Modifying device line buttons saying "Fixed Feature"

So today I was whipping up a new DID scheme for a user since they have been getting to many calls on their current lines since they were not being masked correctly. Easy enough. I got a new set of DIDs for them in the pool and assigned them appropriately and let the know that their voice mail would be changed since the DIDs were changing and everything is LDAP synced. Yes, technically I could do it the hard way but we don't hand code anything unless necessary for voice mail. I had a few phones that had a message on them when I was modifying the line order saying "Fixed Feature Button". This didn't make much sense to me since nothing on that line is a feature other than the line itself and the other phones didn't have this problem. After investigating a little more I saw people completely deleting that line and to me, that isn't an acceptable solution. I ended up disassociating that line with the phone then adding it back in without redoing everything. Since this happened on three different phones, deleting and re-adding would have taken to much time. Once I disassociated the line on the phones then put the line back on all was good. Not a huge deal, but a I guess this was a bug from 9.X that still hasn't been resolved...

Call Pickup Group "Feature is Unavailable" Message

So today I was presented with a very simple yet difficult problem. A customer had a problem with their call pickup group. Any time they would try to pick up a call after seeing the visual alert it would say "Feature is Unavailable". After doing some research on the problem I came up empty handed with others having this same problem. I made a few test calls and GCallPickup and then dialing the ringing number worked yet CallPickup didn't. Perplexed, I had the customer go try another set of phones in another pickup group and everything worked as it should. Absolutely nothing was different between the two configurations other than a the pickup group number (obviously...). So after an hour or so of wasted time troubleshooting and checking everything I created an entirely new pickup group and assigned the phones to it and voila, everything worked. I then deleted the old pickup group and changed the new one back to the old one's name as well as it's number and guess what, everything worked. My only assumption as to why this randomly started to fail all of a sudden is a database issue and removing it while creating a new one was the only solution. No other settings like extension mobility were in play and certainly all of the settings were correct such as the CSS and partitions. Weird...but at least it is fixed. I highly doubt TAC would have an answer other than the solution I ultimately came up with.

The Hunt Pilot Timer

Everyone has those moments where stupidity overrides thought processes. Yesterday I spent about 30 minutes on something that should have taken less than 3. I was providing support for a customer after I migrated their CUCM from a physical box to a virtual host and they wanted to do some additional configuration on their main line calling in. No big deal, slapped a second line group in and added it to the Hunt list and adjusted timers accordingly. After some fine tuning we got the line groups to ring properly but the second line group would always cut off prematurely. After trying to figure out what was going on and checking things I knew were right, it hit me. After you rang out it would hit a voice mailbox which just happened to be read by Cisco's voice and I knew exactly what was happening. The hunt pilot timer was set to 15 seconds and that was seconds more than then the second line group would hit which only allowed a very brief ring on the second group. I adjusted that timer to 30 seconds and bam, everything worked flawlessly. Sometimes you just need a small sample of stupid to realize that everything isn't complicated unless you make it that way. I think part of the reason I was forgetting the Hunt Pilot timer was due to the lack of sleep from the migration on the night prior. Who knows, maybe I'm making excused for a novice mistake?

Unsupported ESXi License that works

Up on the roadmap to be complete today is an MCS to ESXi migration for a clients CUCM. While it isn't a UCS box which makes the entire design not supported, their ESXi is not running a supported version either. They are currently running on 5.5 which, by all intents and purposes, works great. We all know we can load up a ESXi box and load CUCM on it with no issues. Heck, you can load it up on a box with an intel processor then migrate to AMD and it works if you really wanted to but PCD, the migration software that does all the magic in the background specifies certain license sets of ESXi due to certain issues pertaining to access and such. It turns out VMWare Essentials Plus 5.5 works fine despite not being listed in the supported sets of ESXi licensing on Cisco's site. I thought this important as some may need to migrate in the situation that I am in and not know if the ESXi is supported. One sure fire way of finding out is trying to add the ESXi host to the inventory in PCD. It either works or it doesn't. The good thing is, from here on out, I know an extra piece of information that can help out in the future and I wanted to share that with everyone here as well. The other option is to get a key or get a trial license and temporarily apply that to ESXi then bounce back when you are done since PCD is just a temporary situation to begin with.

