Number Of Attendants - AT&T MERLIN LEGEND Installation & Maintenance Manual

Adapters, Accessories, and Applications
MERLIN Attendant
The MERLIN Attendant is a stand-alone application that provides
operator-like services through the use of prerecorded messages
and electronic switching.
The Attendant automatically answers incoming calls on
designated lines with a recorded greeting and transfers these
calls to extensions or departments based on information
provided by the caller. Since the Attendant can respond only to
touch-tone telephone signals, the announcement asks callers
who dial from rotary telephones to wait for the system operator.
Calls can be transferred in one of two ways, either "blind" or
"supervised." A blind transfer means the Attendant dials the
extension or department requested by the caller and
disconnects. If the call is not answered or the phone is busy, the
caller is routed to the system operator.
With a supervised transfer, the Attendant transfers the call and
can retrieve it if the transfer is unsuccessful. The Attendant then
directs the call to another telephone, allows the caller a second
route choice, or provides a failed-transfer announcement,
depending on how the application has been programmed.
Calls can be answered immediately (Primary Call Handling) or
after a delay (Secondary Call Handling), for example, if the call
goes unanswered by the system operator after a certain number
of rings. Table 6-3 shows the number of Attendants required
based on a Primary Call Handling situation.
Applications 6-27