[Matt Kulp]

I am looking at purchasing a phone system for our office that has voicemail, extensions, and hold messaging capabilities. Right now we have multiple voicemail boxes through the phone company and use there general voicemail to pick up when our lines are tied up or when our office s closed. My biggest problem is when somebody wants to leave a message for anyone in the office, they have to leave it with the front desk if that person is not available. We are not able to transfer to a voicemail once the original call has been picked up. I would also like to have music and/or informational content on services for people while on hold.



Any suggestions and/or experiences, good or bad, would be appreciated.

[trees]

I think it's a great idea. Our company had one put in last spring and it's been a huge benefit. I can have my phone forwarded to my cell phone or simply have my cell phone alerted via text (which is my preference) or the system will call me whenever I have a new message. That's huge for when I'm out in the field (which is a lot), allowing me to keep on top of the calls a little better and respond to problems a lot quicker.
I have 3 standard messages saved: one says that I'm in the office, but unable to answer, one that I'm out in the field and a third that I'm done for the day. Just a couple buttons to change between messages.

Once you get it, you'll wonder why it's taken you so long.

[Matt Kulp]

Jesse,
Thanks for the response. Did you purchase from a local company or did you find something online? Did you need all new phones or were you able to integrate existing multi line phones?

[trees]

Ours is from a local franchise of a national brand. Check out http://www.esi-estech.com/ for their info. Their pricing isn't bad, but it's not a super cheap proposition, either.

We did need to purchase all new phones and you'll need a central phone hub -- forget it's technical name but it acts as the answering service, router, hold-music wherehouse, etc. -- basically the server for the phone system.