Unity Connection Greeting Recording

This is a post I have been meaning to put up for a few weeks now. Basically, Cisco refuses to get with the times and use another method to record meetings via the web interface on unity connection. Java is and always will be a big issue with anything Cisco related. When you try to record on your PC you usually get SSL errors and other errors, even with IE. The only way around this is to downgrade your java so far down the ladder, it becomes a security risk. This essentially forces you to stand up a VM or use another box just for recording Unity greetings. You might say just record via phone, which is the best option. For those of you using a VPN connection or have other issues and can't go that route you are stuck with the web interface. You can either create the WAV file by computer recording or upload it from your desktop if you already have the file. When doing this you get the SSL errors I was talking about earlier. The way that I have found to get around the errors is to record via computer but do not save the recording after finishing. Instead, save a copy to your desktop and reload the page. From here, upload the file to the media player again, select the "phone" playback option and have it dial whatever number you want and leave "computer" as the recording option. Open the file up via the web player and hit play with those options set. Answer the phone and hit save while it is playing through your CIPC or phone and you will not get the error. From here, reload the page and hit play to verify it saved and you are done. Now why do we have to go through this for those of us on company laptops that have stringent security requirements and cannot downgrade java?

UCCX and UCCE with Voice and Video

Video Call and Video Chat for Cisco UCCX/UCCE

Video in contact center is something we’re hearing more and more about lately. Video call and video chat will most likely become conventional contact center channels thanks to WebRTC and zealous marketing from major UC&CC vendors.

Let’s not put here marketing stuff about how cool it is. Instead, we’ll consider ways to enable video in Cisco UCCX/UCCE.

The first thing that comes in mind is Cisco Jabber Guest – a native solution from Cisco that helps web-visitors interact with enterprise workers, including contact center agents. Users click the URL link and their browser open an audio/video session to wherever Jabber Guest Server routes them. On the back-end you’ll need the Cisco UCM, Cisco Jabber Guest server with Cisco Expressway-C/-E and internal video-enabled endpoint.

As guests, your website visitors are offered:

• a point-to-point audio/video,
• in-call control through a keypad,
• the ability to mute video, audio, or both.

While this could be enough to offer a guest access to your employees (for associates, suppliers, partners etc), the use of Jabber Guest in the contact center is a big question because of two major issues:

1. Jabber Guest requires a browser plug-in to be installed before making a call. A client will hardly agree to spend his time installing the plug-in to make a single call to your contact center. He heeds a “click-to-video” feature, but not the “click-to-install-to-video” one.
2. When calling through Jabber Guest a client has no collaboration features. The dual video definitely improves the communications  – you see the person you’re talking to and how he reacts to what you’re saying. But to provide the real LIVE assistance your agents need to collaborate with clients like they’re in person – exchange the docs, co-work on the website, show, point, discuss etc.

So, when thinking about video call / video chat channel for your contact center you should also consider third party solutions designed specifically for the customer service. The key features that make them different from Jabber Guest are:

• no downloads or plug-ins are required even for mobile browsers (thanks to WebRTC),
• integration with contact center software,
• web-collaboration features – chat, app sharing, co-browsing,
• interaction recording.

There are several vendors of video chat solutions on the market, of which Aurus RichCall is the only that claims to be designed specifically for Cisco UCCX/UCCE:

• it inherits UCCX/UCCE agent accounts, skill groups and routing rules,
• the video call bypasses the IVR menu and gets routed right to the appropriate skill group,
• the agent’s UI is integrated with Cisco Finesse or Cisco Agent Desktop (CAD),
• each video chat session is  reflected in Cisco Unified CCX Historical Reports and Cisco Unified Intelligence Center,
• the audio is recorded by the call recording software already deployed in contact center.

Seems to be quite a niche solution, but developed by Cisco Solution Partner for Cisco contact center platforms. So, if you’re running the UCCX/UCCE-based contact center, it may be of your interest.

Customer service done correctly

I spent some time today thinking.  I have been told by numerous sources how I am good in front of customers.  They tend to like me, request that I do things, and overall I improve the relationship between people.  Now I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this in my current company, but I wanted to share some things as an engineer that I think are what contributes to my success so far.  I know this isn't voice related but it is professional related to any field out there.  The more you use the foundation of being a human being and professional the better the results.  Remember, integrity, ethics, courteousness, and knowledge!

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Customer Service Done Correctly

Over the last twelve years I have experienced much and if it is one thing I have learned, the more humanly you treat people, the better the results.  This thought process didn't radiate at first with me.  When I was in my adult teens and early to twenties I felt like I had something to prove.  I think that might be a stage that everyone goes through; I just went through it quicker.  If it's one thing the military does, it is get you into a mature state of mind earlier.  Having seen the world and the plights of different cultures, one thing has remained a constant, treating people like human beings.  You would be surprised at how well people with completely different beliefs or thought processes can get along.

