The receptionist doesn't have to answer every call. It can ring your mobile first, so you take the calls you can and it catches the rest. And when it can't answer at all, calls ring a number you choose, usually your mobile.
You need to be an admin of your team to change these.
Choose when it answers
There are four choices:
The receptionist answers every call.
Ring me first in working hours: it answers out of hours and when you don't pick up. Your working hours are your opening hours.
Ring me first, always: it only answers when you don't pick up.
Choose the hours: it rings you first in hours you set under Ring me first in these hours, and answers the rest.
To change it:
Click Receptionist in the sidebar, then the Settings tab.
Click Answering.
Under When it answers, pick one.
Choose How long it rings you, from 10 to 45 seconds.
Under When I don't pick up, choose The receptionist answers or Take a voicemail.
Click Save.
It applies from the next call. There's nothing to publish. The bar under Today: shows who answers when today.
When a call rings you, you see the caller's number. Press 1 to take it. If you don't answer in time, decline it, or your own voicemail picks up, the caller goes to the receptionist or leaves a voicemail, as you chose.
Set your fallback number
Your fallback number rings when the receptionist is paused, past its minutes, or can't answer. It's also the phone a ring-first call rings.
On Answering, go to When it can't answer.
Type the Fallback number.
Click Save fallback number.
Click Remove to take it away. With no fallback number, callers it can't answer leave a voicemail instead, and it shows in Calls as a message.
Why did a call go to my phone instead of the receptionist?
In Calls, these show as Sent to your phone. It happens when:
When it answers rang you first, and you took it.
The receptionist is paused, or hasn't been put live yet.
Its call flow has never been published.
It's used its minutes this month, and the extra minutes your billing members allow. See How your receptionist minutes work.
Your account has no plan.
Something went wrong on our side, so it couldn't answer.
Why does it answer every call when I chose Ring me first?
There's no number to ring. The page says There's no mobile to ring yet. Click Add your mobile and save it.
Do the calls I take use minutes?
Yes. A call it rings through to you uses your receptionist minutes like one it answers, because we pay the phone company for it too.