dial an extension number from a mobile phone step by step:
- study the company phone number: the first part is the landline number, then the extension is in brackets;
- before entering the extension number from the mobile, dial the main number and wait for the connection with the answering machine;
- listen to the message completely so that the connection does not break off, and at the end concentrate on listing the internal numbers;
- after being prompted to dial the desired combination of numbers and a sound signal, enter it from your mobile phone and wait for the employee's response.
You do not need to set the phone to Tone mode before calling an extension from a mobile phone. This happens automatically. In some cases, automatic telephone exchanges connect subscribers incorrectly, but you should not “hang up” at the same time. You should ask the person who answered the call to independently switch the subscriber to the desired extension number. If this fails, you will have to re-enter all the numbers.
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Why do businesses need extensions and how to set them up
Modern digital solutions are an opportunity to optimize the financial and time costs of communication in any organization. What does an extension number mean for a company? This:
- time optimization by means of almost instant transfer of subscribers to personal managers;
- the ability to abandon the installation of separate telephone lines for all sectors and offices of the company and get a convenient means of intercom;
- improving the quality of customer service and the ability not to miss a single valuable call (if one number is busy, the subscriber is forwarded to any of the free ones);
- reducing the cost of organizing customer service - with additional numbers, employees will be able to work remotely;
- strengthening customer loyalty of the company, improving its reputation and image, and so on.
In order to connect internal telephones, it is necessary to resort to the support of professional distributors of telecommunication solutions, the services of which include. Experts will tell you how to dial an extension number for intra-company communication, customize voice instructions for customers and help you realize all the benefits of efficient and progressive tools. This will provide the company with the convenience of work and success in the market competition for the client.
Many companies have an automated service that answers incoming phone calls. However, this is rather inconvenient when you are trying to call a company and you have to wait to enter the subscriber number for the desired department or contact. This is most noticeable when you do not remember the additional code and you must check the contact information to find it.
Fortunately, the Android dialer app allows you to program additional codes in contact information. There are two different styles you can use: pause or wait. Read on if you want to know the differences and how to use each one.
Advice: If you cannot find the options below, you may need to open an additional menu of symbols on your keyboard. In most cases, you can simply use the necessary punctuation marks in the alphabetic version of the keyboard.
Pause option:
On the numeric keypad, this may appear as a comma (,) or "pause". Using this option means that when you dial a number, the extension code is used automatically after the call application detects that the other phone has answered.
To use a pause, enter the number like this: 8495-111-11-11.77, where "77" is the extension code to be dialed.
Waiting option:
The wait parameter appears as a semicolon (;) or wait on the numeric keypad. This option should be used when you are calling somewhere where you want to listen to the entire automated message before selecting an additional code. You do not have to type an additional code, a window will pop up on the screen with an additional code and a request to send it. The window will remain on the screen until you decide to send or cancel the call.
Many organizations use extensions, which are numeric identifiers, to communicate with various departments. However, a subscriber who needs to connect with a certain employee sometimes has difficulties. Especially often problems arise for those who call from a mobile phone.
How do you know if you have an extension?
Before dialing an extension number from a mobile, you need to determine whether it is really in front of you. Many companies' contact information for departments with extensions has several numbers after the main number, usually in parentheses. Or they write the word "additional" in front of them. They represent the code of an employee or department, which is determined by the serial number of the device for connecting to the PBX. At the same time, the PBX can be virtual and forward from calls to Skype, mobile and regular located in different branches.
How to dial an extension from a mobile?
Unlike a city stationary phone, mobile phones automatically switch to In a stationary phone, before dialing an extension phone number, you need to press *, and this will help it switch to tone mode. From phones that have a dial for dialing, calls to such numbers will be difficult and possible only if the connection is made by an operator, and not an answering machine. The owners of smartphones on Android or IOS have questions. The number keys are usually minimized when making a call. And it is necessary, before dialing an extension number from a mobile, to call this keyboard on the screen by pressing the symbolic icon. In phones with it, it is an icon in the form of ten small squares, nine of which are located at the top in three rows, and one more - at the bottom. When you dial additional numbers on your mobile, you will hear characteristic sounds in the dynamics.
Two options for connection by extension number
In the first case, you need to dial the main number to make a call. Then wait for the operator or answering machine to answer and listen to the entire message. After that, you need to dial the numbers of the extension number, and the connection will be made. You will need to call back if you end up in the wrong department, and the person who answered the call refuses to switch you. Although usually employees of large companies are quite loyal to the callers and transfer the call to the required department. The second option for dialing an extension number from a mobile is not to wait for the end of the message, but to immediately continue to enter additional numbers. In this case, a connection failure or an error may occur. The owners of smartphones based on modern platforms can reduce the time spent listening to the entire message.
How to dial an extension number on a mobile if you have a smartphone?
For the owners of mobile phones, the problem is that the operator begins to withdraw money from the phone account from the moment of connection. Therefore, if the call to the line is not free, then users try to do without listening to the message with the names of departments and numbers. Smartphone owners can dial any extension numbers using the pause button. To do this, you need to dial the necessary numbers, wait for the connection. Then press pause (its icon is usually located on the call screen) and enter additional numbers. You can try to start typing immediately after connecting, without first pressing the pause button, but this option does not always work. In case of any mistake in this case, it is best to hang up and call back. That's all, now you know how to dial an extension number on a mobile phone.
