User's Guide to Computer Appointment Verification
Overview
At this point you should have clients in your Client Directory, and a Calling List for these clients. Now you are ready to make the calls.
Your Computer Appointment Verification program is not self sufficient. It depends on other programs and features of Windows to work properly. In this Chapter we cover:
Terms
We use the following special terms in this chapter:
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Phone Line |
This is the actual line your system uses to call people. Each phone line has its own unique phone number to identify it, and is accessible through a phone jack. |
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Standard Information Tone (SIT) |
A standard information tone is three tones followed by an operator message. |
There are several factors to consider before you begin to make Computer Appointment Verification calls. Among these are:
Scheduling CAV in Business Manager
The Business Manager Application Scheduler features time slots for each day of the week. This is where you can schedule an application to assure that a line is available during that time period. See Figure 39.
Figure 39 - Scheduling CAV in Business Manager
Keep in mind that when you have scheduled an application to run in a time slot, it will continue to run until something else is scheduled or until a Stop Line Activity is encountered. In Figure 39, CAV calls are scheduled from 9:00am-11:00am, 2:00pm-4:00 pm and then again from 6:00pm-8:00pm. In this example the Stop Line Activity option has been used to end the CAV calling periods. Any other answering application could be used. For example, you could use Inbound Telenotification instead, and your system would answer calls when it was not making CAV calls.
For more information on how to use the Business Manager Application Scheduler, read the "Application Scheduler" section of "Chapter 6: Scheduling Application" in your User's Guide for Business Manager.
Monitor will not make CAV calls if you have the CAV program open. Be sure that you do not attempt to add clients or calls, or generate reports or bills during a scheduled CAV calling period. If you attempt to open CAV while Monitor is making CAV calls, the calling process is halted and an advisory message appears like the one shown below.
Figure 40 - Advisory Message
Monitor indicates that it is no longer making CAV calls. See Figure 41.
Figure 41 - List Complete Advisory Message from Monitor
You will need to reset the phone line in Monitor to resume the CAV calling schedule once you exit the CAV program. To reset the phone line in Monitor, select the Reset option on Monitor's File menu.
Figure 42 - Resetting Monitor from the File Menu
CAV Timing
When you schedule Computer Appointment Verification with Business Manager, you should take into consideration the variance in people's schedules. We recommend that you attempt calls for a period in the morning, afternoon and evening. This way you are most likely to deliver the highest percentage of your calls. Times we recommend to schedule calls are 9:00am - 11:00 am, 2:00pm - 4:00pm and again from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.
You will probably not need to schedule CAV for more than an hour or two at the most during each calling period. This will depend on the number of clients and the volume of calls you need to make. Because of the nature of the call, and the speed at which the computer can place calls, Computer Appointment Verification can complete a very high number of calls in an hour.
The actual number of calls per hour can vary greatly depending on how quickly calls are answered, the length of the individual messages, and the number of calls that are 'failed'. We have found that using the standard Greeting Speech, and when all calls are answered, the system will deliver about 80 messages an hour. When all calls fail to be answered, the system places about 160 calls per hour per phone line. Your average for actual calls made should be somewhere between these figures.
We recommend that you schedule calls for the weekend as well as weekdays. Otherwise, you could miss delivery of a substantial percentage of your appointment calls (usually all of the appointments that fall on Monday). You may find more people at home on weekends, anyway.
At the time you enter the date of an appointment, your program calculates the calling date based on the call lead time in the Client Information form. On that date, when the first Computer Appointment Verification calling period begins, the computer will begin calling the calls scheduled for that date.
The program will deliver the message to anyone who answers the phone. CAV will also deliver the message to an answering machine. The program detects sound. After the answering party stops speaking, the program begins playing the recording. When a message is delivered, the computer disconnects and immediately begins dialing the next number on the list.
Status
All calls on your Calling List have a status code to indicate the current state of a call. Status codes include:
N Status
All new calls on the calling schedule begin with a status of N for 'not complete'. During the period of time that a call is actively being attempted, the status remains N.
Each time an attempted call results in a failure to deliver the message, it is counted as an attempt. A call can be attempted up to 48 times during each calling period, or until that calling period ends, whichever happens first.
All scheduled calls that failed during a calling period are attempted during the next calling period. Calls that are not completed on the date they are scheduled are added to the list of calls to be attempted the next day unless it is the date of the appointment.
C Status
When a call is answered and the message is delivered the status will change to C. Messages are delivered when the phone is answered and a sound is detected. Your computer will deliver a message to an answering machine. A call with a C in the status is not attempted again. It remains on the Calling List until it is billed.
F Status
If all call attempts result in an unanswered ring or a busy signal, the message cannot be delivered. When the date of the appointment arrives, it is considered too late to deliver the notification message in time to be of any benefit. On the date of an appointment, any calls with N remaining in the status column are changed to F for Failed and are not attempted again.
All calls are billed showing a tally of the total number of attempts made. If you have three calling periods per day, and a call is attempted beginning 2 days before the appointment, but never answered, this number could be 252 calls attempted in two days.
S Status
The computer will recognize what is known as a Standard Information Tone. An SIT is the three-pitch tone that precedes messages such as "We're sorry. You have reached a number a number that has been disconnected, or is not in service...... " or "You must first dial a '1' and the area code....". When this happens the call cannot be completed and the program places an S in the status field. This may mean that either you have a wrong number or that you entered the number incorrectly. By the time you discover these calls, it is usually too late to correct. However, if you have a large number of S status calls, you need to verify that you are entering the numbers correctly. S status calls are not billed as they are considered invalid call attempts.
