Hello
all,
I am building a
software based on asterisk to handle incoming answering service
calls.
I have one problem
that I have not been able to figure out a reasonably priced solution
to:
The goal of this
software is to allow the agent to be able to do their entire job from the
desktop.
The only thing that
seems to be a problem is getting the operator (agents) headset logged on to the
asterisk system using a computer command.
(Meaning we don't
want them to have to touch the phone or a headset).
We have done most
everything else we need through the Manager API but this one has us
stumped.
We need to use IP
Phones or some sort of IP based extensions for flexibility.
Here are a few
things that we have conceptually tried.
Auto Answer:
We set up an IP Phone with Auto Answer turned on. Then when the operator
says that they will accept a call we route the call through to their phone and
Auto Answer picks it up.
Sounds like a great
fix but the only phones we can find with Auto Answer are more expensive with
lots of other features that will never be touched. (Cisco 7940 ...)
In fact we would not
even want the actual phone to be visible or usable to the operator. It
would be hidden or locked in a desk drawer with the head set cord coming out of
it.
So... a phone
with auto answer COULD work if we could find an inexpensive enough one (less
than $150 would be okay) any suggestions would be
great.
Agent Queue:
We setup an Agent Queue that the agent has to dial into at the beginning of
their shift.
The problem here
again is that we do not want the agent to have to touch the phone
itself.
The agent Queue
COULD work if we found a phone that we can program to automatically dial in to
the queue each time that the line was picked up.
Then we could put
some sort of headset on the phone which has an on off switch that allows the
agent to connect or disconnect the phone from the server.
I just don't like
the fact that the operator would have to do both of those things.
I suppose the
computer could prompt them to make sure they turn on their headset and that
would work if there was no other solution.
Does anyone know of
a solution where I would be able to setup some sort of permanent connection to
the asterisk server via IP?
I can't have a dial
tone in their ears constantly and I need to find a phone or solution which is
$150 or less (preferably under $100) per workstation.
How are existing
answering services dealing with this problem? (Maybe they don't use
IP?)
Thanks for any help
or direction you can give me.
Michael
Blood
PS. I have found
that the Grandstream Budgetone has auto answer on it but that it wont support a
headset for another 2 - 3 months (more likely 6-9) and I am looking for a
solution which will be ready in about 1 month.
