Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number: What you need to know for your system

In July 2020, a potentially life-saving law was signed into effect to help prevent suicides. The three-digit emergency number is 9-8-8. It’s a wonderful idea and will hopefully help many people. 

However, 988 is also a prefix for many area codes including local numbers in our 530 and 707 area. How does your business acclimate? 

9-8-8 vs 988

Because 988 is a prefix for several locations, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated 10-digit dialing NATIONWIDE. Ten-digit dialing starts on April 24 and will be mandatory by October 24, 2021. At that point, a call will not be completed unless the full 10-digit phone number is used. 988 goes live July 16, 2022.

What you need to do

• Modify speed dials/call forwarding. Anyone using one-touch buttons, speed dial bins or programmed offsite forwarding will need to adjust to include the full 10-digit number. 

• Modify ARS. Sites with PRI or SIP Trunk programs will need to be adjusted. 

• Modify existing phone systems. Many phone systems have been programmed to send seven-digit local numbers, dropping the area code. Now the area code is needed.   

• Test with your Carrier.  Some carriers will also need the +1 added.  We have seen this in Sacramento, California, where 10-digit dialing has already been activated.  

• Expand your emergency numbers list. Gaynor Telesystems recommends that your company considers adding 9-8-8 to the list of emergency numbers that automatically trigger notifications to the authorities. In fact, Mitel is planning on adding this number to the default database.  

Gaynor Telesystems is available to help with whatever support you may need. 

Please contact us for additional information. 

For more information, review these resources: 

• https://www.fcc.gov/suicide-prevention-hotline 

• https://www.vibrant.org/988 

• https://www.npr.org/new-law-creates-988-hotline-for-mental-health-emergencies 

What is Kari’s Law and why is it important to you and your business?

Imagine being in an office building or a government institution. There are phones – landlines – everywhere. The kind that have cords that plug into the wall. Or maybe you’re in a hotel and there, on the bedside table or desk, is a phone. How quaint, you think.

In fact, landlines remain popular for many places like hotels because they offer greater security. While you prefer your Galaxy or iPhone, landlines can actually identify a person’s exact location rather than just the estimated area provided by a mobile device. That matters, especially in emergency situations. What also matters is that when using a landline to summon help in an emergency, dialing ‘9’ to get an outside line is no longer required.

On January 23, 2017, Congress enacted the bill H.R. 582. Known as Kari’s Law Act, it was signed into law on February 16, 2018. It requires direct dialing of 911, without dialing ‘9’ first, from offices, government institutions, educational facilities, hotels, and more. It also dictated that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) develop 911 calling regulations for multi-line telephone systems. These multi-line systems, known as MLTS, are the most common landline systems used in offices, governments, education, and hotels.

What is Kari’s Law?

Kari’s Law is named for Kari Hunt Dunn, a young mother who was stabbed to death by her estranged husband in 2013. The incident took place in the bathroom of a Texas hotel. With Mrs. Dunn at the time was her 9-year-old daughter who frantically tried to call 911 from the hotel bedroom, but was unable to because she didn’t know to first dial ‘9’ for an outside line.

The enacting of this law will now make such a tragedy avoidable. This applies to all landlines including multi-line telephone systems. And it means that any business that utilizes the practice of dialing ‘9’ to reach an outside line, and any business that has an operational MLTS, must comply.

The FCC has also created rules, pursuant to Ray Baum’s Act also signed into law in 2018, for the dispatching of precise location information.

What should you do?

The law requires compliance by February 2020. While that may seem very soon, there is still time to do what you need to in order to make sure your phone systems allow for emergency calls with the universally understood ‘911’.

1. Create a checklist.

2. Disable any prefix (like ‘9’) within your office/hotel phone system.

3. Implement notifications to all personnel when emergency services have been contacted. This can be done via email, SMS/Text, or phone call.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Bottom line

If your business operates with a multi-line telephone system that requires dialing an additional number to reach an outside line, you must allow for emergency calls from anywhere within your business with just ‘911.’ Your system must also be able to provide notification of the call and the exact location the call emanates from. On-site notifications will also allow your employees to help until outside help arrives.

If your organization has yet to comply with Kari’s Law, contact us. We can help you achieve compliance while keeping your company secure and your employees and guests safe.

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What an NEC Phone Systems Expert Can Do for Your Business

Gaynor Telesystems has been an NEC telephone system dealer/integrator for 40 years! NEC manufactures a very cost effective, user friendly, and feature rich unified communication systems that will streamline many business communications within your office. First let’s look at some of the common business communication examples and how a new NEC unified communications system can solve them.

Processing incoming customer calls and how to route that call to the right worker and satisfy the customer’s needs.

A technical call comes into the receptionist that the company engineer needs to answer. Your company engineer is out of the office overseeing a project. No problem, with NEC’s mobile extension application the receptionist simply transfers the call to the engineer’s cell phone mobile extension. With a consultative transfer the receptionist tells the engineer what the call is regarding and then transfers.

After the engineer answers the customer’s question the customer has a question regarding their current invoice. Again no problem, the NEC phone systems still have control of that call. This application is more than call forwarding, and the engineer simply presses *# on their cell phone and transfers the call to accounts payable back at the office to answer the customer’s question about their invoice.

