From: stephen@sprunk.org   
      
   On 25-Jun-14 12:55, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:   
   > On Wednesday, June 25, 2014 12:17:44 PM UTC-4, Adam H. Kerman wrote:   
   >> "Can you please transfer my call?" "No. I can't transfer a call to   
   >> another building."   
   >   
   >    
   >   
   > I've had that happen to me many, many times on calls to banks,   
   > department stores, utilities, hospitals, colleges, and other large   
   > organizations.  It seemed easiest just to get the number of the   
   > desired extension and hang up and dial it myself.  Trying to teach   
   > someone over the phone how to transfer a call was difficult.   
      
   OTOH, aside from large campus environments and Centrex customers, the   
   PBXes were often not connected so transferring a call to another   
   location _was_ often impossible.   
      
   Yes, some had tie lines between sites to save on toll charges, but they   
   didn't want those expensive lines tied up by customers who could easily   
   dial the other site directly--and at their own cost.   
      
   > Years ago, when I began work in industry, part of my orientation   
   > included a 3 minute explanation on how to use the company phones--how   
   > to answer them, how to transfer calls, make outgoing calls, etc.  It   
   > wasn't rocket science..  Indeed, it seemed most office workers served   
   > by PBX way back when knew how to do that stuff; the procedures were   
   > standard.   
      
   With digital/VoIP systems, basic training is pretty easy; if you want to   
   do X, just look for the button labeled X on the phone.   
      
   Yes, there are some more advanced features, but most are typically used   
   only by secretaries or receptionists, who get more detailed training on   
   the specific functions they need.  Most systems work in similar ways,   
   too, so an experienced temp can get up to speed in minutes.   
      
   > However, I have no accurate way of knowing what true user experience   
   > was with rank 'n file served by advanced PBX systems like Dimension,   
   > and I wonder about it.  For instance, it offered automatic call-back   
   > to extensions that were busy by re-dialing the number plus a code--a   
   > useful feature, but was it widely utilized?   
      
   That's "camp on".  I worked in that field for many years, and only one   
   or two customers even asked me if that feature was _available_, much   
   less how to use it.  Others may have discovered it in the docs, but few   
   people read them cover-to-cover, even the admins.   
      
   Call parking is a lot harder to explain but _much_ more commonly used.   
      
   S   
      
   --   
   Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein   
   CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the   
   K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking   
      
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