Re: Long distance carriers going with VoIP

[Frank Olson <Use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

robertlbass@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>>>So does this mean you're finally going to get rid of your rotary phone and upgrade to touchtone?
>
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>>>My desk set, like those of my staff, is a Polycom 501 IP telephone. I use an online PBX service which runs my auto-attendant, and handles call queing, forwarding, voice mail, etc.


Your "staff"...   right...  Sounds to me like you've got one (if not
both) of your sons into the business...  again...  Have they received a
raise from last time, and are they living at home with you??



>
>
>>So that's why it was so quiet around here for awhile... what do you do when there's a power outage?
>
>
> Most office equipment is on a UPS.  When power fails (it rarely does) I
> press [forward] and then [enable] to automatically forward calls to
> another location.  What do you do when power fails in your office.
> Umm, that is assuming you have an office.


You mean other than in his house??  You're actually answering your phone
these days???  Gasp!!!!
:-)


>
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>>>When we go to Salvador for several months at a time, incoming calls ring simultaneously in the USA and Brasil.
>
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>>and both go to the autoattendant no doubt...
>
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> You misunderstand how an auto-attendant works.  All incoming calls are
> answered by the auto-attendant, which is like a virtual PBX.  Callers
> are presented with options for sales & tech suport or customer service.
>  If the selected station is busy the caller is given the option of
> accessing a different station, leaving a message or waiting.  During
> the wait they get 30-second updates -- "You are caller number [#]...
> approximate wait time is [n] minutes."
>
> Once a caller selects a station the system routes the call to the
> extension, regardless if that station happens to be in Florida, Brasil
> or Kalamazoo.


Right...  but that means someone actually has to *be* at that station.
Seems to me (from the number of complaints of poor service, no voicemail
because it's chalker-block full, no response to email, etc. that appear
here regularily) that there's *rarely* anyone home...  ermmmm...  I mean
  "in the office"...

>
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>>Do you have pager notification...
>
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> I don't wear a pager.  Perhaps you haven't heard but there are these
> neat devices called cellular phones and...

Which you don't answer either...


>
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>>>I can hand calls off to staff members in the US as easily as if they were in the next room.
>
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>>And they sound like they're in the next room too I suppose.
>
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> In fact, they do.  Since we got rid of Vonage and got a more reliable
> broadband connection (no, Frank. That does not mean tickets to a "Spice
> Girls" concert) voice quality has been about the same as we get on a
> standard POTS line.


Spice Girls??  Puh-leeze!!!  I prefer Diana Krall, actually...  I just
loved her Chrysler commercials (can't stand the cars though)...  and her
new Christmas album is fantastic.  No, Robert, I don't think she's going
to be releasing one with Jewish/Christian folk tunes soon...


>
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>>I love being bumped from one person to the next...
>
>
> Well then, perhaps you should take up break dancing.


At least he looks like he can.  From your wedding pictures, I'm pretty
sure it would be difficult for you to bend over to pick up a fork...


>
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>>>Have you gotten around to replacing the light on that princess phone you use?
>
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>>Light on a POTS phone? Exsolent, where can I get one of those? What a great idea! I'd be able to see the phone in a power outage.
>
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> Oh, to be young and stupid again...


I'll just bet your "princess phone" is *PINK*!!!



> It's all a matter of perspective.  Most people think I'm just average.


That's funny...   Average people don't pull guns on other people in an
argument.  Most "average people" haven't served time or been under court
supervised parol.  In fact most "average people" know enough to pull
over when they're too tired to drive and thus avoid falling asleep at
the wheel...