Customer tutorials

Here you can find tutorial covering various aspects of your service.

How do I set up a new account?

Determine which features you want included in your new answering service. Access to live emergency operators is always included, but extra options streamline your service.
Click on the "Set up forms" link below to download the forms.
If you have additional needs not covered in the features list, we may be able to accommodate you. Please contact us about additional options not listed.
Fax the completed forms to Apartment Lines. Upon receipt of your completed set up forms, an Apartment Lines representative will contact you and complete the set up process.

Some things to keep in mind as you're starting service:

If you are currently using an answering service, you might be obligated to provide them with a written 30 day notice of cancellation. If you need any assistance with this, contact us.
An invoice will be mailed to you within 2 weeks of service initiation. Subsequent invoices will be mailed 30 days in advance to allow you extra processing time.

Web portal tour

Apartment Lines has a full-featured web portal that allows you to view and edit all important account information online, including emergency contacts, emergency instructions for operators and on-call schedules.

Use the links below to learn more about using our web portal.

Account control panel

After logging in and clicking the link for your complex, you'll be taken to the account control panel. This is an overview page that provides a quick summary of all the important information for the account.

You can edit data from this page by clicking on the pencil icon, or delete information by click on the 'red X' icon.

Editing a contact

Add, remove and reorder contact numbers.

Editing an emergency situation

Edit the contact procedure for an emergency situation, selecting between pre-defined, often-used calling procedures, or a custom-defined procedure.

Editing the on-call calendar

Create and edit on-call schedules for multiple rotating on-call staff for up to three months.

Access to operator recordings

Listen to emergency calls that were connected to one of our operators.

Voicemail tour

Apartment Lines' custom-built voicemail system leverages cutting-edge VoIP technologies to offer a robust messaging experience. Use the links below to learn more about how to get the most out of your voicemail.

How do I check voicemail messages?

Voicemail messages can be delivered to your email as sound file attachments, or they can be retrieved by phone.
Here's how to retrieve your voicemail messages by phone...

Dial your assigned Apartment Lines number.
(This is your Apartment Lines forwarding number)
Interrupt the greeting by pressing the * key.
Enter your passcode, followed by the # key. You will then be prompted on how to play your messsages.
Delete your messages when you are done with them (you will be prompted).
When you are finished, press the # key before hanging up.

Note: If you receive your voicemail messages by email, telephone retrieval may or may not be enabled. If you have any trouble checking your messages or want us to change your settings, please contact us.

How do I record voicemail greetings?

Voicemail greetings are recorded for you when service is initiated. If you wish, you may record a new greeting in your own voice.

Apartment Lines provides three general categories of service. For instructions on changing your greeting, please select the type of service you have from the list below.

If you have any trouble changing your greeting, or are not sure which type of service you have, please contact us.

Voicemail greetings - Basic service

Your voicemail is set-up for you with one Main Greeting that is already recorded (the greeting callers first hear when reaching the answering service). You can record your own Main Greeting to replace the original greeting:

'Main Greeting 0' is the Main Greeting that is recorded for you when you begin service
'Main Greeting 1' is the Main Greeting you can record yourself if you wish to replace 'Main Greeting 0'
Use the following procedure to re-record the main greeting in your own voice:

Dial your Apartment Lines voicemail number.
When you hear the greeting start, press the '*' key.
Enter your passcode, followed by the # key.
Press 3 for Main Greetings and follow the audible prompts, which will be...
1. Press 1 to record a new Main Greeting. When you finish recording, press #.
2. To listen to your recording, press 3 (listen to greetings), then press 1 (for greeting number)
3. If you are satisfied with your recording, go to step 4. If you are not satisfied, press 1 to record the greeting over again; when finished recording, press #. Repeat until you are satisfied, then go to step 4.
  If you are recording 'Main Greeting 1', use this script (optional Courtesy Officer text is in brackets):
  "Thank you for calling (name of apartment community).
  We are unable to answer your call at this time. If this is a police, fire or medical emergency, please hang up and dial 911.
  To leave a message for the office, please press 1 and your call will be addressed during business hours.
  If you have a maintenance emergency needing immediate attention [or you need a
  courtesy officer], please press 3 for an emergency operator."
  
  Note: Please feel free to customize the greetings by adding office hours, etc--we only ask that you also include all of the information above for 'Main Greeting 1', as it is necessary for proper call routing.
4. Press 4 to select your new Main Greeting. When asked for the Main Greeting number, press 1.
The new greeting you recorded is now the Main Greeting your callers will hear. You can now hang up.

