asterisk users - Feb 2012 - "conferenced" transfers

I'm wondering how one might implement a transfer where a receptionist
introduces a caller to the recipient in a 3-way conference before hanging up,
leaving the other two parties connected. Something like this, from the
perspective of the customer:

Customer: "Hi. I'd like to buy a widget."
Receptionist: "Great. Let me connect you with someone in sales."
(Customer on hold)
Receptionist: "Hello customer. I have John here with me."
John: "Hello."
Receptionist: "John can sell you a widget. Have a great day."
(Receptionist hangs up)
(John and Customer continue the discussion)

The problem is that in most systems I've seen, the 3-way is accomplished by
the handset that initiates the conference mixing the two legs of the call. When
that party (in this case, the receptionist) hangs up, the conference is over,
and the other two parties are either disconnected or put on hold.

I know there are ways to do server-side conferences - the challenge is making
this no harder than a regular transfer, so the receptionist can do it
comfortably. The usual model of dialing a number, entering a conference number,
passcode, etc, is far too heavy for something as common as a transfer.

In particular, I'm playing with a new Snom 870, and its drag-and-drop
conference functionality is really great. However, I'm looking for any
suggestions on how people skin this problem from a user interface perspective,
and keep it friendly instead of frustrating for receptionists.

As I read this, this is a regular "attended" transfer.

-----Original Message-----
From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
[mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Phil Frost
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 2:33 PM
To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
Subject: [asterisk-users] "conferenced" transfers

I'm wondering how one might implement a transfer where a receptionist
introduces a caller to the recipient in a 3-way conference before hanging
up, leaving the other two parties connected. Something like this, from the
perspective of the customer:

Customer: "Hi. I'd like to buy a widget."
Receptionist: "Great. Let me connect you with someone in sales."
(Customer on hold)
Receptionist: "Hello customer. I have John here with me."
John: "Hello."
Receptionist: "John can sell you a widget. Have a great day."
(Receptionist hangs up)
(John and Customer continue the discussion)

The problem is that in most systems I've seen, the 3-way is accomplished by
the handset that initiates the conference mixing the two legs of the call.
When that party (in this case, the receptionist) hangs up, the conference is
over, and the other two parties are either disconnected or put on hold.

I know there are ways to do server-side conferences - the challenge is
making this no harder than a regular transfer, so the receptionist can do it
comfortably. The usual model of dialing a number, entering a conference
number, passcode, etc, is far too heavy for something as common as a
transfer.

In particular, I'm playing with a new Snom 870, and its drag-and-drop
conference functionality is really great. However, I'm looking for any
suggestions on how people skin this problem from a user interface
perspective, and keep it friendly instead of frustrating for receptionists.

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