Since my exit from the military due to medical issues, I have gained insight as to how to handle customers, even when they are upset.  The mindset I keep can turn a relatively rocky start into a blooming relationship in which a customer may request you to perform a service you might not be qualified for.  The reason behind the request is that they are both comfortable with you and know your ethics and standards.  Every professional in any field should have a high level of both of those areas, ethics for doing the right thing despite the consequences and standards for getting something done correctly and efficiently while maintaining proper records of everything for later.

When it comes to servicing requests from customers, everyone involved should always be one-hundred percent informed.  Even if it was something as simple as a ticket already completed by someone else, someone should know.  When someone knows, someone can act properly in the event something else occurs.  If someone already removed a phone description and replaced it with something else that was requested, record that it was already done, follow up with the customer and move on to the next task.  Every time you inform someone that something is done, the concept of work is being done is felt.  With that feeling, a relationship begins to form.  Continuing on that relationship is entirely up to you and how you handle future encounters.

That brings me to the next idea that has popped off since talking about customer service.  The more detailed and well-presented information, the more likely you are going to give the customer, co-workers, and manager the warm and fuzzy.  Keep things presentable and neat as well as well documented.  If you start annotating times you did things, great, keep at it but remember to only get as detailed as you can within the allotted time.  My way of documenting and reporting may be completely different from the way you do it but as long as it is presented well and detailed everything should flow.  A good example of what not to do when handling documentation is to be vague or brief such as the following:

·         "Fixed the directory number."

·         "Added phone"

·         "Created new dial plan for end user to accommodate request"

The above examples are worthless as anyone can write those sentences.  Again, you need to be detailed and well presented.  Different circumstances will force different documentation.  For instance, putting information in a spreadsheet and sent in an email is fantastic but might not work so well in a service ticket unless you attach the file.  You may need to make a bulleted list of the things you did.  Instead of doing what I showed in the examples above, you should be getting more detailed like such:

·         "Removed directory number xxx-xxxx as it was the wrong DN assigned and in the wrong partition"

·         "Assigned a new DN (xxx-xxxx) to the device and placed it in the correct partition of 'PT-Blah'"

·         "Added one Cisco 7965 with a MAC of AAAA.AAAA.AAAA and a DN of xxx-xxxx"

·         "Called customer to confirm everything is as it should be, (customer name) confirmed that everything is functioning properly, closing ticket"

The above example is everything I would normally put into one ticket if it was pertaining to an IP Phone configuration problem or add/change/remove.  When you get that detailed, people will know what happened, why it happened, and how to fix it in the future if you are not around.  Furthermore, that level of detail shows time, care, and knowledge.  If you took the time to write detailed information, you probably care about the issue and want to make sure that the customer is taken care of.  Additionally, making that final call to the customer for confirmation will make them happy, even in the worst of days.  I had one customer that was absolutely irritated at the world when I was assigned a ticket that involved rebuilding a call server.  I got it all completed, updated them, and showed them screenshots of me fixing everything every step of the way.  I called them to let them know it was fixed and even invited them into a WebEx Meeting (online screen sharing, video, and audio meeting) to show them that everything is the status quo.  The next thing I know, I am going out to that very location to do a review of what was done on an entirely different project not even related to my profession.

When presented with a problem, go out and tackle it head first.  If you mess something up, let the customer know and reassure them that you are taking the proper corrective actions to remedy the situation.  No one ever grows and gets better by staying idle in their small corner that they are comfortable with.  No one is perfect in this world, we all make mistakes.  Some may say that is easy to say but hard to deal with and I disagree.  The more you learn and try, the better you become.  I once deleted a directory number in a server that wiped out 20 phones.  I could have sworn it wasn't me as I wouldn't make a mistake like that.  I went back and checked and ultimately found out I did, despite not remembering.  Either I was really tired that day or slammed with tickets.  I went back into my ticket log, found my actions and referenced that with the audit log of changes and sure enough I screwed up.  I informed the correct people and the issue was resolved.  Don't have fear of screwing up and don't have fear of telling someone the truth, the more you do it, the easier it gets.  This doesn't mean that you should go busting up servers then telling people, just be honest and in return you will learn and be treated well.

All of this leads back to treating people like a human being.  Despite some peoples’ bad behavior or attitudes, you are there to do a job and get it done correctly.  Being courteous, efficient and detailed, people will calm down and start talking.  I do understand that some people won't fit this bill, some are just downright rude, but you still have to try and you still must be courteous, efficient, and detailed.  If someone is being hard to deal with and you still get the job done, they will probably come back assuming everything is understood and aren’t misled or misinformed as to what occurred during the entire job.  Those that are disrespectful, you can simply choose to not do business with them again.  The smile, candor, and professionalism should always be present; you owe it to the customer because they are paying your bills for both yourself and the company that you represent.