AT&T Merlin II User manual

AT&T
MERLIN
®
II
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
MERLIN II Attendant
User’s Guide

©1990 AT&T
Issue 4
All Rights Reserved
January, 1990
Printed in USA
NOTICE
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. AT&T assumes no responsibility
for any errors that may appear in this document.
MERLIN is a registered trademark of AT&T.
To order copies of this document, call the AT&T Customer Information Center, 1-800-432-6600 and
include the document number 999-504-140 with your order.

Contents
MERLIN II Attendant User’s Guide
FCC Notification Information
Section 1: Overwiew
Introduction
1-1
The MERLIN II Attendant
1-2
Section 2: Changing the Current Settings
Changing the Current Settings
2-1
Section 3: Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
3-1
Index

FCC Notification Information
INTERFERENCE
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rules require that you be
INFORMATION
notified of the following:
●
●
●
●
●
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy
and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions in this
manual, may cause interference to radio communications.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class A computing device pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC rules,
which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such
interference when operated in a commercial environment.
Operating this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause
interference with radio communications, in which case the user, at his or
her own expense, will be required to do whatever is necessary to correct
the interference.
The MERLIN 11 Attendant is designed to be connected to a Basic (012)
Telephone Module of the MERLIN II system control unit. It is not
intended to be connected directly to the network.
The MERLIN II Attendant is a separately registered device.
FCC registration number: GRM3U8-19187-CIE
PROBLEMS AND REPAIRS
If you have a problem with the MERLIN II Attendant, or if you need repair
information that is not provided in the
w
Troubleshooting Section
w
of this
guide, please call the AT&T National Service Assistance Center at 1-800-628-
2888.
FCC Notification Information 1

Introduction
This User’s Guide explains how the MERLIN II Attendant works and how to
change
❑
❑
❑
initial settings.
To use the MERLIN II Attendant:
Complete the MERLIN II Attendant planning forms.
● Planning Form A—Business Days
● Planning Form B—Business Hours
● Planning Form C—Announcement
● Planning Form D—Announcement
● Planning Form E—Routing Plan
Time Reallocation
Recordings
● Planning Form F—Supervised Transfer Operations
● Planning Form G—Blind Transfers
● Planning Form H—Call Processing Options
● Planning Form I—Individual Changes
NOTE:
If you need planning forms, order them from the AT&T
Customer Information Center, 1-800-432-6600. The document
order number is 999-504-139.
Have the MERLIN II Attendant installed by an authorized AT&T
technician who has completed the following procedures:
● Administered a port on a Basic Telephone (012) Module for each
MERLIN II Attendant
● Programmed your business schedule and route plans
● Recorded your announcements
Be sure you know your authorized caller code. See “Changing the
Authorized Caller Code” in Section 2, “Changing the Current
Settings” for more information about this code.
Introduction 1-1

