Ohio University

Voicemail tip: How to use the Personal Operator feature

Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Sean O'Malley  

Ohio University’s voicemail includes a feature that lets callers transfer to an operator by pressing zero. By default, this rings the university’s main switchboard, 3-1000.

You can specify what extension rings when callers press zero:

1. Log in to https://webphonemgr.oit.ohio.edu/wpm/ with your mailbox number and security code.

2. Click “Personal Settings” in the left hand menu.

3. Click the “Phone Numbers” tab.

4. At the bottom of the page next to “Personal Operator,” enter the 5 digit extension you want to ring when callers press zero during your greeting (must be 5 digit extension, cannot be an off campus number).

5. Click “Ok” to save your settings.

This setting is applied on a per mailbox basis, so each individual can choose his or her own personal operator extension. Typical choices include a main departmental number, an administrative assistant, or in some cases a colleague’s office.

“Press zero” works with any mailbox; however, depending on your greeting, callers may or may not be aware of the option.

System-wide default greeting: If you do not have a personal greeting, then the system will play a generic greeting that includes the phrase, “to be transferred to the operator press zero, otherwise stay on the line to leave a message.” If you do not want to record a personal greeting, then you should set a Personal Operator number. Otherwise, callers will simply be transferred to the university switchboard when they press zero.

Personal greeting: When you record a personal greeting, that greeting replaces the generic voice greeting for your mailbox, including the part that tells callers to press zero. If you want your callers to know about this feature, make sure to mention it in your personal greeting. To learn how to record a personal greeting, see the voicemail quick reference.

To learn more, visit http://www.ohio.edu/oit/voicemail.