Instead of playing phone tag you can see that the mobile extension application simply allows you to provide excellent customer service and saves everyone time in the process by not having to leave a voice message and wait for a return call. This in turn creates more profitability and better customer service for your company. Saving little bits of time throughout the day ensures better employee productivity.

A new NEC unified communications system can help streamline and solve business communications with voicemail to email.

For example, the general manager of the office is traveling on business. Generally, the time the general manager is at the office is spent overseeing day to day activities. VIP customers have the general manager's direct telephone number that rings directly to their office, bypassing the receptionist. While traveling, the general manger finds it difficult to call in twice daily to retrieve important voice messages that VIP customers have left. This in turn delays the response of the general manager not providing the best customer service.

With voicemail to email on the new NEC unified communications system you can receive corporate voicemails via email as a .wav attachment file. They arrive in your corporate email on your PC or smartphone. Then while traveling the general manager doesn’t have to call into the office to retrieve messages. They simply show up on their smartphone. Then the general manager retrieves the messages immediately and can provide excellent customer service while away from the office.

These are just a couple of examples of how NEC phone systems can improve your business communication solutions. Check back for our next blog to continue examples and give you more insight into the NEC phone system.

Business VoIP and the Small Business: A Winning Combination

Business VoIP was made for the small business. Some might call business VoIP a hosted or cloud solution. That’s what we are talking about - using the cloud for your small business. Laying out a capital expense can be hard for a small business. You do not always have the cash to plunk down for an office phone system. That is when hosted is your answer. There is no need for a large capital outlay; in fact you pay just a monthly fee. So let’s learn more about why business VoIP for small business is a winning combination. Buy what you want, when you want

Maybe you are growing, and in the next 6 months anticipate adding 3 to 4 people, even a person every 2 months. With a traditional phone system you would be asked for your growth and sold a system that you can grow into for the next 3 to 5 years, requiring you to pay for that system upfront. Don’t get me wrong, a traditional system is great for many small businesses, but the big difference with a hosted/cloud solution is that you can buy just the 4 lines now and grow as you want; many times without the commitments of having to buy more. Just make sure you work with a provider who understands and prices you for starting small and growing at a slow pace.

Get big company features for a fraction of the cost

Maybe you are a small business who has 20 phones, but only 5 of them are used by sales folks. You have decided you need to record the calls of these 5 people. When you purchase a hosted business VoIP solution you have the ability to purchase a la carte options for your staff. One of these options can be recording. So now, instead of spending money to record all staff you only pay for the 5. Other options include contact center and on-demand conferencing. So look at what features you need for your business and then see if the cloud solution is the best one for you.

Still not sure if business VoIP is right for your small business office phone systems? Contact us for a demo or just to talk about a hosted system. We are here to talk to you about the options and we are a vendor that can provide you the right solution at the right time.

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how Gaynor Telesystems Inc. can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1.

Common Mistakes When Creating a Budget for Your Office Phone Systems

There are three basic types of customers who purchase office phone systems. You are the new business, you are the business that is moving, or you are the business where you have outgrown your system or its technology.  When it comes to creating a budget, all of you have the same challenges.

To assist with your budget here is a check-list to ensure you are ready for the new phone system.

Cable Infrastructure

Patch Panels – are you wanting to make ad-hoc moves for your employees? Using a patch panel can be a simple and cost effective way to make these moves. They also give a clean professional look to your data room.

Data and Voice Cabling – this is good to have for each location that will have a phone and computer. Consider cabling for items like the fax machine, credit card machines, network copiers, alarms, and the power-failure jack.

Phone Counts

Normally you take a map and start marking where each person will be sitting, or you look at the current extension list to determine the number of phones you will need. The common mistake is forgetting about those extra phones you have connected to your office phone systems. Common areas, such as the break room, file room, server room, or lobby phone are often forgotten in the counts. If you have a new multi-story building do you need a phone at the front door to buzz people in, or a phone in the elevator for safety? 

The next step in the phone counts is your anticipated growth. You only have 12 people today, but you plan on hiring 10 more in the next 2 years. Talk to your office phone systems vendor to discuss the growth. You do not want to fork lift your system, so sizing it correctly now for growth is important. Yes you will have to outlay some additional capital, but in the long run there is a price savings by doing it now, compared to a year from now.

Telephone Lines/Dial Tone

Now each carrier is different and will offer promotions and incentives when you are adding or changing dial tone so it will be important to understand your options. Most carriers waive some if not all of the installation charges if you sign at least a three year contract. But if you are not sure of your needs, you can always have a one-year or month-to-month contract for the dial tone on your office phone systems. The common mistake is not to budget for these installation charges. They can range from $75.00 per line to $600.00 for a PRI. 

Specialized Applications

Most office phone systems today come with the basics included: voicemail for each person, 911 calling notification, voicemail to email integration, message notification etc. But the enhanced features such as FAXFINDER, Presence, Conferencing, and a host of others can take that budget and throw it out the window. The best way to know if you need these specialized applications on your office phone systems is to discuss your critical items compared to your wish list with your trusted advisor.

A knowledgeable and licensed office phone systems vendor will be able to discuss these needs with you and determine the ROI for you. No client is the same, and as professionals, we must learn to listen to our clients and help them understand the best approach. 

