Support: 877-599-6500 x11 or E-mail Support

Welcome to the AccessDirect / American Family Automated Attendant Menu and Voicemail Service for GOLD members.  Please read this entire document before contacting us with questions. Silver program users click here. 

Note: if you do not know if you have the Silver Plus program or the Gold Plus program, go to “Making Changes” section, follow the instructions to log onto the web interface and look under “Program”

* Please bookmark this page so you can return to it easily.

The Gold Plus instructions below include:

Recording Your Outgoing Greetings

Below are sample greetings for daytime, after hours/weekend, and holiday greetings, as well as step-by-step instructions for how to record your greetings.

IMPORTANT – With the Gold program, you have two levels of greetings:

  1. The main outgoing greetings for your agency, your “company” greetings (including bilingual)

  2. The greetings for your personal extensions

The default pass codes for each level are different to help prevent recording greetings in the wrong place.  The first step is to record your “company” greetings and then proceed to having each staff member record their personal extension greeting.

Recording Tips and Techniques:

  • Write out each greeting in the exact words you want to record.   This will make the recording session go smoothly as it is hard to ad lib when your are on the phone recording.

  • Practice the recording out loud before logging into our voice mail box to do the actual recording.   Practice your volume, pace and voice inflection.  Your recording can create a big first impression. 

  • Review the instructions on how to log in and how to record each greeting—daytime, after hours and holiday.

  • Choose a quiet place to record using an office phone handset.  It is not recommended to use a cell phone for recording.

  • You want your outgoing greetings to sound clear, upbeat and inviting.  Smile when you are doing your recordings! 

Instructions for recording your “Company” outgoing greetings:

Recording the Daytime, After Hours and Holiday Greetings (see sample greetings scripts, below):

  • Call your main phone number and let the call roll to voice mail.

  • Immediately press the star (*) key to interrupt the greeting (the log in digit is the star key).

  • Enter your pass code: 2000 (default pass code)

  • Press 4 to record a greeting by greeting number

  • Press the greeting number you wish to record, followed by the # sign.

    • 10# daytime
    • 20# after hours
    • 30# holiday
    • 50# bilingual (if applicable, see below)
    • 60# sub menu of individual voice mail extensions
    • 70# Spanish sub menu of individual voice mail extensions

  • When you hear the greeting start to play, press 1 to interrupt it.

  • Follow the prompts to record the greeting, be sure to save your new recording.  Listen carefully to all of the prompts before making a selection.

Daytime Greeting (Greeting 10)

“Thank you for calling (agency name) of American Family Insurance.
Para Espanol, oprime numero tres.
I am not able to answer your call right now. If you would like to leave a message for our agency, please press 1.
If you would like to speak to a representative from our 24 hour customer care center, please press 2”

After Hours Greeting (Greeting 20)

“Thank you for calling (agency name) of American Family Insurance.
Para Espanol, oprime numero tres.
You have reached us after regular office hours of ____ to ____ weekdays, evenings and weekends by appointment.
I am not able to answer your call right now. If you would like to leave a message for our agency, please press 1.
If you would like to speak to a representative from our 24 hour customer care center, please press 2”

Note: after recording the after-hours greeting, be sure to go to the Making Changes section to set your office hours.

Holiday Greeting (Greeting 30)

“Thank you for calling (agency name) of American Family Insurance.
Para Espanol, oprime numero tres.
We are closed in observance of the holiday.
I am not able to answer your call right now. If you would like to leave a message for our agency, please press 1.
If you would like to speak to a representative from our 24 hour customer care center, please press 2”

Note: See the “Making Changes” section for how to set the days on which your holiday greeting will be activated.

Extension Mailboxes (Greeting 60) – after caller presses 1 from the main menu to leave a message. This greeting MUST BE RECORDED by you so that you callers can leave a message.

“To leave a message please choose from the following options:
For _____________, press 1
For _____________, press 2
For _____________, press 3
For _____________, press 4”

 

Instructions for Recording Your Extension Greetings:

  1. Call your main phone number and let the call roll to voicemail

  2. Press 1 THEN enter your Extension Number (i.e. ext 1, ext 2, ext 3, ext 4)

  3. Immediately press the star (*) key to interrupt the greeting (the log in digit is the star key).

  4. Enter your pass code: 1000 (default pass code for extensions)

  5. Press 8 for User Options

  6. Press 1 to record greeting

  7. Follow the prompts to record and SAVE your new recording.  Listen carefully to all of the prompts before making a selection.

Alternative Greetings for Bi-Lingual Agencies – when the caller presses 3 from the main menu they will hear the bi-lingual greeting.