The MERLIN II Attendant
DAY AND NIGHT
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The MERLIN 11 Attendant answers incoming calls on designated lines with a
prerecorded message and directs the calls to the appropriate extension in your
MERLIN II Communications System Release 3. The MERLIN II Attendant can
help your business by answering calls immediately or after a delay to assist a
busy receptionist.
It can also answer calls when your company is closed for
holidays and weekends, and after normal business hours.
NOTE:
To avoid confusion between a human attendant and the MERLIN II
Attendant, this document refers to the human attendant as the
receptionist.
A prerecorded announcement can provide callers with “Announcements”
information on how to reach certain departments or people within your
company. Generally, a list of one digit numbers, known as routes, is
provided so that callers can dial the department they need with the touch of a
button. If appropriate, the announcement can also give callers the option to
enter two to four digit extension numbers to reach employees directly.
For example, during normal business hours a car dealership directs customer
calls to the MERLIN II Attendant so that callers hear the Day announcement
which offers the following options:
“Thank you for calling ABC Motors...
For Sales, dial 1...
For Service, dial 2...
For Parts, dial 3...
For the receptionist, dial O...
For a specific employee, dial the extension
or hold for operator assistance. ”
NOTE: In the above example, the numbers 1, 2, 3, and O are routes.
After the car dealership closes, calls are answered immediately by the
MERLIN II Attendant and the Night announcement is played:
“Thank you for calling ABC Motors.
Our sales hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
If you are calling our Service Department, dial 1 now.
If you know the extension number of the person you are calling, dial
that number now. ”
If a caller does not enter a route or extension because he or she is calling from
a rotary phone or does not know the extension, the call is automatically
directed to the receptionist after a specified number of seconds (2 to 5). You
can select the number of seconds by using the “Call Processing Options”
described in Section 2, “Changing the Current Settings”.
Callers using Touch-Tone phones can also bypass the announcement by
diaIing the route or extension they want at any time during the message.
Their calls are transferred immediately to the route or extension number they
have selected.
You can choose from two different announcements (Day or Night) to play to
callers when the MERLIN II Attendant answers incoming calls. Both the Day
announcement and Night announcement can direct calls to up to nine
different routes (1 through 9, 0 is reserved for the receptionist). Additionally,
1-2 The MERLIN II Attendant

CALL HANDLING
these announcements can offer callers the option to dial individual extension
numbers, which can be from two to four digits.
Depending on your business hours, you can allow callers to dial a route or an
extension number when your business is open (Day announcement), then
provide information such as business hours when your business is closed
(Night announcement). If your business operates 24-hours a day, you can use
just the Day announcement. Here are two examples:
Use of both Day and Night Announcement
ABC Company office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday. Callers who dial the business’ toll free number hear the Day
announcement when the MERLIN II Attendant answers. The Day
announcement instructs callers to enter a route number (1 through 9) to reach
a specific department or an extension number to contact a particular
individual. Callers who call after 5:00 p.m. or on the weekends hear the
Night announcement when the MERLIN 11 Attendant answers. The Night
announcement provides the regular office hours and allows callers to dial
extension numbers to connect with employees who are working after-hours.
Use of the Day Announcement Only
XYZ Company has 24-hour sales and customer service departments. Callers
on lines answered by the MERLIN II Attendant hear the Day announcement
no matter what time they call. The Day announcement offers callers a choice
between entering the route number for sales (1) or for customer service (2).
There are three types of call handling available with the MERLIN II
Attendant:
● Immediate Call Handling
Immediate call handling can be set up so that the MERLIN II Attendant
answers these kinds of calls:
• All incoming calls on all lines. The receptionist is only required to
help callers who have a rotary telephone or who need additional
assistance.
• All incoming calls on specified lines.
● Backup Call Handling
Calls are answered by the MERLIN II Attendant only when the
receptionist is unable to answer within a specified number of rings (2 to
6). To set the number of rings, see “Call Processing Options” in Section
2, “Changing the Current Settings”.
● Night Service
Using the MERLIN II system feature, Night Service with Time Set, you
can synchronize the clocks on the control unit and the MERLIN II
Attendant so that the Night announcement plays whenever you indicate
that your business is closed. After-hours callers can be given the option to
dial a route number, an extension number, or leave a message on an
answering machine. Or the Night announcement can simply provide the
normal business hours and disconnect without giving callers the option to
dial an entry.
The MERLIN II Attendant 1-3