Regardless of your final decision on a budget, if you find you do not have the capital available for purchasing new office phone systems you can look at leasing options. You may be able to get loans from your business bank as well.

With any of these options, Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. as your trusted advisor can walk you through the common issues and challenges with budget and financing. We are here when you are ready to talk. Give us a call today at 1-877-Gaynor1 or contact us for a free demo. 

Tips to Help Your Small Business Phone System Handle Summer

Summer is about beach playing, watermelon, vacations, and heat. As a small business owner, you may wonder if you can take time off while still getting calls answered and having your office run efficiently. Your small business phone system may be a few years old and you don't have a maintenance support plan. Our goal is to make sure bosses and employees enjoy the summer, instead of calling us in a panic about phone system related issues. Here are some tips so you can enjoy the rest of your summer.

Make sure your phone system is in a cool place

Offices change and sometimes small business phone systems end up in closets or rooms without A/C. Remember, the phone system is a computer and needs cool air to work best. If you’re concerned about the location, please talk to us or even think about adding some venting. If your system overheats, just like a car, it can stop working. Now that would put a damper on your summer vacation. 

Change your auto attendant

Are you short-staffed for the summer? Maybe you only have a couple of people answering your calls. It may be better to change your auto attendant so clients don’t leave messages for people who are not there. Also, if you’re closed, change your main greeting. Let clients know if there are options to reach you in case of an emergency. Your auto attendant is a tool that can be used to help your callers get to the correct person without getting frustrated. Do you need samples of an auto attendant script? Check out these sample greetings.

Try out that mobility

You bought the feature, but never really have used it. You know you’ll have a good signal when you’re at the beach, so turn on the mobility and have your phone calls ring your cell phone. If you don’t answer they go back to your office voicemail. You have the flexibility to choose which calls to answer. The caller ID will pass, so you can skip the SPAM calls and answer that important client. If you have not implemented mobility it’s not too late. Many of the newer systems have the ability to add this feature. 

Check your call forwarding

If the worst case scenario does happen and you lose power or your system dies, in most cases you can have your calls forwarded by your telco company (AT&T, Frontier, Telepacific) etc. In order to have that happen it needs to be set up in advance. Now would be a good time to check and make sure nothing has changed with your call forwarding. You may have changed cell phones, so yearly checks on this would be important. 

 Summer is about fun, not about dealing with small business phone system problems. A little planning will go a long way.

If you’d like to learn more about mobility or are concerned about your phone system overheating, contact us today and we can talk with you about options.

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how Gaynor Telesystems Inc. can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1.

4 Things to Compare When Buying New Office Phone Systems

Here you are sitting at your desk with a few office phone system proposals staring back at you. You have done all the leg work that brought you to this stage: Decision Making Time. When you are facing a purchasing decision (one that you will need to live with for at least 5 years and that will take a sizeable chunk of your capital budget) if you are like me the first thing you do is start a list. Now you have a nice blank piece of paper with a tidy heading of New Office Phone Systems. Feeling better already I bet! 

The Top 4 areas to use to compare your office phone system proposals are: 

Manufacturer

The office phone system is manufactured by a high tech firm that could as likely be international as USA based. You should do a little bit of homework to determine their history in this segment of the telecom industry, their R&D budget that allows them to stay current in the marketplace and their basic philosophy of customer service. Some questions to review on your list are:

• Where is their product manufactured and are they prepared to deal with geographical crisis?

• Are their distributors happy and long term or do they seem to churn on a frequent basis?

• Depending upon the size of your office phone systems perhaps you even had the opportunity to meet with a manufacturer representative. If so, were they knowledgeable and committed to your market area?

• What types of ongoing support or service level agreements are they offering for purchase via the distributor?

• What is their ongoing sales and technical certification processes?

Design

You met with all these vendors and described your business, your challenges, the features you want in your office phone systems, and hopefully your budget. It is time for a side by side comparison of how well they listened and were able to respond to your needs in their phone system design. Some questions to compare proposals include:

• Did they meet my budget?

• Did they build in both the current and long term growth my firm will need?

• Is the system flexible enough for my future unforeseen changes?

• Was it designed for ease of use?

ROI and TCO

As with every larger purchase you are always seeking a Return on Investment. With office phone systems you will also be looking at your TCO or Total Cost of Ownership. As you compare your proposals be certain you understand the TCO of this technology. A qualified vendor will have addressed the entire scope of your telecom needs, not just the office phone systems. Your current dial tone circuits, rates and plans, and your infrastructure need to be addressed prior to signing on the dotted line. They are all part of your TCO and possibly an area you can realize significant savings. 

At Gaynor Telesystems we recently were able to provide a business with new office phone systems at a monthly lease payment that was completely covered by the cost savings of our redesign on their telephone circuits. If you are utilizing such features as mobility and unified communications for the first time there are some wonderful tools to help you obtain figures to represent the time savings of your team. 

Vendor/Var/Integrator

You are down to the final decision piece: WHO do you want to work with? This may sound like an easy choice and maybe it’s clear cut in your decision process, but for some it can be rather difficult. All office phone system vendors have worked hard to prepare your proposal, given you product demonstrations, provided references and possibly have worked with you in the past. How do you decide which vendor is the best fit for your business? Primarily our advice is to choose the office phone systems vendor you trust. Make sure you understand the team that will be working on your project and their experience both in the industry and also with this vendor. It is important to ensure the phone systems vendor can meet your needs today and also for your long term service and growth needs. 

