Phone set up....

Handling phone calls

  • Cell phone with voice mail

    Votes: 63 67.7%

  • Dedicated business phone in the home

    Votes: 15 16.1%

  • Just use home phone

    Votes: 6 6.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 9 9.7%
  • Total voters
    93
Shawn G.

Shawn G.

New member
How do you have your phones set up?

For those with office phones in the home, do you answer only during business hours, or whenever it rings?
 
Ron,
Could you explain the cell phone warning? I don't understand.
Thanks!
Shawn
 
I have a cell phone that rolls over to my pager and the customer can leave a message, or punch in their number and I cal right back. They can also call my office line and I answer during normal business hours, usually. Sometimes, I answer it when it is not normal hours, but I have caller I.D. so I know who is calling me. If they happen to get the answering machine it will direct people to call my pager. My most regular customers always call my cell phone because they knbow that is the fastest way to get a hold of me.
 
Use home phone and answer with business name during daytime when home.

Can call forward to cell phone but do not give out cell number to customers do to my hearing problem.

Machine answers if we are not home and directs message for business to one box and personal to another.

Have caller ID also but don't activate it to deny incoming calls if number does not show.
 
Shawn,

We see these companies that sell phones at the store satellite offices. All the sales people that make 6 to 8 dollars and hour have access to all your phone records. Unlike regular tele the call on cells are logged and the number comes on your statement. The guys that did this scam where paying the sales people too provide the records, some where doing it daily. Then they would pursue the lead of try to take the customers away from the guy using the cell phone.

Don’t get me wrong I use cell phones. I just froward my phone into the cell, the id is blocked and only show the call being placed from my own phone.

I have no protection when calling out, presuming I’m calling my customers I don’t really worry about this. The cold calls and the new businesses would all I would be worried about.
 
Hello Shawn,

I have always had a seperate line for my business. I have always had my office in my house. When I'm in the house I always answer the phone.

I use multi line phones with voicemail. I have an announcement box that folks can listen to our services and leave a message if they want. I have several places that I can pick it up (4 extensions). Our main line can roll over to a 2nd & 3rd line. With my set up it can answer 3 calls at the same time. When I'm not in the office I check my voicemail often for new messages.

We also have cell phones in each of our trucks. I also carry a small one with me along with a pager. My cell phones have voicemail that pages me.

I have too many lines! Five land and 5 cellular. Spend on average $400 per month for telephone service.

Dave Olson
 
We have a a toll free line that rings on the office phone (listed in the Real Yellow Pages) with it forwarded to a Nextel phone after two rings. The Nextel service also has voice mail if I am on the line when a call comes in. ( free incoming calls with Nextel) The two way radio feature is great. The Motorola i700 phone is also water and shock resistant. This will allow you to rid yourself of a pager, thus saving you money.
 
reef said:
Dedicated business line inside and then fowarded to cell when out.
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Same here, only Toll Free and Regular line as well, but we go everywhere.
ACTUALLY, our FRIENDS do :)

Ain't gonna clean roofs on east coast:eek:

Look at our "latest venture", search Google for "non pressure roof cleaning orlando florida" LOL

WE be fixin to give Orlando a "taste" of the Apple :)
 
We have a dedicated business phone with answering machine. NEVER have answered phone. No rhyme or reason. Usually on the go, and easier to check the messages 5 times throughout the day and return everyone's call when I can give them un-divided attention.
 
I use my blackberry. 905 of my business comes from my websites "contact us" customer form; so when they send the email, I get it immediatly on the blackberry and call back within 1/2 an hour. They are usually very pleased that I got back with them so quickly, since most contractors here seem to not need the business :)
 
Russ Spence said:
cell with a local and a toll free number then a business line that forwards to it as well , fax line in addition to others
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Remote call toll free and local line forwards here too!
 
I just signed on with a answering service for our storage garage office line. It is $85 per month for 85 messages. And $1 each there after. Have not been using them long but it is working out ok. I get the messages in e-mail as they come on my cell phone, and can return them right away.
 
RandyL said:
I just signed on with a answering service for our storage garage office line. It is $85 per month for 85 messages. And $1 each there after. Have not been using them long but it is working out ok. I get the messages in e-mail as they come on my cell phone, and can return them right away.
Click to expand...

So each call is $1.00 or am I missing something here? If the calls are all fowarded to a cell phone then why not just have a cell # on all advertising? :confused:
 
Phone set up

I run my business out of a Blackberry, I also have a website and all contact us e-mails go to the phone, I can also take real time photos and send to customers, I do work with companys and high end estate that they are never present onsite and sometimes not even in the state. i can also prep a estimate right on the phone to send to a email for approval, it even has GPS so I don't get lost.
 
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