ALL TRANSFER
There are two ways to transfer calls with the MERLIN II Attendant:
● Blind Transfer
The MERLIN II system control unit monitors the call after the MERLIN II
Attendant transfers the caller to the route or extension number dialed. If
the number is busy or the route or extension number is invalid, the call is
transferred to the receptionist. Likewise, if the call is unanswered after a
specified number of rings, the call rings at both the receptionist position
and at the original number until it is answered or the caller hangs up.
The blind transfer method should be used unless there is another route or
extension number that callers can logically choose if the first number they
select is unavailable. For example, a caller to a car dealership who needs
to make an appointment to have a car serviced would not want to talk to
the sales department if the service department is busy.
● Supervised Transfer
During a supervised transfer, calls are monitored by the MERLIN II
Attendant until the call is completed or the caller hangs up. When a caller
enters a route or extension number, the Hold announcement plays
informing the caller to hold while the transfer is being completed. If the
route or extension number dialed is available, the Connect announcement
informs the person at the extension dialed that a call is being transferred.
If the route or extension is unavailable, the Transfer Fail announcement
plays to inform the caller that the call could not be completed. Sample
messages are shown below:
Hold announcement
This announcement informs callers to hold until the transfer is
completed.
Example: "Please hold while your call is being transferred.”
Transfer Fail announcement
This announcement informs the caller when a call cannot be
completed.
Example:
*The extension you requested is busy. Please hold or dial another
extension. ”
Connect announcement
This announcement informs the person at the extension dialed that a
call is being transferred.
Example: “A call is being transferred to you. ”
NOTE: You can also record an announcement that provides business
hours or related information then disconnects without giving
callers the option to enter a route or extension.
When a call is not answered or the extension is busy, the MERLIN 11
Attendant retrieves the call and handles it one of two ways:
If another extension is programmed, supervised transfer should be
used so that the MERLIN II Attendant can transfer the call to a
secondary extension when the first (primary) extension is unavailable.
When callers enter a route or extension number, the Hold
announcement plays, and their calls are transferred to the first
(primary) extension. If the first (primary) extension is busy or does
not answer, the MERLIN II Attendant dials the secondary extension
while the caller remains on hold. If the secondary extension is also
1-4 The MERLIN II Attendant

THE MERLIN II
ATTENDANT UNIT
unavailable, the caller is taken off hold and the Transfer Fail
announcement is played. The number of rings (2 to 6) allowed before
a call is transferred from the first (primary) extension to the secondary
extension is a programmable setting, see “Call Processing Options” in
Section 2, ‘Changing the Current Setting”.
● If a secondary extension is not programmed, the caller hears the
Transfer Fail announcement when the route or extension dialed is
busy or does not answer.
NOTE: During a supervised transfer, the MERLIN 11 Attendant cannot
answer another call until the call in progress is successfully
completed or the caller hangs up.
There are three lights on the front of the MERLIN II Attendant unit (Figure
l-l):
● power
This light indicates that the unit is powered on.
● battery
Table 1-1 describes the meaning of the different light combinations when
ac power is connected to the MERLIN II Attendant:
TABLE 1-1 MERLIN II Attendant Front Panel Lights.
Power Battery
Light Light Description
On Off
Battery charging
On On
Battery fully charged
Off On
Unit operating on battery power
Off Off
Unit not operating; refer to “Troubleshooting”
On
I
Blinking
I
Out of Service code; refer to “Troubleshooting.”
The battery is fully charged after 18 hours of continuous ac powered
operation.
● talking
Lights when the MERLIN II Attendant answers and monitors a call.
The MERLIN II Attendant 1-5

MERLIN® II Attendant
Lights when
Lights when ac MERLIN II
power is on
,
Attendant
o 0oanswers and
monitors calls
.
Blinking Iight indicates
lSteady light indicates a prob em. See battery is fully charged
“Troubleshooting’* (when power light is on)
Light off when battery
is not fully charged
FIGURE 1-1 Front view of the MERLIN II Attendant.
FIGURE 1-2 Back view of the MERLIN II Attendant.
Refer to Figure 1-2 for a diagram of the back of the
and to the following paragraphs for its description.
MERLIN II Attendant unit
reset
This recessed button resets the MERLIN II Attendant. See
“Troubleshooting” for details.
setup switches
There are four setup switches. Switches 1, 2, and 3 control the MERLIN 11
Attendant’s response to a power outage; switch 4 is not used.
1-6 The MERLIN II Attendant