3 Big Factors to Consider When Choosing New Office Phone Systems

If you’re in the market for new office phone systems, there are some important things to keep in mind as you go through the research and evaluation process. We’re going to highlight three big ones as a kind of kick start to push you in the right direction so you can be sure you’re asking the right questions. Every company is different, so remember to think about what’s best for your specific company and staff.

1.  Current Company Needs

Start by identifying the specific issues and challenges you have with your current office phone systems. Maybe your business has multiple locations and it’s time they were all connected by a central answering position. Maybe you only have one location, but it would be much more efficient to have an auto-attendant and direct extensions for each department instead of routing everything through the receptionist. Clearly define your needs versus your wants. Sure, it would be a nice gesture to provide your service team with a mobility option, but since they are talking to people all over the world, troubleshooting questions on how different pieces of software work, they’re able do that work from the comfort of their desk and don’t have a need to travel out into the field.

2.  Future Company Goals

You might be a small yet mighty company with your two to four unit office phone systems, but you have big plans to expand your business in the next three years. You want any new office phone systems that you purchase to be an investment that can help you now by using some of your existing infrastructure, as well and in the future as both your communication needs and technology needs change. You need to think about options you might want later on such as working remotely, video conferencing, call recording and call accounting, self-management, having an automated attendant, or mobility. You don’t have to implement them now, but you would be planning wisely for the future so they are there when you need them.

Budget

Just because determining your budget is third on the list doesn’t mean it’s least important. It just means that now it’s time to be realistic. You’ve thought about how you’d like to utilize office phone systems for your company and the features you want. Now consider how much you’d like to spend and the maximum you’re willing to spend. Knowing the budget you have to work with in advance will help save you time and give you a little wiggle room as you determine what you actually do need as part of the office phone systems and what you can do without at the current place and time. It’s important to not get caught up in all the bells and whistles of what these office phone systems can do. They are pretty amazing, but you also need to consider the training and maintenance costs that will be involved. You’ll want to consider if there is a recurring monthly maintenance charge or just a per service call when you need help troubleshooting. Depending on the agreement with the office phone systems vendor, training on how to use the system may be part of your package or an additional cost – all considerations that will have an effect on your budget

Finding a new phone system for your business is a big deal. You know your company the best and you want to find the best solution. If you meet with an office phone systems vendor having already considered the factors above, you’ll be off to a good start. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help, download our free offer below or contact us to talk to a sales professional today.

What Your Sales Team Will Love About New Office Phone Systems

For most businesses, without a good sales team there would be no business. A good sales staff is always improving their skills and abilities to convert a new customer or get that referral. Sometimes the sales staff is hard to pin down for formal training. When you get new office phone systems, training your sales staff may be a new challenge. But remember, salespeople like challenges.

Many of the basic features can help your sales staff be more productive, connect better with clients, and just make life a little simpler. The following features are sure to get the attention of your sales staff. When you send out the training announcements for the new office phone systems to the sales staff, consider adding these features into the announcement. Entice them to sit in on the class.

Mobile Extension

This is the one feature that sales LOVE. Mobile extension allows the cell phone they hold near and dear to their heart to become their office phone. No longer will they miss the call or have to give someone their cell phone number. Depending on what new office phone systems you purchase, the function might be different, but the facts remain: you turn on and off mobile extension. When you are away from your desk any call that you would normally get at your desk, would now go to your cell phone. Also, when you want to make an outbound call, you can connect to the office phone system and use the dial tone and caller-id from the office, not your cell phone.

Outlook Integration

It’s common that new office phone systems will have something called unified communication. This is really a fancy term for having all your communication come into one place. Essentially your voicemail, faxes and email all come into your Outlook. The cool thing about voicemail coming into your email is the fact they are just attached as a .WAV file. The sales staff can then listen to the .WAV file from any computer AND they can forward the file as an email to anyone. Talk about providing customer service! Think of it this way, your sales staff is about to go into a meeting that will take several hours. They see a voicemail pop up in their email on their phone asking for some basic pricing, but they need it right away. The salesperson simply forwards that message to the in-house sales team and they get the customer taken care of quickly and easily.

DID – Direct Inward Dial:

This is a private telephone line for the executives and for the sales team. Now instead of clients having to sit through an auto attendant or be screened by the front desk staff, a DID number can send the call directly to the salesperson. With most DID applications caller-id will also be passed along. With caller-id the salesperson can say “Hello Fred,” rather than just “Hello this is Sam, how can I help you?” DID numbers are local phone numbers. So if you have an office in Chico, you will get local Chico numbers.

Working with a proven vendor like Gaynor Telesystems allows you to speak about the challenges your sales staff are having and design new office phone systems to meet the needs of the sales staff. Once the phone system is in place, your sales staff can be trained by the vendor. Call Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. today to see how we can assist you. Learn more about the telesystems world by checking out our Glossary of Terms Ebook below!

