the currently selected Non-Busy Greeting option. For example, if the Non-Busy Option is 0, then callers encountering a busy extension will hear the same greeting heard when the extension is not answering or call forwarded always to voice mail. Conditions and Feature Interactions � For proper operation, the phones should be programmed for Call Forward - No Answer and Call Forward� Busy conditions for both internal and external calls. If programmed for Call Forward - Always, the voicemail system will not know the state of the phone and use the Call Forward � No Answer prompts. � Mailboxes configured not to play a personal greeting still offer the user the option to record one via the User Options menu. The personal greeting, if recorded, will be ignored.
Before the digital era, he says more than 80 percent of business lines had voice mail. Now, he estimates only a third of office phones have it.”For customers, even the most professional voicemail greeting is impersonal, and may even harm customer experience (millennials, in particular, avoid using voicemail altogether).

The above section details types of phrasing to avoid; however, it doesn’t detail what users should NOT say on their greeting. Though this is a bit loaded, as there are hundreds of combinations of things one shouldn’t say, there are some key components users should ALWAYS avoid. a. Forget About Slang: You should strive to be as professional and welcoming as possible in your greeting. While this may steer you towards using slang, in an attempt to make callers comfortable, it’ll most likely work against you. As a professional, your demeanor, tone, and speech should be clear cut and well articulated. Using slang undercuts this and works against you. b. Don’t Even Think About Profanity: This is a no-brainer. Never, under any circumstances, curse in your greeting EVER! c. Keep Your Sentences Clean, Don’t Ramble: Introduce yourself and give your caller specific direction. Avoid long diatribes detailing tangent thoughts. Keep it simple and quick. d. Always Return Your Calls: It’s important for callers to feel they are valued. Nothing dissolves this quicker than a greeting that doesn’t stress this. For example, “I’ll call you when I can,” “If I don’t return your call, please call back”—these phrases are terrible and completely destroy any good will you may have with a caller.
If a call happens outside normal business hours, you can create a specific auto-attendant that’ll handle those calls with an alternative greeting message and menu options. An auto-attendant is an excellent option for businesses with regular working hours, but you might need a more robust solution if you plan to offer 24-hour service.