TELUS
TELUS has no direct connection to Reception.ai, so you connect it with call forwarding. Your receptionist answers on its own Reception.ai number, and TELUS forwards calls to it. Callers keep dialing your TELUS number.
First, go to Receptionists, select the Phone tile, and get a number. See Phone numbers. Pick an area code that is local to your TELUS line: TELUS charges long distance when the forward-to number is long distance.
Then follow the setup for your TELUS service.
Business Connect
Open call handling
Sign in to TELUS Business Connect Voice Manager and go to Settings → Call Handling & Forwarding. Admins can go to Users, select the extension, and open Call Handling & Forwarding for it.
Add the receptionist’s number
Enter your receptionist’s number in the call handling list and save. To ring your own phones first, keep them above the receptionist’s number and use Ring For to set how long they ring.
Turn off the “press 1” announcement
Under Call Handling & Forwarding → Settings → Incoming Call Information, select Edit next to Play Announcement and set Direct Calls to Never. The announcement asks whoever answers to press 1, and your receptionist can’t press keys. Turn off call screening for the extension too.
TELUS only forwards to numbers that aren’t already registered on your Business Connect account, which a Reception.ai number never is. The “press 1” announcement can’t be turned off for calls that reach an outside number through a call queue, so forward from an extension, not a queue.
Office phone
Dial these from the TELUS line you want to forward. Wait for the beeps before you dial the next part.
If *72 doesn’t work on your line, use 72# and 73# instead.
Forwarding turns on once the receptionist’s number answers. Your receptionist answers right away, so you can hang up once it greets you. If the call doesn’t connect, hang up and dial *72 again within 2 minutes.
On TELUS office lines, busy and no-answer forwarding (*90 and *92) send calls to a number
TELUS sets for you, usually your voicemail. You can’t point them at your receptionist with a star
code. Ask TELUS whether they can change that number.
Mobile
Dial these from the TELUS mobile phone, using your receptionist’s 10-digit number. On some phones, use the phone’s own call forwarding settings instead.
Who answers first in Reception.ai, which rings a staff phone before the receptionist, isn’t available on a Reception.ai number in Canada. To ring your team first, use the conditional codes above, or bring your own number. See Who answers first.
What to know
- Transfers in Canada: Your receptionist can’t transfer calls from a Reception.ai number in Canada. To use transfer rules, every number on the receptionist has to come from your own Twilio account or SIP trunk.
- Caller ID: TELUS doesn’t document which number forwarded calls show. If the receptionist sees your TELUS number instead of the caller’s, every call looks like it comes from the same number, and your receptionist can’t recognize returning callers by their number.
Test it
Call your TELUS number from another phone at a time when the forwarding you set applies. Check that your receptionist answers, then open Inbox and confirm which caller number the conversation shows. See Testing.