Do you feel like your personal time is being encroached on by your work? With the increase in mobile technology, the separation between work and home has become even less distinct. Read on…

A hunt group allows a caller to automatically find an available (i.e. “not busy”) agent from a group of extensions via your virtual phone system. Each extension will be tried in order until a “free” extension is reached. Extensions will be skipped during call routing if the person is currently on the phone or has marked their extension as “blocked” from hunting. Read on…

Q: I have selected “Rings before voicemail picks up,” but I really need to be able to set extensions to forward only (without ever going to Halloo voicemail). Is this possible?

A: Simply set the “Maximum incoming voicemail length” to “0″ for the extension(s) that you don’t want to reach voicemail. Note: If you record a greeting for that extension, it will still play, which will allow you to record a brief message before the script hangs up. In addition, if you check the “For further assistance” option, the caller will be given the chance to jump to another extension, including back to the auto attendant by pressing 9.

Ever feel that more and more people are not listening to their voicemails? The hustle and bustle of life has gotten so hectic, a businessperson could save 30 minutes a day by erasing every voicemail left during the day! But, if you’re a small-business entrepreneur, erasing is not an option! You need to make sure you’re in contact with your clients and that means listening and responding to your messages. It’s absolutely crucial. Read on…

What does your company do when a customer doesn’t want to leave a message? Losing potential touch points with customers can come with a high cost. By using features included in a cloud phone system, you can overcome some of the barriers keeping you from communicating with your customers.

According to recent studies, nearly 4 out of 5 people calling into a small business who get voice mail do not leave a message. And it’s likely that this trend will only increase in the era of text and instant messaging features built into smart-phones.

Read on…

The future is now. Tron is here. Light sabers on, proton torpedoes ready — engage!

Yes, technology really is taking over. Very soon we’ll all be encased in carbonite while a giant worm named Jabba enjoys entertainment in his private studio. The same can go for small businesses!

Read on…

iPhone 4S: Everything you need to know!

Read on…

Okay, not many people these days are listening to their voicemails. The hustle and bustle of life has gotten so hectic, a businessperson could save 30 minutes a day from erasing every voicemail left on that day! How’s that for efficiency? Still, if you’re a small-business entrepreneur, you need to make sure you’re in contact with your clients. And that, unfortunately, means keeping an eye (actually an ear) on your messages. It’s absolutely crucial.

Read on…

Clever, huh? That’s what IVR stands for, for me — Invaluable Viable Resource. No, really, it actually means “Interactive Voice Response.” What the heck do I know, right?

Hopefully, a lot — as this particular article’s going to tell you some of the logistic philosophy surrounding the concept of Interactive Voice Response within a company

Read on…

An interesting article in the New York Times titled “You have voicemail. Do you care?” shows that up to 70% potential customers don’t leave voicemails anymore. Why?

The article suggests that even amongst the older population, consumers have become accustomed to ‘instant gratification’ features such as SMS text or even e-mail.

It’s even more compelling that at a couple of dollars per answered call, on demand answering services (can I plug Halloo’s Live Answering Service here?) make ROI sense. It’s not just about better customer service anymore, it’s about making sure you don’t lose your customers to voicemail.

I'll check my voicemail later...