ASD recently released an enhanced version of ASD Mobile to the Apple App and Google Play stores. The latest version, ASD Mobile 5.3, introduces our new Call Forwarding Check feature to the app. This feature allows you to manually verify your phone lines are properly call forwarded using our app. If your funeral home has designated office hours, you can also use Call Forwarding Check to have ASD automatically check your call forwarding on a regular basis and notify you proactively if the lines are not forwarded by a certain time. Be sure to update your app to take advantage of this new solution.
ASD first introduced our Call Forwarding Check solution in 2023 to help our clients protect their sensitive telephone communication. Previously, ASD clients were required to first speak with our customer service team to enable this feature, but our latest app update allows you to set up your own preferences and use ASD Mobile to control how and when you are notified of Call Forwarding Check alerts.
Have you ever left your office and questioned whether you may have forgotten to forward the phones lines to ASD? With our Call Forwarding Check feature now available at your fingertips through our app, a quick tap on the ‘Check Now’ button will allow you to test your line without having to call into ASD. The app will alert you if the check was successful (meaning your lines are forwarded) or if the check failed (meaning the lines are NOT properly forwarded). You can also tap the ‘Schedule Check’ button to schedule your phone line check in advance.
To access the Call Forwarding Check area of our app, simply tap on your funeral home name under ‘Call Forwarding Check’ on the Home screen or tap ‘Settings’ (located at the bottom of the navigational menu). You will now see ‘Call Forwarding Check’ listed at the bottom of your setting options. From here, you can see if any checks are scheduled for the future, review your office hour settings, and see any checks that were previously made by ASD.
While having the ability to manually verify your call forwarding is helpful, the most powerful component of this feature is the ability to schedule checks automatically based on your firm’s office hours. Please note, this option will only work if you have designated office hours that are listed within your ASD account settings. If you do not have this set, you will see ‘No set hours, cannot schedule checks.’ You can contact our Customer Service team at 800-868-9950 ext. 5 to add designated office hours to your ASD account.
If you do have office hours, you will see ‘Your Funeral Home Name: Off.” Tap here and you will see your office hours listed above a ‘Check Delay’ option. Tap here to set up your automatic, reoccurring check. You will be able to specify how long after the end of your office hours you would like ASD to send out the test. Once this is selected, you can also use the app to specify if the check should be repeated, how many times it should be repeated, and how long before the repeat check should be made.
Once you have these settings saved, ASD will follow your Call Forwarding Check schedule going forward based on your office hours. For instance, in the example above, the phone lines at Features Funeral Home will be checked at 4:15p Monday-Friday. If lines are not forwarded to ASD at that time, two more attempts will be made to check the line five minutes later.
In addition to controlling how your account uses our Call Forwarding Check, the ASD Mobile app will also allow you and your staff to specify how you would like to be notified of these successful and unsuccessful check attempts. Under the ‘Other’ section within your Push Settings, you will see your app notification settings for Call Forwarding Check. You can specify how you would like to be notified of successful attempts, failures and the attempts that you manually conduct. Use the app to set if you would like to be notified always, never, or only when you are on-call. You can also chose specific sound alerts or set up notification delay.
In the sensitive and demanding funeral profession, seamless communication is paramount, and ASD understands the importance of safeguarding each call that comes through. By automatically verifying the integrity of call forwarding settings on a regular basis, ASD’s Call Forwarding Check mitigates the risk of missed calls during critical moments. Funeral directors can rely on this feature to maintain uninterrupted connectivity, ensuring that families in need receive the compassionate and prompt assistance they deserve.
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS THIS FEATURE OFFERS:
- Bolster the protection of your valuable phone lines
- Decrease the risk of missed calls during critical moments
- Ensure continuous connectivity for timely assistance
We are also looking ahead to future applications on the horizon. For instance, our in-house IT team is currently working to take this technology to the next level by giving funeral directors the ability to forward their phone lines using the ASD Mobile app. This forthcoming solution will provide you with the convenience of controlling the funeral home phone lines effortlessly.
“ASD acknowledges the indispensability of human touch in funeral home communication, even as AI creates new opportunities. Our innovative Call Forwarding Check solution exemplifies the perfect fusion of technology and human connections,” shared ASD Family-Member Owner, Kevin Czachor.“While these tools operate automatically within our answering service system, they provide funeral directors with a vital safeguard, ensuring constant line coverage and empowering them to enhance customer care for bereaved families.”
What Else Is New At ASD?
Automatic Message Transcriptions
Introduced in 2023, ASD’s Automatic Message Transcriptions empower you and your funeral home team to swiftly locate specific information related to a particular case by scanning the entire conversation text during the search process. Now available on both ASD Mobile and myASD.com, this enhanced searching capability ensures that you and your team can efficiently access and retrieve relevant details from conversations with ease.
Next Step Text™
The initial phone call to a funeral home can be overwhelming for a grieving family member. Offering immediate guidance through text messaging helps establish a connection and demonstrates care. ASD’s NEXT STEP Text™ enables funeral homes to send important resources to families via text after their first call. The text can be initiated by an ASD Call Specialist after handling a first call for the funeral home or by a funeral home employee using the ASD Mobile app. All replies to the NEXT STEP Text™ messages are conveniently logged within the app. This underutilized feature enhances the overall experience for families and offers new opportunities for deathcare professionals.
MobileFH® Texting
Although introduced in 2019, we are often very surprised how many of our clients have yet to unlock the full potential of this feature. MobileFH® Texting can greatly enhances customer service and simplify your daily operations. If you haven’t already embraced this functionality and are eager to explore its multitude of benefits, be sure to watch this video with helpful information on new security steps that must be taken to enable MobileFH® Texting on your account.
Related Reading
The Power of Innovation: 12 Lesser-Known Solutions for Funeral Homes by ASD
10 Perfect Examples of ASD’s Custom Funeral Home Solutions in Action
Simplify Your Life As An On-Call Funeral Director: 6 Must-Watch ASD Videos