How Business VoIP & Unified Communications Bring Your Workers Together

Each day there are more and more articles and information about business VoIP and how you can get the most out of your business phone service, teaching how the next generation expects to work and what is really needed to have efficiency in the office. Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. proudly offers the ShoreTel solution as an option for Unified Communication and business VoIP.

Learn more in the article excerpt below:

Posted by: ShoreTel Blog

How Workers Benefit From Personal Unified Communications

When it comes to unified communications (UC), the idea is that all communications functions in an organization are unified to work seamlessly together on one common platform. However, this promise is now only being delivered due to recent advances in mobility.

As the workforce becomes more dispersed and remote, and expecting to work anywhere and from any device, UC has evolved to accommodate this evolution to become “Personal UC”, noted ZK Research in its white paper, Mobility Drives the Need for Personal Unified Communications. 

“The new workplace is highly mobile and dictates that users have the ability to collaborate in real time from any location using any tool they wish,” the white paper states.

According to ZK Research, communications platforms must evolve into truly unified, personal solutions to meet the needs of the changing mobile workplace.

The benefits of such a UC system to the worker are many, including:

[Continue to original article: How Workers Benefit for Personal Unified Communications]

There are 4 main reasons to be looking at a business VoIP system that offers unified communications:

• Simplified collaboration

• Faster time to information

• Greater utilization of collaboration tools

• Optimized for generational differences

All of this centers on an easy-to-use and easy-to-manage system.

Once you understand your needs for a business VoIP solution and know that unified communications needs to be part of your business phone service, contact us at Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. to schedule a demo and see how you can benefit from this great solution.

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how we can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1. 

Don't Frighten Away Customers With These Automated Attendant Mistakes

Consumers have come to expect an automated attendant when calling a business. Done well, an auto attendant can lighten your call load, expedite customer service, and provide a fast and efficient experience. No more holding and waiting, no more runaround. But when done wrong, it may frighten away your callers.

To get the best results, your company simply needs to be aware (not scared) of the best practices and common pitfalls of using an automated attendant. Let’s look at what not to do, so you can prevent headaches for your customers.

Using a poor-quality recording

Your recorded messages should be scripted, rehearsed, and recorded carefully. Have a real employee make the recording with quiet surroundings. Have multiple people review it to ensure that the message is crisp and clear.

Having a bad attitude — or striking the wrong tone

Customers have a better experience when recorded messages sound friendly and upbeat –not spooky! A bored or irritable voice on an automated attendant can sound impersonal. It’s also bad for branding. Strike a tone that suits your industry, and make sure some positive energy comes across.

Failing to provide a way to reach a human

An automated attendant helps reduce your labor and time spent on the phone, but the ultimate goal is always customer satisfaction. If someone needs your business hours, they can hear them in a recorded message. When they have a question or don’t know whose extension to use, a customer expects an easy option for talking to somebody.

It’s complicated — too many menus and options

Walking your customers through a few prompts helps ensure that they reach the right party. Too many options, however, can be frustrating – and frightening! After a welcome message and a few questions about the purpose of the call, your customer should reach their destination.

Failing to customize features to serve your customers

Automated attendants have loads of customizable features. In addition to using individual extensions, you can have calls route to the next-available representative from a department. Calls can be routed to workers’ mobile devices. In short, your automated attendant can be optimized to provide your customers with prompt service and accurate routing. It’s well worth taking a moment to tool around with all the features.

Not teaching your staff about the system

Staff members who speak with customers on the phone — even if only occasionally — should have a good understanding of the system. They should know what the customer’s experience is like. They should also be able to handle basic questions about navigating the system.

With advanced technologies and a variety of solutions to serve different types of organizations, there’s a winning combination out there for yours. Contact Gaynor about finding an auto attendant solution that offers your customers treats and no tricks!

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how Gaynor Telesystems Inc. can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1.

3 Essential Questions to Ask When Doing CCTV Security Research

Hindsight is 20-20 – You start to think: I wish I would have, I never thought I would need, I should have listened. These are all statements we might make when we realize we long to put in a CCTV security system.

Chances are if you are saying these things, you had an incident. It is okay to say and admit you had a break-in or a slip and fall, or an internal employee theft. You are not alone, it happens to businesses each and every day. Now that you know you are vulnerable, let’s takes a look at purchasing a CCTV system.

At Gaynor we pride ourselves on aligning with high quality products. We want to work with companies that offer not just good warranties, but great warranties. We have chosen to sell the IC Realtime and Pelco brands of CCTV security systems. We chose them because they are high quality business grade CCTV systems. With Pelco we are able to sell via our CMAS contract as well. Both of these companies offer warranties of over 3 years, giving us even more reason to love their products.

We tell you about the products we carry because when you start looking for a CCTV security system you will find hundreds of makes and models. Some are literally consumable products. They will have a 12 month life and then you throw them out and start over.

When you start your research ask these questions:

How long does the average system last?

Good quality business grade systems should last 5+ years, if not longer. As long as they are maintained on a regular basis.

Will I be able to adjust programming?

Many times the cookie cutter systems are plug and play. That may sound good at the beginning, but professional camera systems are interactive. You should be able to make changes, download images and upgrade software.

How much storage will I get?

A professional installer will not just say 2 weeks. They will talk about frames per second, how many cameras, recording on motion etc. All of these things take up resources and impact your storage capacity. If you are not being told about these, you may want to get a second opinion.

