Work Group Needs; Toll Fraud And Calling Restrictions - AT&T MERLIN LEGEND Release 3.1 System Manager's Manual

Scenario 3: A Dual-Location Company
To simplify cost accounting and make outcalling more cost-effective, field
representatives access the west coast system remotely, then use the system to
dial out to customers or make tie-trunk calls to headquarters.

Toll Fraud and Calling Restrictions

The company must keep tight control of telecommunications costs and prevent
toll fraud by hackers attempting to access their system remotely and then dial
out from it. When a new product is released, the company brings in temporary
order-taking agents, and this also presents a toll-fraud risk.

Work Group Needs

Several groups of people work together and interact with customers and co-
workers in similar ways. Some of them also have individual needs.
Table 5–8 outlines the needs of work groups.
Table 5–8. Work Group Needs
Work Group
Order-Takers and
Customer
Service
Personnel
Order-Takers' and
Customer
Service
Supervisor
5–24
Putting the System to Work
Needs
Ability for small-order customers to access an automatic ordering
system in which they use their touch-tone phones to enter account
numbers, product codes, and so on, without having to wait for an
agent. They have the option of speaking to an agent.
Ability for calls from high-volume customers to be directed to the
agents as a group, bypassing the operator, so that any available
agent can answer a call. If no agents are available, the caller must
hear an announcement stating that an agent will soon take the call;
while the caller is on hold, he or she should hear music.
Hands-free operation of their telephones so they can enter order
information, review customer history, or check on orders in progress
while talking to a customer.
Stringent calling restrictions for all agents except those allowed to
use WATS services.
Ability for callers to fax or email orders
Ability to monitor and control the order agents' calls (for example, to
know who is available). When a caller has waited a certain length of
time (Release 4.0 and later systems only), the call should go to an
overflow receiver. The supervisor makes sure that enough agents
are available and that callers are not waiting too long, either for
agents or overflow receiver(s).
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