Live call transfer is a feature that is essential for many businesses, which makes it pretty scary for a business owner when it doesn’t seem to be working. Before you start to panic, consider these possible reasons that you aren’t able to transfer calls.
1. Incorrect Dialing Sequence
Failure to transfer a call to another extension or employee within your business because you didn’t perform the correct dialing sequence doesn’t mean you’re stupid; it just means that you were either instructed to use the wrong sequence, or possibly that you didn’t even realize that you’ve been pressing the wrong buttons.
Consult with your phone service provider, and make sure that they tell you explicitly what you need to do to initiate a call transfer.
2. DTMF Issue
This is probably the most common reason that a transfer function fails, and it has nothing to do with user error. If you ever have a problem transferring your calls and then contact your service provider to resolve it, it’s likely that they will mention DTMF.
It stands for Dual Tone Multi-Frequency, which has to do with the signals that are sent within the phone network when you press keys on your phone. Sometimes when you press the keys to initiate a transfer, those signals are sent incorrectly or not sent at all. This may be why your calls won’t transfer to the destination.
3. Origin of the Call
The call path can also be a factor in proper functioning of live call transfer. If you’re having a problem with live transfer, take note of where the call is originating.
Though this isn’t always the case, depending on your provider or service type, live transfer may not work if you placed an outgoing call; the feature might only work if the call was incoming to your line.
The most important and helpful step you can take if you have an issue with your live transfer function is to get in touch with your provider and have them explain exactly what is the sequence you have to use for a successful transfer. If you at least get the sequence cleared up right off the bat, then you can rule out user error.
Stephanie
Stephanie is the Marketing Director at Talkroute and has been featured in Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur as a leading authority on business and telecommunications.
Stephanie is also the chief editor and contributing author for the Talkroute blog helping more than 100k entrepreneurs to start, run, and grow their businesses.