Mailboxes

In the DuVoice 7.00, the mailbox is the basic unit for managing subscribers, guest rooms and system (auto attendant) menus.

Every mailbox has a type that is assigned at creation and cannot thereafter be changed except by deleting and recreating the mailbox with the new type. The type determines certain features and behaviors for the mailbox that even the COS cannot override. Each type is designed to serve a particular purpose.

The 7.00 supports the following mailbox types:

A distribution mailbox will auto-forward a copy of every voice message received to all members of its internal distribution list. This list may include one or more mailboxes of any type that can receive messages, including other distribution mailboxes (but not including itself).

Distribution mailboxes have a static member list that can only be modified manually.

Whenever a message is received, it is delivered to all members immediately and is then automatically deleted from the distribution mailbox.

There is a COS setting that can block message delivery to any guest mailbox that is vacant at the time the message is received.

Distribution mailboxes can:

• Be added to the company directory
• Be nested inside other distribution lists
• Be managed over the phone by logging into the mailbox
• Accept messages from outside callers

A group mailbox will auto-forward a copy of every voice message received to all checked-in members of its internal group list.

Group mailboxes have dynamic member lists. Members may be added to the list by the PMS (often as part of the check in message) and are always removed from the list at check out.

Unlike distribution mailboxes, a group mailbox will keep a copy of every message sent and will automatically deliver them to any mailbox subsequently added to the group.

This is useful in a hospitality context, where guests may be added to a group as they check in. If a message is sent to the group before all guests have checked in, the group mailbox will auto-deliver the message to newly-checked-in guests as they are added to the group.

If a message is no longer relevant and the user does not wish it to be sent to any members added in the future, the group mailbox subscriber menu allows the user to review and delete all sent messages.

Group mailboxes can also be used to schedule a wakeup call for all members, if the assigned COS is configured to allow wakeup calls.

The guest mailbox type is designed for hospitality-oriented systems, to be used in creating simplified mailboxes for guest rooms.

These mailboxes can (when using the standard Guest COS):

• Store room clean status (clean, dirty, etc.)
• Store room occupied status (occupied or vacant)
• Prevent messages from being left when unoccupied, redirecting callers to the operator (depends on hospitality configuration)
• Provide a simplified subscriber menu (listen to new/saved messages, schedule a wakeup call)
• Provide a default greeting and a default password (no tutorial needed)
• Allow scheduling wakeup calls if the COS is configured to allow it

There is also an Extended Stay COS, which adds options to the subscriber menu that allow the guest to record a greeting and change the password. There is still no tutorial at first login. The guest can still elect to use the defaults if he or she wishes.

The QA mailbox type is designed for use in getting a series of discrete pieces of information from callers in a question-and-answer format.

Accordingly, these mailboxes do not use the standard greetings but instead require the mailbox owner to record a series of greetings (i.e., questions) via the telephone interface and then use Mailbox Administration to create a script for the question-and-answer process.

Using the script, a QA mailbox will typically play a greeting, record a response, play a second greeting, record another response, and so on until the end of the script is reached. All responses are then concatenated together and deposited in the mailbox as a new message. Alternatively, a script can be configured as a survey in which a caller responds by pressing DTMF digits that are written to a comma-delimited data file at the end of the call.

The standard mailbox type is used when creating general-purpose subscriber mailboxes, such as for employees.

It supports the widest range of features for sending, receiving and managing messages, although the exact set of features available depends on the class of service (COS) that is assigned.

The system mailbox type is for use in creating mailboxes that do not take messages, such as the main greetings (auto attendant) mailbox 991.

System mailboxes always use call blocking and never take messages. Consequently, it is not possible to assign message delivery or notification templates to system mailboxes, nor can they have personal distribution lists or be added to the member lists of distribution and group mailboxes.