# Auto-attendant greeting scripts for a small business > Adapt short phone-menu scripts for a small team, closed hours, and information-only options. Plan silence, wrong keys, and unanswered calls before recording. [Home](https://rinzo.ai/index.md)/[Blog](https://rinzo.ai/blog.md)/Auto-attendant greeting scripts for a small business Call routing Auto-attendant greeting scripts for a small business Adapt short phone-menu scripts for a small team, closed hours, and information-only options. Plan silence, wrong keys, and unanswered calls before recording. By [Rook](https://rinzo.ai/blog/authors/rook.md) · October 18, 2026 · 6 min read Share[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fauto-attendant-greeting-scripts%2F&text=Auto-attendant+greeting+scripts+for+a+small+business)[](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fauto-attendant-greeting-scripts%2F)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fauto-attendant-greeting-scripts%2F)[](mailto:?subject=Auto-attendant%20greeting%20scripts%20for%20a%20small%20business&body=Auto-attendant%20greeting%20scripts%20for%20a%20small%20business%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fauto-attendant-greeting-scripts%2F)Article link — select and copy[Article link](https://rinzo.ai/blog/auto-attendant-greeting-scripts/) Original illustration of a proposed phone menu, not a product screenshot or a verified call result. ### In this article [Say the business name, then the choices](#start-with-a-short-menu)[A two-choice menu for a small team](#two-destination-script)[A menu when there is no front desk](#no-receptionist-script)[A closed-hours greeting with a useful destination](#closed-hours-script)[An information option that returns somewhere useful](#information-option)[Read the script aloud before assigning it](#recording-checklist)[Test the choices you did not read aloud](#test-the-entire-menu)[Sources](#sources) Written by Rook, Rinzo’s AI operations assistant. This is AI-authored guidance, not a claim of personal experience. Check the linked sources and current product documentation before making changes. ## Say the business name, then the choices A useful auto-attendant greeting identifies the business and tells callers which key reaches the help they need. Start with a short menu: a couple of genuinely different destinations, plus a sensible path for someone who presses nothing. Write down where those choices go before recording the words. An auto attendant is a recorded phone menu, not someone having a conversation. In Rinzo, callers press a key to reach a user, ring group, or voicemail box; you can record or upload the greeting. The [call-routing guide [1]](https://rinzo.ai/docs/call-routing.md) explains those building blocks. The scripts below are original examples for a fictional business, Cedar Workshop. Replace the name, choices, and hours with your own. They are writing templates and proposed call paths, not ready-made configurations or claims that your number has been tested. ## A two-choice menu for a small team Thanks for calling Cedar Workshop. For a new project or estimate, press 1. For an existing job, press 2. Or stay on the line for the front desk. This example separates callers by what they need rather than making them guess your internal department names. It only makes sense if those routes lead to people who can handle the request. If every key rings the same person and has the same fallback, consider a greeting followed by ringing that person instead of a menu. Keep a routing note beside the script: - 1: the estimates team; unanswered calls go to its business mailbox. - 2: the existing-jobs team; unanswered calls go to its business mailbox. - No key: the front desk, then its business mailbox if nobody answers. - Repeated invalid keys: the same front-desk route. These are proposed choices for this example. In Rinzo's [auto-attendant recipe [2]](https://rinzo.ai/agents/rinzo/references/recipes.md), `no_key` runs at the first silence, while `otherwise` runs after the allowed greeting plays are exhausted; wrong keys use up those plays. Set both deliberately. Saying 'stay on the line' does not create that route. ## A menu when there is no front desk Thanks for calling Cedar Workshop. For a new project, press 1. About an existing job, press 2. To leave a general message, stay on the line. Use this version when nobody is assigned to receive general calls live. Send silence to a general business mailbox and decide who checks it. Do not promise an operator, reception team, or immediate answer just because a menu can offer one. A team can share responsibility without sharing every message with everyone. Name the mailbox owner and a backup, and have the intended person retrieve a test message using their own access. Our [business-versus-personal voicemail guide](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail.md) covers message ownership and keeping cell-carrier voicemail out of the fallback. ## A closed-hours greeting with a useful destination You have reached Cedar Workshop outside our opening hours. We are open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. For a new project, press 1 to leave a message. About an existing job, press 2 to leave a message for that team. Or stay on the line for our general mailbox. Only keep those separate choices if messages need different owners. Otherwise, a closed-hours greeting followed by one mailbox is easier to maintain. Use hours that match your actual schedule, including lunch if it affects answering. Avoid 'we will call right back' when nobody is on duty. Give holidays a separate message when the normal opening-hours statement would mislead callers. For a one-day closure, an example is: 'We are closed today. Please leave your name, callback number, and what you need help with.' Add a reopening date only when someone will keep it current. The [business-hours planning guide](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-hours-call-routing.md) has a schedule worksheet and boundary checks. ## An information option that returns somewhere useful If callers often need your hours, you could add this sentence to an otherwise short menu: For our opening hours, press 4. The recording for that choice might say: Cedar Workshop is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. Please check our website for holiday closures. Decide what follows the recording. Rinzo's recipe supports playing an information greeting after a key press and then restarting the route, including its time check and menu.[2] That can let someone hear the hours and then choose a team. Do not announce 'press 4 to repeat' unless that behavior is actually configured. A caller who presses nothing should reach a useful destination rather than circle through a greeting forever. Leave out information you cannot maintain. An outdated address or closure date is worse than a short greeting that directs callers to a current source. ## Read the script aloud before assigning it Put the purpose before the key: 'For an existing job, press 2.' Read the whole menu at a comfortable pace and leave enough space between choices to hear them. Cut a long welcome paragraph if it delays the reason someone called. These are editorial recommendations, not claims about a measured ideal greeting length. Rinzo also supports generated speech for saved greetings and callflow prompts, as well as WAV or MP3 uploads.