Maybe you saw the break-in happen at a neighbor’s business and it caused you to start the process of looking yourself. Whatever the reason, a CCTV system should not be an impulse buy. As a CCTV installation and design company we work with our clients and ask them about their needs and expectations. We look at the differences between IC Realtime and Pelco.

There is not one solution for everyone. So before it is a have to, start looking for a CCTV security system now. By taking your time, you can get the right solution at the right price and at the right time.

To learn more about CCTV, give us a call or check out our blogs on CCTV. Each month we write about CCTV, so subscribe and the blogs will come right to your inbox. 

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how Gaynor Telesystems Inc. can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1.

Why We Love Business Security Systems (and You Should Too!)

Why do we have security systems? To catch the thief, right? Many businesses put in CCTV security systems after an event and hope the system will deter a thief. Although CCTV is a good deterrent, let’s look at additional reasons why we believe all businesses should have security systems.

Staff safety

Do you have employees who lock up at night by themselves? In the summertime, it stays light late, but what about winter? If you have a business security system, you install a monitor so an employee can make sure there is no one lurking around. This also allows you to monitor who is at the door during business hours. If it’s the local UPS guy, you can just buzz him in, but if it’s someone you don’t know, you can personally answer the door.

Know what’s happening in the dark spaces

Okay, so maybe this is more for places where young people meet. Maybe you have a restaurant or a clothing store that has a back room. Sometimes business between 2 employees or an employee and their friend gets a little frisky and they want some privacy. If you install cameras, and let it be known that areas are under surveillance, there’s less chance of an employee taking some extra time on the clock to have a good time. 

If you have places in your business where you staff does not pass by, and there is chance of theft, make sure you place those cameras in a way that folks know they are being recorded.

Positioning

We have talked in prior blogs about purchasing a system from a box store versus a vendor. Another reason for purchasing via a vendor is the position of the camera. Many of the cheap versions only have a certain mount or a certain distance they can run with the cable provided. In the worst places, it is important to have a high quality camera system that can be mounted out of baseball bat reach (not kidding – business security systems do not like baseball bats) but also have a good enough picture quality.

Take it to the police

Before you invest in a business security system, find out if the recording will look good enough for the police to get a positive ID. Without a good quality camera shot the police will not be much help. So stop the grainy pixels and get a camera that meets or better yet exceeds your wants.

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how Gaynor Telesystems Inc. can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1.

How to Prepare Your Office for Business VoIP

You have heard the term business VoIP and are ready to look into the key components needed for a successful installation of a business VoIP system. These key components are:

• Cabling Infrastructure

• Network

• Dial Tone

• Budget

Cabling

If you have not remodeled your office since 1975 you may need to look at your cabling. Cabling comes in different types, CAT 3, CAT 5 and CAT 6. For a business VoIP system to work with IP phones you will need to have at least CAT 5e cabling. Yes your phone and computer can share a data drop, in cases where you have great computer cabling. It would be highly recommended to have a network test done to ensure the cabling will handle this new system.

Network

You do not have to have IT staff on site to have a business VoIP system, BUT you do need to have someone who can manage your network. If you are a small business and put in a do-it-yourself router and network, it may work for the day to day operations but not for business grade phone systems. Gaynor recommends routers by Adtran for the business grade quality. Your network will need QoS. Without QoS your call quality will suffer and you will be frustrated with the quality of phone call. Vendors like Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. work with network companies to ensure the business VoIP system you install will work on the existing network, or will make recommends to get your network up to standards for VoIP.

Dial Tone/Bandwidth

Business VoIP is dependent on your bandwidth to the internet. If you’re using DSL, you will not be satisfied with the QoS and your phone system will not work. If you are a high data traffic company and using 50+% of your current bandwidth you still may not have enough. It is recommended you have tests done to ensure the bandwidth will handle the call traffic you have. In order to determine your traffic you will need information such as number of handsets, number of users, how many inbound and outbound calls, how long are the calls, and what is your data usage. A good vendor will be able to take this information and confirm your current bandwidth will work or offer a solution on what will work.

Budget

Just like all electronics, IP or business VoIP is coming down in price, but is still more expensive on the hardware side than the traditional digital or analog systems. If you do not have the cabling, network or bandwidth already in place, look at the reasons why you want business VoIP. The reasons may give you the return on investment you want or you may find it is not the right time. Also look to see if you are wanting an operating expense or a capital purchase. Each has its own tax implications, so talk to your tax advisor on which is best for you. If you are looking for an operating expense, look at hosted Business VoIP or leasing and rolling into the lease all the needed items. For a capital purchase a premise based system will most likely meet your needs.

Still not sure? Contact Gaynor below to have an on-site consultation to review your needs, your current infrastructure and your budgeting. We can assist you with finding your path.

Related Articles:

Basics of Business Communication Solutions: Business VoIP

What Do I Tell My Boss When Asked, What is VoIP?

Protect Your Time: Business Communication Solutions Made Simple

We are undoubtedly living in a fast paced world. Every day there is a new hot application or new feature that promises to make your life easier, as you sit at your desk and think, “I want simple.” Maybe you are the office manager and you outsource all your IT needs; maybe you are the business owner and understand just enough technology to make you dangerous. Whatever your role, you are looking at new business communication solutions, and have settled on a phone system. 

