Phone Menu Scripts: Auto Attendant Examples to Copy

A good auto attendant script is short: your business name, three or four choices with the most common one first, and 0 for a person. Below are examples you can copy for an office, a service business and after hours.

What Is an Auto Attendant?

An auto attendant is the recorded "press 1 for…" phone menu that answers your main number and sends each caller to the right person or group. It works day and night, so a small team can sound organized without someone at the front desk transferring every call.

Your script is often the first thing a new customer hears from your business. Most people have sat through a long, confusing phone menu and hung up. A small business can do much better with very little effort.

How Long Should an Auto Attendant Script Be?

Short. Start with your business name and get to the point. Callers do not need a slogan, a mission statement or a reminder that their call is important.

• "Thank you for calling Smith Plumbing, Atlanta's trusted family-owned plumbing experts serving the metro area with pride for over twenty years. Your call is very important to us."
• "Thanks for calling Smith Plumbing."

The second one sounds warmer, not colder. It respects the caller's time.

Which Option Should Come First?

Think about why people call you, then list options in that order. If most callers want to schedule an appointment, that should be option 1. If billing calls are rare, they can come later.

Look at your call logs if you are not sure. They show when calls come in and who answers them, which gives you a good idea of what people need.

How Many Menu Options Is Too Many?

An auto attendant can use keys 0 through 9, but that does not mean you should. After four choices, people forget the first one. If you have more departments than that, group them. "For billing and accounts, press 2" is better than two separate options.

Always include a way to reach a person. Many callers press 0 out of habit, so make 0 go somewhere useful, like the front desk or a call group that rings several people at once. Also set a fallback for callers who press nothing at all, so nobody gets stuck in the menu.

One small trick: say the action first, then the number. "For scheduling, press 1" works better than "Press 1 for scheduling." The caller hears what they want, then hears what to press.

Auto Attendant Script Examples You Can Borrow

A small office. This works well for a dental office phone system or any practice with a front desk:

"Thanks for calling Peachtree Dental. For appointments, press 1. For billing, press 2. To find someone by name, press 9. To reach our front desk, press 0."

A service business. A good fit for contractors and home services:

"Thanks for calling Smith Plumbing. To schedule service, press 1. If you have a plumbing emergency, press 2. For anything else, press 0 and we will help you."

After hours:

"Thanks for calling Smith Plumbing. Our office is closed right now. We are open Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. If this is an emergency, press 1 to reach our on-call technician. Otherwise, please leave a message and we will call you back the next business day."

Hours live on your phone number. Each number has a weekly schedule by day and time, with an "at all other times" route. Send open hours to the daytime menu and all other times to the after-hours menu. For holidays, add holiday hours to the number ahead of time, and the holiday greeting plays on those dates without anyone switching it.

How Do You Record a Greeting That Sounds Professional?

• Record in a quiet room, away from fans and street noise.
• Hold the phone a hand's width from your mouth.
• Smile while you talk. People really can hear it.
• Speak a little slower than normal, especially the numbers.
• Save it as an audio file (MP3) and upload it. Then call your own number and hear it as a customer would.

You do not need special equipment. The voice memo app on your phone works fine. If callers often ask for a specific person, add a dial-by-name directory so they can type the first few letters of a name.

Auto Attendant Script Checklist

• Business name in the first sentence.
• Most common reason is option 1.
• No more than four options.
• 0 always reaches a person or a group.
• A fallback for callers who press nothing.
• A separate after-hours menu on your number's schedule.
• Recorded in a quiet room, then tested by calling in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an Auto Attendant the Same as a Virtual Receptionist?

Not quite. An auto attendant is a recorded menu that routes calls by itself. A virtual receptionist usually means a live person at an answering service who picks up for you. Telonium provides the auto attendant; it does not provide live answering.

Can the Auto Attendant Send Calls to an Answering Service After Hours?

Yes. Your number's "at all other times" route, or a menu option, can forward calls to an outside number, such as an answering service you already use.

How Often Should I Update My Script?

Listen to it every six months, and any time people, hours or services change.

Every Telonium plan includes an auto attendant, per-number schedules, holiday hours and a dial-by-name directory. See the full list on our phone system features page, and our support team is happy to give your script a second listen.