[3] Listen to the final audio for the business name, numbers, abbreviations, and pauses. A generated recording reads your text; it does not understand questions or book appointments. Keep the approved script with its destination list. If an administrator changes key 2, update the recording at the same time. If an agent configures it, a short business brief is enough: 'Give our workshop a menu for estimates and existing jobs; unanswered calls and callers who press nothing should reach the general business mailbox.' Work should follow your existing instructions and delegation; ask for another approval only when your instructions require it or authority is missing. ## Test the choices you did not read aloud First inspect the configuration, including the no-key timeout, allowed greeting plays, and invalid-key destination. Rinzo's CLI can simulate chosen times and key sequences without dialing; its recipe documents those controls.[2] A simulation does not prove that callers hear the right recording or that a phone answers. Then call the real business number from an outside phone: 1. Listen through the entire greeting. Check that every spoken choice exists and reaches the named destination. 2. Press nothing. Confirm the promised front desk or mailbox is where you land. 3. Press an unused key, and repeat invalid input until the retry allowance ends. Check the final destination rather than only the first replay. 4. Choose each team and let its phones go unanswered. Leave a labeled message and retrieve it as the responsible person. 5. Try the information option, if present, and confirm the next menu or destination. 6. Check closed hours and a planned holiday path under a controlled test plan. Keep expected and observed results. These are acceptance steps for your setup, not tests performed by this article. Never dial an emergency number for testing; [911 and emergency calling are not supported during early access](https://rinzo.ai/emergency-calling.md). Use the [routing guide](https://rinzo.ai/docs/call-routing.md) to configure the menu in the Control panel, or the [agent setup guide](https://rinzo.ai/agents.md) to delegate it. Menus created through the CLI live in Advanced Callflows; do not recreate the same main-number route in SmartPBX.[1] Save the script and route list together so the next edit changes what callers hear and what the phone system does. ## Sources & further reading - [[1] Rinzo: Call routing and office hours](https://rinzo.ai/docs/call-routing.md) - [[2] Rinzo: Auto-attendant recipes and menu behavior](https://rinzo.ai/agents/rinzo/references/recipes.md) - [[3] Rinzo: Greetings and routing behavior](https://rinzo.ai/agents/rinzo/references/operations.md) ## Put it into practice. Try these ideas with your own business. Your first month includes AI answering, a business number, and a phone system for your team. [$39 USD/month](https://rinzo.ai/pricing.md) (First month free on monthly. Prepaid from $19/month with 24-month prepay ($456 upfront).) [Start your free month→](https://signup.rinzo.ai/) Monthly plan; then $39 USD/month. Card required. AI talk time $0.10/min on top of calling; 30 AI minutes in your free month. Follow the [first-call guide](https://rinzo.ai/docs/getting-started.md), or call our AI receptionist at [+1 604 455 3737](tel:+16044553737) before you start. Share[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fauto-attendant-greeting-scripts%2F&text=Auto-attendant+greeting+scripts+for+a+small+business)[](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fauto-attendant-greeting-scripts%2F)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fauto-attendant-greeting-scripts%2F)[](mailto:?subject=Auto-attendant%20greeting%20scripts%20for%20a%20small%20business&body=Auto-attendant%20greeting%20scripts%20for%20a%20small%20business%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fauto-attendant-greeting-scripts%2F)Article link — select and copy[Article link](https://rinzo.ai/blog/auto-attendant-greeting-scripts/) [← All articles](https://rinzo.ai/blog.md)[Markdown version](https://rinzo.ai/blog/auto-attendant-greeting-scripts.md) ## Keep reading [](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail.md) Business calling By [Rook](https://rinzo.ai/blog/authors/rook.md) · October 17, 2026 · 5 min read ## [Business voicemail vs. personal voicemail: keep work messages separate](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail.md) Keep unanswered business calls out of your personal mailbox. Plan the fallback, choose who checks messages, and test declines, busy phones, and closed hours. [Read article →](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail.md) Share[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fbusiness-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail%2F&text=Business+voicemail+vs.+personal+voicemail%3A+keep+work+messages+separate)[](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fbusiness-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail%2F)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fbusiness-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail%2F)[](mailto:?subject=Business%20voicemail%20vs.%20personal%20voicemail%3A%20keep%20work%20messages%20separate&body=Business%20voicemail%20vs.%20personal%20voicemail%3A%20keep%20work%20messages%20separate%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fbusiness-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail%2F)Article link — select and copy[Article link](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-voicemail-vs-personal-voicemail/) [](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-hours-call-routing.md) Call routing By [Rook](https://rinzo.ai/blog/authors/rook.md) · October 17, 2026 · 5 min read ## [Business-hours call routing: a practical plan for small teams](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-hours-call-routing.md) Plan open hours, lunch breaks, holidays, and unanswered calls with an example schedule, greeting scripts, and a routing test worksheet. [Read article →](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-hours-call-routing.md) Share[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fbusiness-hours-call-routing%2F&text=Business-hours+call+routing%3A+a+practical+plan+for+small+teams)[](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fbusiness-hours-call-routing%2F)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fbusiness-hours-call-routing%2F)[](mailto:?subject=Business-hours%20call%20routing%3A%20a%20practical%20plan%20for%20small%20teams&body=Business-hours%20call%20routing%3A%20a%20practical%20plan%20for%20small%20teams%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Frinzo.ai%2Fblog%2Fbusiness-hours-call-routing%2F)Article link — select and copy[Article link](https://rinzo.ai/blog/business-hours-call-routing/) --- The Markdown version of https://rinzo.ai/blog/auto-attendant-greeting-scripts/. An index of every page: https://rinzo.ai/llms.txt. 911 and emergency calling are not supported during early access.