You have started your checklist of wants for the new phone system. The number one on your list is to have the system be easy to manage once it is installed. You want it to be easy to operate for your staff and easy to maintain. You do not hold a degree in computer science and you do not have the time to take a week long class to learn how to manage the system.

When you are researching new business phone systems, we recommend you ask for a demonstration on how easy the management of the system is. Look for these key factors:

You can manage the system from anywhere 

Maybe you are the traveling salesperson for your company, as well as the owner. Your travel takes you out of town, but you still want to be able to make those add moves and changes. Does the new phone system allow for connection anywhere?

Type of training given for management

You know you will need training, but realistically you cannot spend more than 30 minutes at a time on training. Ask the vendor if they can do remote training sessions, or better yet, are there videos on how to learn the management of the system.

Security of the system 

You have an office supervisor who will need some access, maybe to run reports or clear mailbox security codes when staff members leave. This person should not have access to creating people or making programming changes. Check and see if you can create different levels of security.

Ongoing Maintenance 

Does the system you are looking for alert you when there is a problem? You are not always in the office and want to be alerted via email if someone calls 911, or if there is an outage on any equipment.

Time requirement

Is the system you are considering easy to use? Maybe you know chances are you will be doing changes only a couple times a year. You do not want to use a service person for these simple adds, moves and changes, but also want to make sure it will not take hours for you to do. Time is money after all. Each phone system handles management in a unique way. 

At Gaynor Telesystems we want to show you how simple and easy management of business communication solutions can be. With today’s technology you do not have to be an IT professional to manage your system. We are here to show you how to reduce those add, move and change costs without sacrificing your time.

Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us.

Make Business Meetings Easy with a ShoreTel Business VoIP Solution

You are flat tired of airports, you want to be home for the summer and home in the fall, rather than constantly take plane trips for one-day meetings. If you are a business owner it is even more critical not to be gone, unless you are on vacation. Even seasoned travelers are getting tired of the airports and just want to do more, and be more efficient. Looking at options with a business VoIP solution might be the answer to your challenges.

Are you not sure you can do a successful remote meeting? The first thing to do is make sure you are running a good meeting. Do you have the right people at the meeting? Do you have an agenda? Is the meeting something that can be handled by others.? Do a self-check on how your meetings are going. 

Once you have honed in on your ability to have a meeting remotely, you can look at the hardware or software you might need in order to effectively make the meeting happen. The ShoreTel business VoIP solution has the ability to make meetings happen. This state of the art solution allows for both audio and visual conferences. Meetings you control with the options for audio and visual meetings done right through your ShoreTel system. You will no longer have to get on that plane.

Now instead of having that remote worker traveling to the home office, or the client’s site, use the technology to allow you to work from the comfort of your home office or your office conference room.

If you still have questions, give us a call at Gaynor, and we are happy to come to your place of business and provide you a demo of a ShoreTel business VoIP solution. Whether you are in Chico, Yuba City, Ukiah or Eureka, we are here to serve the North Valley’s communication needs.

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how we can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1. 

10 Ways Your Office Phone System Improves Your Customers’ Experience

Today’s office phone systems capabilities allow you to work anytime from anywhere. You may view this as either a good or bad thing – sometimes you don’t want to be accessible – but business competition in today’s economy is fierce. Your customers expect the highest level of customer care, and you and your staff need to be reachable, professional and customer focused at all times – no matter where you’re located.

If that’s your business model, is your phone system serving you like you serve your customers?

Use this checklist to evaluate if your office phone system gives your customers the experience they now expect from their chosen providers. Any items you can’t check off may signal that you could be getting more out of your phone system.

Reachability and professionalism

• Customers can access your sales staff anytime and anywhere with mobile capability that directs incoming office calls to be received on your sales staff’s mobile phones

• Outbound calls look professional, coming from the main company number, even when your employees are using their smartphones

• Customer focus is enhanced by connecting your CRM tools with Outlook to give you conversation history with your client

• Employee productivity is increased by merging call records with customer records to improve sales trending projections and staffing optimization

Employee productivity

• Employees and partners can communicate in ways that are easy and intuitive through audio and web conferencing, regardless of where they’re working

• Employees use presence features to be reachable by establishing if they are in the office, out of office, or in a meeting by using presence features

• Teamwork is made easy with voice and video calling, including screen sharing

Cost effectiveness

• Ongoing administration, such as adding a new employee is easy, not labor intensive

• Local support is available to train your staff to use features that improve customer experience

• You have the option of outsourcing your phone system management to an experienced local company

How did you do? Depending on your responses, here are some things to think about.

• If you scored an 8-10, you’re using your phone system to improve your customers’ experience as they work with you.

• If you scored a 5-7, there may be some phone system features you can use to improve your company’s competitive positioning and your customers’ experience.

• If you scored less than 5, it’s time to look at phone system capabilities you can bring to your company to help your staff be more reachable, professional and customer-focused.

You want your employees to function effectively while improving company productivity and increasing customer satisfaction. Your phone system should help you do all that – and boost your competitive advantage.

If you’d like to discuss your office phone system’s capabilities and see what’s possible for your business, contact Gaynor Telesystems below!