Note: A Spanish greeting has been pre-recorded and you can continue to use this greeting if desired. Or, you can re-record the Spanish greeting to personalize it to your agency. If you plan to use an alternative language other than Spanish please contact Access Direct immediately so that they can do the necessary custom programming and provide you with customized recording instructions.

Recording the Bilingual Greetings:

  • Call your main phone number and let the call roll to voice mail.

  • Immediately press the star (*) key to interrupt the greeting (the log in digit is the star key).

  • Enter your pass code: 1000 (default passcode)

  • Press 4 to record a greeting by greeting number

  • Press the greeting number you wish to record, followed by the # sign.

  • 50# (bilingual)
  • 70# (bilingual voice mailbox extension menu)

  • When you hear the greeting start to play, press 1 to interrupt it.

  • Follow the prompts to record the greeting, be sure to save your new recording.  Listen carefully to all of the prompts before making a selection.

Bilingual Greeting (Greeting 50) – to be recorded in the alternative language by your or a member of your staff who is fluent in that language.

“Thank you for calling (agency name) of American Family Insurance.
I am not able to answer your call right now. If you would like to leave a message for our agency, please press 1.
If you would like to speak to a representative from our 24 hour customer care center, please press 2”

Extension Mailboxes (Greeting 70) – to be recorded in the alternative language by your or a member of your staff who is fluent in that language. This greeting plays after caller presses 3 for alternate language then presses 1 to leave a message. This greeting MUST BE RECORDED by you so that your bi-lingual callers can leave a message.

“To leave a message please choose from the following options:
For _____________, press 1
For _____________, press 2
For _____________, press 3
For _____________, press 4”

Checking Your Messages

All voice messages are emailed to you as an attached audio file so you can click and listen to messages through your computer speakers. Most agents and their staff use this method exclusively for reviewing messages. Also, see attached Messages FAQ.

Note: if you cannot hear a message through your computer you need to ensure that you have speakers or a headset attached or that the volume is turned on. The message file itself cannot affect in any way whether you can hear the message, that can only be affected by the settings on your computer. If you cannot get the messages to play you will need to contact the American Family Help Desk.

Instructions for checking messages by phone:

  1. Call your main phone number and let the call roll to voice mail

  2. Press 1 then Enter your extension number (i.e. 1, 2, 3)

  3. When you hear your greeting, press the star (*) key to interrupt the greeting.

  4. Enter your pass code: _____ (default pass code was 1000)

  5. Follow the prompts to check and manage your messages.

Email Delivery of Voice Messages: All of your Access Direct voice messages will be sent to your personal email address. The message is delivered as a sound file that is played over your PC speakers.

Note: if you cannot hear a message through your computer you need to ensure that you have speakers or a headset attached or that the volume is turned on. The message file itself cannot affect in any way whether you can hear the message, that can only be affected by the settings on your computer. If you cannot get the messages to play you will need to contact the American Family Help Desk or IT Department.

Email Delivery of Faxes (this feature only applies if one of your phone lines is shared with the fax machine.  If you have a dedicated fax phone number this feature does not apply):  If you answer a call on the shared voice/fax phone number, you will follow your normal procedure of pressing start on your fax machine and hanging up so that you can receive the fax.  If your shared voice/fax phone number is not answered or busy, those calls will overflow to the voice mail service which can auto sense and receive a fax.  The fax is emailed to you as an attached .pdf file that you can open, view, print or save.   NOTE: If you have a dedicated fax phone number it is recommended that you keep it that way.  It is not recommended that you get rid of that phone number and put it into your roll-over group.  A dedicated fax phone number is often more convenient for you and for your customers.

NOTE:  If you have a dedicated fax phone number it is recommended that you keep it that way.  It is not recommended that you get rid of that phone number and put it into your roll-over group.  A dedicated fax phone number is often more convenient for you and for your customers.

Quick Reference

While listening to messages you can:

  • Press * to back up the message.

  • Press # to go forward in the message

  • Press 1 to back up to the beginning of the message.

  • Press 2 to hear the caller ID (if available will not work on blocked numbers)

  • Press 3 to delete the message

  • Press 5 to save the message

  • Press 7 to skip to the next message

  • Press 8 for message options (listen to date and time stamp)

  • Press 9 to go back to previous menu.

Making Changes to Your Voicemail

You can make changes to your program using a web interface, it is fast and easy and the changes take effect immediately!

Web Access Instructions

How to log in:

  1. Go to http://amfam.messagingservice.com

  2. Your login is your main phone number

  3. Your pass code is 1000 (default passcode)

Using the online account manager:

You can change settings instantly on a daily or weekly basis and for key holidays.  You can even set your holiday greeting dates for the year, in advance. Please bookmark this page http://amfam.messagingservice.com and log in today to get familiar with the web interface.

