Could somebody please recommend a phone that has a feature whereby all other extensions are notified of a parked call, either by a light or on screen message?
The system I intend to replace is an ancient 4x analog line setup, that has 4 line buttons on each phone. When parked, the button for the line in use flashes on each extension, and the call can then be retrieved by pressing said button on any other phone.
Sadly the phones that I have set up do not have this feature, and the intended users require it.
I don’t need any other fancy features, so I won’t be spending a fortune, but having an idiot proof park and pickup feature is a must.
You have a couple options. If you have Aastra, Digium, Obi, or Sangoma phones you can get the commercial modules for the RestAPPs. Another option is to make a BLF for the parking spots (71, 72, 73, etc… by default). The BLF will light when there is a call in that spot and can be used for one touch pickup.
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Thanks for the reply. I’ll look into both options. Regarding the second option, would any phone be suitable as long as it has BLF capability? Or is there something specific I would have to look out for?
Something I forgot to add: It would be useful to have a one touch park button like the old system has that would auto park it in the first available lot. Am right in saying a single button that is set up to auto transfer to 70 would be the way to go?
Sorry for asking such specific questions, but my managers who I’m creating it for are very set in their ways. They’ve asked me to upgrade the system but don’t want the features that they use every day on the old system to be lost.
Yes - and Yealinks will do what you want also - we label the first button Park-It! and then have BLF’s for the parking spaces - Park-It! is a Blind transfer to the lot - the only thing to remember to train your users on is to look down and see if any of the slots are full - since it goes to the first available slot, on a lightly loaded system, it will almost always be 71, but look down and see that 71 is empty before you push Park-It!
I would look at the Digium D40. The advantages are that it has all the features you are looking for ( one touch parking with slot announcement plus visual parking slots on the screen with caller ID info) as long as you are using the FreePBX distro with the free Digium phone licence. The only negative to me at least is that you have to scroll to the second level soft keys to view the parked calls. It would be nice to have the “parked calls” key on the main screen or at least a way to move them around. Visual voicemail is nice too.
Good phone
Take a look at the Sangoma S500 or S700 - I would couple that with the FreePBX Park Pro module. This will enable Park & Announce features, as well as on screen notifications of parked calls. Read more about Park Pro Here: http://wiki.freepbx.org/display/FPG/Park+Pro
Viewing and Retrieving Parked Calls
Pressing the Park button while not on a call will display a list of parked calls. You can see the caller ID of the person parked and how long they have been parked for.
From here you can pick up any specific parked call by using the up/down arrow keys and and pressing Dial. You can also use the Refresh button to update the list.
Parking a Caller into your Default Lot
While on an active call, you can press the “Park” button to park the caller. The caller will be parked into the default parking lot for your user.
