It’s summer time and you know what that means, we’re all planning our summer vacations and hitting the beach with friends and family for some fun in the sun! With that being said, this week’s customer testimonial shines brightly from C.O.T., Inc., a company that will satisfy all of your summer fun needs.

C.O.T., Inc. specializes in all kinds of summer essentials, including sunglasses, surf and skate gear, and apparel to get you through the summer months. With eight retail stores throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as an online shop, Phone.com gives C.O.T., Inc. the flexibility to manage all of their locations under one phone system.

Phone.com has “the ability to transfer calls between stores, route calls to the correct department, handle calls differently depending on the source, the time of day, day of week…”, the President of C.O.T., Inc., Charlie Miller, remarked. With a quick dial to another store’s extension, an employee can easily transfer a customer to that store in search for just the right item.

When asked about the savings gained by switching to Phone.com, Miller said, “We have saved a boatload of $$, not to mention no more aggravation dealing with complex phone systems, selector codes and complicated programming.”

The moral of the story is as follows: if your company operates in multiple locations , there’s no need to manage several different accounts.  You can consolidate everything into one unified system. Contacting another store for an inventory count or any kind of follow-up is easy!

So if ever you need sunglasses, apparel or some surf gear, contacting C.O.T. will be smooth sailing.  Just pick up the phone and give them a call for yet another example of a company that finds doing business just a little bit easier thanks to Phone.com!

A good part of our team is located in our Poway, California office, so thunder and lightning are not a concern. We’re too busy applying sunscreen and waiting for part of our state to fall into the ocean to worry about a little storm.

With that said, we’re seeing more calls where a customer contacts us after a major storm to let us know that their device, usually an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA), is fried. Those little guys are usually fairly durable — my brother had one with a melted case that still worked. But one thing they are not immune to is a surge of electricity caused by a lightning strike.

As I began writing this post I was going to tell you to protect your electronics with a surge protector. While that’s a fantastic idea for regular electrical surges, research indicates that even the best surge protectors are no match for a nearby lightning strike. Dan Robinson from StormHighway.com advises that “the best and cheapest way to protect your stereo, television, computer, or any electronic appliance is to unplug all power, telephone (modem), and antenna connections during a thunderstorm.”

While you’re at it, don’t forget to unplug your Phone.com devices so they are safe while the storms rage on! In the meantime, I’m polishing up my post titled “101 Uses For Your Fried ATA.” I like to use mine as a doorstop.