  • Edit Pass Code

  • Edit Email Delivery of Voice Messages

  • Edit Email Delivery of Fax

  • Edit Hours of Operation

  • Set Holiday Greeting 

Edit Hours of Operation: Your program was set up with default office hours of Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. If your office hours are different, please log into the web interface to set your office hours.

Please note that the default after-hours message that your callers hear will need to be re-recorded to list your hours as well.

Set Holiday Greeting: To set the greeting dates, just click on the “Set Holiday Greeting” tab, click the date you want on the calendar, and click Add. Your holiday greeting will play all day for only the days specified. There is no need to ‘turn off’ the holiday greeting. The program will simply revert back to your normal daytime and after-hours greetings.

If you try to select a date that is already set to play the holiday greeting, you may receive a server error. If you receive this error, refresh the page and check the date listing above the calendar. This will show the dates that have already been programmed to play the holiday greeting.

A default holiday greeting is in place that says “our agency is closed in observance of the holiday”. If you would like to personalize this, you can re-record it to do so.

Frequently Asked Questions

Messages FAQ

Q: I cannot hear the messages, what do I do?
A: If you cannot hear a message through your computer you need to ensure that you have speakers or a headset attached or that the volume is turned on. The message file itself cannot affect in any way whether you can hear the message–that can only be affected by the settings on your computer. If you cannot get the messages to play you will need to contact the American Family Help Desk or IT Department.

Q. Can the messages be emailed to more than one person in our office?
A. Yes. Your program is set up initially with only the agent’s email address for email message delivery. You can add or edit the email addresses for email delivery using the web interface. Go to the “Making Changes” section.

Q. With email message delivery, do I also I have to log in by phone to delete my messages?
A. No, the messages are automatically purged after seven days.

Q. If I delete a message from my email inbox does it get deleted on the other computers in my office?
A. No, the emailed message is no different than any other email. The email within each computer’s email inbox is independent from the other computers.

Q. By having the same message sent to multiple staff members how will I know if one them has already listened to and acted on a voice message?
A. You will need to check with that staff member.

Q. How does email message delivery work?
A. After the caller leaves a message our system emails the message to one or more email addresses as an attached audio file (.wav). This notifies you that you have a new message and you can click and listen to the message if you have speakers on your computer. You can also check messages from any touch-tone phone at any time of the day or night.

Q: How does fax overflow work?
A: If your fax line is part of your main line roll-over group (i.e. line two) and the line is busy or not answered, and if that call is a fax, the voice mail will auto detect/receive the fax and e-mail it to you as an attached .pdf document. You still need your fax machine for when you answer line two, if a fax, to then press start on your fax machine to receive the fax and for sending faxes. The fax overflow is not a replacement for fax; it is for overflow only to allow voice mail and fax to co-exist on the same line. Fax overflow does not apply if you have a separate free-standing fax line. A separate fax line is always best; it is not recommended that you move a fax line into your roll over group in order to get the fax overflow feature. If you have a free-standing fax line it is unaffected by the voice mail service.

Q: How is email message delivery better than stutter dial tone or a message light?
A: With email message delivery you do not have to be in the office to know you have a new message. You can check messages from anywhere that you can check your email. Email delivery can also go to more than one person in your office and the message goes directly to their email inbox within seconds of the caller having left the message.

Q: I cannot play the messages on my Blackberry (or other mobile device)?
A: Being able to play the messages on a mobile device, or not, is most often related to the software version you are on. You will need to contact the provider/carrier of that device to get instructions on how to enable or uprade your device to be able to play the audio files.

Recording My Greetings FAQ

Q. When I change my office hours using web access does it automatically update my greetings to say the new hours?
A. No, if you change your office hours you will also need to re-record your greetings to reflect the new hours.

Q. Does our after hours greeting come on automatically?
A. Yes, we set up your daytime and after-hours greetings to play automatically based on standard office hours. You do not have to do anything to activate the after-hours greeting. You can change the office hours using the web interface. Go to the “Making Changes” section.

Q. How do daytime and after hours greetings work?
A. The voice mail program has two main greetings that automatically play based on your office hours. Whenever a call rolls to voice mail it will play the daytime greeting during office hours and the after-hours greeting when you are closed. The after-hours greeting signals to your callers that you are closed and provides the same options to transfer to claims, pay by phone, customer billing or policy assistance or to leave a message. You can change the office hours using the web interface, see instructions on page 6 of the instruction packet you received from American Family.