Optional. Suggests menu options and the urgent example for your kind of business.
Put the most common reason people call first, and keep it to four or five. Start each with what the caller wants to do, like "book an appointment", or who they are, like "current clients". Leave a box empty to skip it.
Urgent callers shouldn't have to sit through the whole menu, so this one goes first.
Recommended. Some callers press 0 as soon as the menu starts.
Adds "Para español, oprima el nueve" near the start.
Optional. Read out in the after-hours menu.
Optional. Read out in the after-hours menu, without the https or www.
Your phone tree script
- 1Book or change an appointment
Send to [extension, ring group, or voicemail box] - 2Hear our hours and location
Send to a short recording with that information, then back to this menu - 3Anything else
Send to [extension, ring group, or voicemail box] - 0A member of your team
Send to the front desk, or whoever answers the phone (voicemail when nobody is free) - StarRepeat the options
Send to the start of this menu
Full script for your phone system setup
PHONE TREE SCRIPT 1. MAIN MENU, DURING HOURS Prompt: Thank you for calling. To book or change an appointment, press 1. To hear our hours and location, press 2. For anything else, press 3. To speak with a member of our team, press 0. To hear these options again, press star. Keys: Press 1: Book or change an appointment. Send to [extension, ring group, or voicemail box]. Press 2: Hear our hours and location. Send to a short recording with that information, then back to this menu. Press 3: Anything else. Send to [extension, ring group, or voicemail box]. Press 0: A member of your team. Send to the front desk, or whoever answers the phone (voicemail when nobody is free). Press *: Repeat the options. Send to the start of this menu. Any other key: play the invalid choice line, then this menu again. No key pressed: play this menu once more. Still nothing? Play the no-input line, then send the call to the front desk. 2. AFTER-HOURS MENU Prompt: Thank you for calling. We're closed right now. To leave a message, press 0, and we'll get back to you when we open. To hear these options again, press star. Keys: Press 0: Leave a message. Send to your main voicemail box. Press *: Repeat the options. Send to the start of this menu. No key pressed: send the call to your main voicemail box. 3. TRANSFER LINE Plays right before any transfer to a person. Thank you. Please hold while we connect your call. 4. INVALID CHOICE LINE Plays when a caller presses a key that is not on the menu, then the menu plays again. Sorry, that isn't one of the options. To speak with a member of our team, press 0 at any time. Here are the choices again. 5. NO-INPUT LINE Plays when a caller presses nothing after the menu has played twice. We didn't hear a choice, so we'll connect you with a member of our team. Please hold.
Record each prompt as its own file, so you can change one option later without redoing the whole menu. Callers who end up waiting after they pick? The on-hold message generator writes what they hear.
Want every call answered instead? See how FrontDesk Talk works.
A phone menu should get callers somewhere fast
A phone tree, also called an auto attendant or an IVR menu, answers your line and sends each caller to the right place: press 1 for this, press 2 for that. A good one takes a few seconds and gets people where they need to go. A bad one is a long list of choices, none of which fit, with no way to reach a person.
This generator writes the whole set for your business: the main greeting, an after-hours version, the line callers hear while they are transferred, and the prompts for a wrong key or no key at all. It says each option before its number, keeps the list short, and gives you a plain-text key map to paste into your phone system’s setup screen.
How to use the phone tree script generator
1
Name your options
Add your business name and industry, and the industry fills in a few common options. Edit them, put the most common reason people call first, and stop at four or five.
2
Choose the extras
Turn on an urgent option, press 0 for a person, and a Spanish line. Add your hours and website for the after-hours menu.
3
Record it and set it up
Record each prompt, or paste it into your phone system’s text-to-speech. Then use the full script to point every key at the right extension or voicemail box.
Say the option, then the number
Callers listen for their reason first and the key second. “To book an appointment, press 1” lets them wait for the words that fit, then catch the number. “Press 1 to book an appointment” makes them hold a number in mind before they know if it’s theirs. Put the most common reason people call first, so most callers can stop listening early.
Four or five options at most
Every option adds a few seconds and one more thing to remember. Past four or five, the early ones are hard to recall by the time the list ends, and callers press star to start over. If you have more, group them, like “billing and payments,” or send the rare ones to a person. Keep the welcome to one line, then go straight into the choices.
What to do with the 0 key
Some callers press 0 as soon as a menu starts, hoping to reach a person. Make 0 do exactly that, and send it to voicemail when nobody is free. Say it in the menu too, so callers know it’s there. A menu with no way out traps the caller whose question doesn’t fit any option.
When a phone tree hurts
A menu works when callers know which group they belong in and each group goes to a different person. It gets in the way when one or two people answer everything anyway, or when most callers just want to ask a question or book. Then the menu only adds a delay before the same person picks up, and a quick, friendly answer serves callers better than any list of options.
Or let FrontDesk Talk handle it
Or skip the menu. Callers just say what they need.
FrontDesk Talk has no phone tree. It answers on the first ring, 24/7, answers questions about your hours and prices, takes messages, and transfers urgent calls to your cell. Small Talk is $99 a month, no contract.
Questions
What is the difference between an auto attendant and an IVR?
An auto attendant is the recorded menu that answers your line and routes calls by key press. IVR, short for interactive voice response, is the broader name for phone systems that respond to callers, and it can also take spoken answers or look things up, like an order status. For most small businesses, both words mean the same thing: a phone menu.
How many options should a phone menu have?
Four or five at most, plus 0 for a person and star to repeat the menu. If you have more, combine related options or send the rare ones to a person. The generator warns you when your list runs long or the menu takes more than about 30 seconds to hear.
Should pressing 0 reach a real person?
Yes, whenever someone is free, and a voicemail box when nobody is. A caller who presses 0 wants a person, and sending them back to the start of the menu is the quickest way to lose them.
How do I record my phone tree greeting?
Most business phone systems let you upload a recording or type the text and use a built-in voice. To record it yourself, use a quiet room, speak a little slower than normal, and pause briefly between options. Record each prompt as its own file, so you can change one option later without redoing the whole menu.
Should my phone menu have a Spanish option?
If Spanish speakers call you, yes. Put “Para español, oprima el nueve” near the start so they don’t sit through the whole English menu, and send the 9 key to someone who speaks Spanish or to a Spanish version of the menu.
Can I skip the phone tree entirely?
Yes. If one or two people answer everything, a menu only adds a step. An AI receptionist like FrontDesk Talk answers on the first ring with no menu at all: callers say what they need, and it answers the question, takes a message, or transfers the call. Plans start at $99 a month.
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