Note: Apartment Lines operates a few alternate voicemail systems with different procedures not covered here. If you have any trouble changing your greeting, please contact us.

Voicemail greetings - Basic service with extra options

If you are using BASIC SERVICE WITH EXTRA OPTIONS, your voicemail greetings and menu have been customized and you will need to contact us for special instructions.

How do I use the advanced voicemail features?

Apartment Lines' voicemail system offers all of the standard features you'd expect, as well as some special features you won't find in most other systems. Listed below are some of the advanced features we offer:

Fast-forward/rewind a message: While listening to any message press the 1 key to fast-forward the message, and the 2 key to rewind the message. Each key press will fast-forward or rewind the message about 3 seconds in the direction you choose.
E-mail on demand: While listening to any message, press the 8 key to send the message to your e-mail. The message will arrive to your pre-configured e-mail address as an audio file attachment, which can be opened with any common audio player on your computer. This feature also supports multiple e-mail address. To set up this feature, contact an Apartment Lines representative.
Play the message envelope: While listening to any message, press the 3 key to hear the message envelope. The message envelope contains the date and time of the call, as well as the Caller ID number.
Save messages: While listening to any new message, press the 9 key to save the message. The message will be available in the saved messages folder the next time you check voicemail.
Re-mark messages as new: While listening to any saved message, press the 9 key to mark the message as new. The message will be available in the new messages folder the next time you check voicemail.

How do I receive emergency messages?

Operators handle calls based on your emergency contact procedures, until they confirm messages are received or all contact options are exhausted. When reaching a pager or voicemail, they will leave a contact number or record a message to call the answering service. To reach an operator, call your forwarded office line or assigned Apartment Lines number and press #. If prompted, enter 0000#.

How do I update emergency procedures?

Update your emergency procedures whenever contact information changes (pagers, staff, on-call rotation, etc.).

The preferred way to view and update this information is by logging in to http://apartmentlines.com. If you have not yet registered for an account on our website, go to http://apartmentlines.com/register and complete the registration form. Within 24 hours you will receive an approval by email, letting you log in to your account.

Same day changes should be submitted by 3 p.m. CST. Alternatively, you may submit updates by:

Click on the "Employee update form" link below to download a form you can use for faxing changes to your emergency contact information.

How do I use call forwarding?

There are two major kinds of call-forwarding:

Standard Call-Forwarding
a.k.a. Manual Call-Forwarding
If you have the Standard Call-Forwarding feature from your telephone company, you may forward your phone to the answering service by dialing 72# (AT&T Users) or *72 (Verizon Users) followed by your assigned answering service number. To disable call-forwarding, dial 73# (AT&T Users) or *73 (Verizon Users).
Automatic Call-Forwarding
a.k.a. Fixed Call-Forwarding, Call-Forward No-Answer
If you have the Automatic Call-Forwarding feature from your telephone company, you will need to contact a telephone company representative to configure your phones to forward to your assigned answering service number, and configure the number of rings before the phone is forwarded.
Note: While automatic call-forwarding is convenient, it is also much less flexible. Apartment Lines recommends that all customers using Automatic Call-Forwarding also obtain Standard Call-Forwarding on their phones.

How do I order call forwarding

To order Call-Forwarding, you must call the telephone company that provides your local phone service. Normally, you will need a copy of your phone bill when you call in order to answer questions that prove you are authorized to make changes to your phone account.

If you are ordering the automatic Call-Forwarding feature, you will also need to have your assigned Apartment Lines number on hand--this will be the destination number they will use for automatic Call-Forwarding. If you would like Apartment Lines to assist you with setting up Call-Forwarding, please contact us.

How can I prevent tenants from seeing the Caller ID of my staff's phones?

Often times, a staff member may need to contact a tenant directly regarding an emergency situation. Most staff members would prefer that the tenant not be able to see their phone number via Caller ID.

It's actually very easy to block the Caller ID on any phone call your staff member places, following the simple step below:

Before dialing any phone number, dial *67 first. This turns on Caller ID blocking for the call that is about to be placed. For example, if your staff member wants to call a tenant at 404-555-1212, they can dial *67-404-555-1212 to block the tenant from seeing their phone number.

Note that dialing *67 does not turn on Caller ID blocking permanently, but only for the current call that is being placed.