We have made a few changes to our call processing and thought it would be a good opportunity to review the whole process….

When you launch a call with ZipBridge we call all the Members on their Cell Phone. If the person joins with that call we stop there. If they press 2 to join later we send them an SMS (text message) and Email with information on how to call in. If they answer and hangup, we send that information AND we call the Other Phone.

If it takes more than 30 seconds to answer the first call we assume it is voice mail and we send an SMS and Email and call the Other Phone while we are leaving a voice mail with the Dial-in number and PIN for the person to use to call back in. The maximum time we will allow a call to ring is 40 seconds. In most cases that is enough for voice mail to pickup so we can leave a message. If there is still no answer in 40 seconds we hangup and send the SMS and Email and call the Other Phone.

So what does this all mean? For the call leader it means that the longest it will take is 40 seconds from launch for the Member to be called on the Other Phone if they do not join on the initial call to their Cell. If they miss that first call, a message is left and alerts are sent to their Cell and Email to increase the chances of reaching the Member. It may mean the occasional redundant call or alert, but we feel that is a small inconvenience in exchange for more rapid call processing and robust alerting to bring the person on the call as quickly as possible.

There are things your Members can do to make the service work better for them and you.  The first is to add the Caller ID for the ZipBridge calls to their Cell Phone Contacts – and with a special ring tone.  That way they can recognize the calls and answer as quickly as possible.  The second is if they prefer to take the call on their Other Phone, simply answer the Cell and hangup.  We will instantly call the Other Phone so they can talk on that line.

Hope that clears up some of the questions about how ZipBridge calls and alerts flow so you and your Members can make better use of the service.  Suggestions?  Let us know!