On our company voicemail message, we would like to say something like “if you know your parties’ extension dial it now, otherwise leave your message…”. But I can’t figure out how to allow the option of dialing an extension during that greeting. Is there a setting somewhere that permits this?
That’s an unusual use of voice mail. Normally you’ve already specified the extension, and tried to call it, before you reach the voicemail.
I think you need to think of this as as an IVR which falls through to voicemail, rather than an operator.
I’ve encountered this from other companies. You call the company, no one answers, it plays a message for a shared mailbox but on the message, they give you the option to dial a direct extension if you know it to get that person’s extension instead. Maybe though it’s not really the voicemail that is playing? Could it be a menu that if no one presses any number, it then goes to a voicemail box but with no greeting?