Most often, when we call a company’s customer service, we hear a message saying “If you know the extension, dial it”. At this point we feel that we are wasting our time, because if we really know the extension we want to contact, why do we have to talk to a machine first? This is one of the increasingly widespread PBX functions, so that today we will reveal how to call directly to an extension of a company’s PBX without having to go through all the previous scenarios.
In fact, not only will you discover how to call directly to an extension of the PBX, but also you will see how to save the number of the extension in your phone book, allowing us to contact that person more quickly and comfortably in the future.
First of all, what exactly do we mean when we talk about a PBX extension?
Although it seems that companies have only one phone number to be contacted, the truth is that under this number there may be dozens of extensions that can make and receive calls under the same headline number. Today, PBX services that use more advanced technology such as WebRTC, allow that main number to be divided into different extensions, which can be used by workers from anywhere.
A simple definition of a PBX extension could be the following one: a range of short internal numbers that allow a call made by a user to the company’s PBX to be directed to an agent (by dialing this number once the call has been initiated) without each agent having to have an independent telephone line with its own numbering.
As for the maximum number of extensions that can have a phone number, currently, with WebRCT technology, we can say that the possibilities are infinite.
How to call directly to a PBX extension?
The first step is to open the number dialer of our mobile phone and type the number of the office we want to call (for example, the number of the Fonvirtual office in Spain, 914891046).
Then, once we hear the phrase “if you know the extension, dial it” we must press the “pound sign” (#) key, so that a semicolon will be added just after the number dialed. The last step is to dial the telephone extension we want to contact directly without having to go through all the phases of the company’s PBX.
How can I save the extension number in my mobile phone’s address book?
If we estimate that we are going to call more than once to an extension, it is much more practical to save the number in the mobile phone address book. To do so, we will have to follow the steps detailed below. The way to do it is very similar for Android and iPhone.
First, we create or edit the contact to which we are going to associate the extension. Once we have it, we’ll have to enter the office number as well. As in the previous section, the key is to hold down the key in the lower left corner where both the asterisk (*) and the pound sign (#) appear. Those who have an iPhone will also see the (+) – symbol.
When you press and hold it, you will see several options on the keyboard that were not shown before, including one that says “Wait”. Press it and the semicolon will be added after the office number. We can now add the extension we want to the number.
Internal calls between extensions
So far we have talked about direct calls to the extensions from an external user to the PBX, but what happens when you want to make internal calls between PBX extensions? Which number should employees call to talk directly to their colleagues, without having to call the company’s landline or their personal mobile phone?
Very easy. With Fonvirtual each extension will have an internal number that will be used to communicate internally. You will be able to save your colleagues’ internal numbers in the PBX address book to call them directly and totally free of charge.