After you have entered both clients and calls in to the Computer Appointment Verification program, the next step is to initiate calls.
Starting the Calling Cycle
To make Computer Appointment Verification calls, all you have to do is:
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You can watch Monitor in progress as CAV calls are made. With Monitor open and active, before the calls begin there is a message stating that the line you have scheduled for calls is available. |
Figure 43 - Monitor Showing an Open Line
When CAV is scheduled to begin, the message will indicate that the program is being launched.
Figure 44 - Monitor Showing that CAV is Starting
The next progress message states that CAV is running.
Figure 45 - Monitor Showing that CAV is Running
Monitor also shows you when a number is being dialed. The message will alternate between 'running' and 'dialed' as long as the CAV calls are in progress.
Figure 46 - Monitor Showing that CAV Call is Being Dialed
When all calls on the Calling List have been attempted and have been assigned their final status, the message becomes,
Figure 47 - List Complete Advisory Message from Monitor
When the calling period is ended, you see the message telling you that the line is again available for calls.
Once you have scheduled CAV in Business Manager, you need only make sure that your computer is left on, that Monitor is running, and that the CAV program is not opened. Your computer takes over and makes all the calls for you. Then you only need to add new calls to the Calling List as your client gives them to you. Remember however, that having the CAV program opened during a scheduled CAV calling period will interrupt the calling schedule. You will have to reset Monitor to begin making calls during the interrupted calling period. Make sure that you schedule a time to add calls when Monitor is not making CAV calls.
Computer Appointment Verification relies on your computer recognizing the correct date to schedule calls. This section discusses the procedures for setting your computer's date and time.
This section discusses the procedures for setting your computer's date and time. This is an important procedure, as some of the CBSI programs use the date and time for scheduling purposes and dating reports. The time and date on your computer may lose or gain a few minutes each month (don't worry--they all do), so you may wish to check the time and date monthly.
Setting Your Computer's Date And Time
In Windows 95
To set your computer's date and time, double click on the clock at the right end of the task bar. The Date/Time Properties box will open as shown in the next figure.
Figure 48 -- Date/Time Properties Box
Use the following procedure to set your computer's date and time:
If you enter an invalid value for any of the Date or Time settings, the setting returns to the previous value. The Shift+Tab key combination allows you to move back through the settings.
Step 1. Click on the list box arrow to the right of the month and click on the month name to choose the correct month.
Step 2. Click in the year box and then click on the up or down arrow to the right of the year box to select the correct year. Each click will change by one year.
Step 3. Click on the correct day in the calendar display.
Step 4. Click on the hour in the time block and type the current hour (From 1 to 12), then press v to move to the Minutes setting.
Step 5. Type the current number of minutes (From 0 to 59) and press v to move to the Seconds setting.
Step 6. Type the current number of seconds (From 0 to 59).
Step 7. To save these settings, click the OK button. The new settings are saved, and you then return to the desktop.
If you require assistance or information about the Date and Time, click on the Help button. This help works similar to the Windows 95 On-Line help.
In Windows 3.1
The time and date on your computer may lose or gain a few minutes periodically (don't worry--they all do), so you may wish to check the time and date monthly.
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To set your computer's date and time, 1. Double click on the Control Panel icon from the main program group window. The Control Panel window appears similar to the one shown. |
Figure 49 - The Control Panel Window
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2. Double click on the Date/Time icon in the Control Panel window. The Date & Time dialog box appears as shown in Figure 50. |
Figure 50 - The Date and Time Dialog Box
There are two fields in this box: The Date field, and the Time field. Entries in the Date field are organized using the month/day/year format, and the Time field is in the hour/minute/second/a.m. or p.m. format.
If you enter an invalid value for any of the "Date" or "Time" settings, the setting returns to the previous value.
The Shift + Tab key combination allows you to move back through the settings.
Notice that the Month setting in the Date field is highlighted.
4. Type the number of the current day, then press the Tab key to move to the Year setting.
5. Type the last two numbers of the current year ('1994' would be '94') then press v to move to the Hour setting in the Time field.
6. Type the current hour (From '1' to '12'), then press Tab to move to the Minutes setting.
7. Type the current number of minutes (From '0' to '59') and press Tab to move to the Seconds setting.
7. Type the current number of seconds (From '0' to '59'), then press the Tab key to move to the a.m./p.m. setting.
8. Type an A for AM or P for PM.
9. To save these settings, click OK to the right of the Date field.
If you do not want to save the settings you made, click Cancel. The settings return to their previous values, and you return to the Control Panel window.
If you require assistance or information about the Date and Time, click on Help. This feature works similar to the Windows On-Line help.
There are other ways to change the Date and Time settings. You may select a setting and use the arrows to the right of the Date and Time fields. The upward pointing arrow increases the numerical value of the setting, while the downward pointing arrow decreases the numerical value of the setting.
Killing
This is stopping all running telephony applications. You only do this if you must stop the application(s) immediately. If there are calls being made or received in any of the running applications, the system hangs up on them rather abruptly. Please use this function with care.
To kill running applications, you must be viewing the Monitor box. Then press and hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys while pressing the K key. All of the currently running applications and Monitor are closed immediately. The killed applications remain stopped until you re-enter Monitor.
Close All
Choosing the Close All option in Monitor's "File" menu basically does the same thing as the Ctrl + Alt + K key combination by stopping all running applications except it doesn't close Monitor. It also does not hang up on any calls being made or received.
