Phone.com has many features that help businesses project a professional image, and voicemail is one of them! Christopher Carr, CEO of Farotech, believes it is one of the most important features for his company to have.  Farotech is an SEO firm in Philadelphia. Since 2001 they have helped many local Philadelphia businesses grow, implementing online marketing strategies and SEO service plans for each of their clients.

With regard to the voicemail system, Carr remarks, “One of the challenges that we have had as a virtual company is having a professional virtual voicemail system that works as seamlessly as a professional internal voicemail system.”   He goes on to say, “We work very hard to generate leads for our company, and we need to know that when leads call us, they have a professional experience.”

With Phone.com numbers, it’s very easy to set up call forwarding to existing cell phone numbers.  As a business on the go, it helps maintain a separation between personal and business messages. You wouldn’t want clients to call in and get the wrong impression when they hear a generic or personal voicemail greeting.

Not only does Christopher appreciate our voicemail system, but he also finds our customer service staff “extremely helpful.  [The Phone.com staff] guided us every step of the way and even checked in with us on a regular basis to confirm that their service met our expectations.”

If you are seeking to give your company the most professional image possible, our Voicemail feature is perfect for you.  Call us any time.  We are more than happy to help!

It’s Valentines Day and love is in the air.  At Phone.com, we love enabling our customers to communicate better.  One of the primary ways we achieve this is by helping individuals and home phone users stay connected with the people they love the most.  Today we have a wonderful testimonial from a customer where we have done just that.

After being with a landline phone company for a while, it’s understandable that one might be hesitant in making the switch to VOIP services. This was the case for Rachel Rubin Peine, a customer who made the switch in 2011.  After signing up with Phone.com, however, her reticence quickly dissipated.

With family and friends all over the country, it’s important to maintain those relationships and see how everyone is doing in their daily lives. Rachel says, “I have family and friends across the country who I have been in touch with much more since switching to Phone.com.  Not only does she maintain her relationships with friends and family, but by having the ability to call them, she feels a stronger connection.

If she ever misses a call, she is at ease knowing she can go online to check those calls and even block annoying telemarketers. She says, “I am on the do-not-call list, but some calls get through anyway. With Phone.com, I can finally get rid of those annoyances.”

Many people who have landline phone service pay extra for long distance, so connecting to someone in a different state or region can get expensive.  On her plan with Phone.com, she can call anywhere in the United States, along with several international destinations, at no extra charge.  Rachel pointed out that she’s saved “at least $35 per month” by switching to Phone.com.

As far as customer service, Rachel tells us that ours is “exceptional.  The customer service representatives at Phone.com are always available, friendly, and efficient at solving my problems. I also like the live chat feature,” she remarks. Just hearing a simple “Hello, how are you?” or “I miss you” can brighten someone’s day.  We love playing a role in connecting customers like Rachel to the people they care about the most.

With more than five million views on YouTube to date, it’s likely you have already seen the video I have posted below.  In my opinion, the video has that many views not only because it’s funny, but because it is true.  It accurately portrays many of the challenges that arise during conference calls.

There are obvious issues that hinder effective communication over conference calls including user failure (mute button mishaps), technology failure (internet and phone quality) and of course the general awkwardness caused by not being in the same room with the people in your meeting.  Allow me to propose a brief solution to these problems that will help make your meetings more effective:

1.  Be Flexible, Forgiving And Respectful- You may encounter some difficulty communicating and knowing when it is your turn to speak on a conference call.  It can be frustrating to have other people on the call talk over you.  For the sake of your sanity, I recommend assuming the best of others and being patient but persistent until you get a chance to talk.

2. Focus On The Call- If you are on a conference call, it is likely you are talking on a computer soft phone or have your computer with you.  Do your best to give that call your full attention so you can be attuned to the cues of the other people on the call.

3. Consider Adding Video- Platforms like GoToMeeting and Google+ Hangouts have video conferencing well-integrated.  The ability to see others can often make communication more effective and efficient.

4. Meet In Person- Where possible, make meeting in person your default for meetings.  This allows all participants to get a true “feel” for the meeting and have the best chance at communicating better.

With all of this being said, conference calling absolutely has its place in meetings.  Phone.com offers a feature-rich, high-quality HD Conferencing service on all plans.  Click here to learn more.  After watching this video, let us know if this accurately portrays your experience with conference calling.