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how Gaynor Telesystems Inc. can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1.

Is My Budget Big Enough for a Business VoIP Phone System?

The end of year was good to you and this quarter is going even better. That long list of upgrades for your technology is becoming a reality. You sat down and prioritized what you need the most to grow your business. The next logical step for a major purchase is a new business VoIP system. You are not sure if you have the budget for it. Let’s look at the major pricing items that affect a capital purchase like this.

Infrastructure

Unlike a traditional phone system, the latest business VoIP technology requires working with your network. Taking stock in what your network looks like will be critical in your budget. Here are some questions to ask:

• Do you have the actual cabling needed to run a VoIP System? - You will need at least CAT5 Cable for each location.

• Do you have PoE Switches in Place? - If not, you will need to add, or have power supplies at each location.

• Do you have network support?

• Will you have to outsource your network programming? - This potentially means bringing in your IT vendor and having meetings with both your IT and communications vendors.

• Have you ever had your network tested?

• Does the current network meet the bandwidth requirements? - This can be a costly test if you have never done this before. At Gaynor we work with communications partners who can run a variety of tests, BEFORE you purchase the new business VoIP system.

Applications

Business VoIP solutions are all about applications. What are the most critical applications you need? Is recording a must have? Presence? Mobility? Remote Workers? Are you not even sure what you need? Start by looking at your problems and what you think the solution may be. Maybe mobility sounds great, but you know the sales and technical staff will not answer their phones when they are off site. So does it really make sense to invest in mobility now? You could buy the core system and know, since business VoIP is really about applications you can grow in the mobility in the future.

So you think you have a budget and you know what basics you need, but coming up with the capital might be a stretch. Here are some ways you can lesson your upfront costs.

Trade In

Many manufactures offer trade in discounts on both the older models of their office phone systems or a trade in on a competitor’s. They want their new business VoIP system installed. They then give incentives like free licenses, extra years of software assurance, or port discounts. Even ask about loyalty options. It never hurts to ask. 

Even if your communication vendor cannot give you a trade in, think about selling your system to another business, or even donating to a non-profit. There may be some tax advantages you can take. Be sure to consult your tax advisor first.

Leasing 

This is a capital purchase of course, or did you want this as an operating expense? Depending on your lease and working with your financial team, you can purchase a business VoIP system on a lease. At Gaynor Telesystems, Inc we align ourselves with several leasing companies that assist businesses with obtaining credit. Normally the only down payment is 2 advance lease payments. That sure does beat a large cash outlay.

Are you concerned the technology will change fast and in the end of the lease you will be stuck with outdated equipment? Many leasing companies today have technology buy outs. So in 5 years you can continue a lease type payment, but upgrade to the latest and greatest.

No matter what your challenges are, there is a way to get that new business VoIP system. The key is the ROI.  An experienced vendor, like Gaynor Telesystems can assist you with designing the system to your budget and helping to secure financing. Contact us today to learn more about budgeting and leasing.

Related Articles:

What is VoIP and Why Does My Business Need It?

Business, VoIP, & Office Phone Systems - Oh My!

To learn more about Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. and why we would make a good partner download our free offer below.

5 Ways to Avoid Costly Change Orders with Your Business Phone Service

Purchasing a business phone service is a partnership with a qualified licensed vendor and your business. You decide on a new system and cut the check. You breathe a sigh of relief. The process of installation starts off well, then BAM change order, then another, then another. You are now sitting at your desk and wondering what went wrong. How could this have been prevented?

There are some simple ways of avoiding costly change orders

#1. Communication

The business phone service vendor you choose is the expert. It’s their role to help you understand and make sense of all the choices you have. Look for a vendor who talks to you about your business; about how your business works, about your growth, about your future. Not just about today’s needs but needs that are 2 or 3 years down the road. It is also important that you are open and honest about what you want and do not want. You may not know the terms, like mobility or call accounting, but you can describe what you are needing. All business phone systems have similar features. With proper communication you will each have an understanding of what is needed when putting together that quote.

#2. Infrastructure

Again, you may not be the expert in what you have installed for cabling, network, switches, routers etc.  The business phone service vendor should be doing a walk through with you to determine if you have the correct infrastructure in place. The cost to re-cable a building may be more than the phone system itself. Be honest with the vendor. If you do not know if your network is ready for the new IP phone system, tell the vendor. Doing the testing prior will save not only time but frustration. If you have an outsourced IT department, bring them into the discussions. They will need to be part of the installation. 

#3. Dial Tone

At Gaynor it is not uncommon to get blank stares back when we ask what type of dial tone you have. Understanding and reading a phone bill is quite hard. The type and quality of dial tone is critical to the design and components parts of any business phone service. Also communicate if you believe what you have is working or not working. Do you get complaints of busy signals? Does the staff want to dial out and can't? When changing your telephone system, it may be a time to review your dial tone. Do this before the contract and avoid the additional change orders.

#4. Optional Features

Chances are you interviewed 2 or 3 business phone service vendors. Now you are getting ready to pick, but you may be getting confused on what system does what. Make sure you fully review the expectations of the system and what options you are choosing. Some features such as email to voicemail might be standard on some systems but not others. If you wanted this feature and it was not included, you would be looking at a change order. 

#5. Phone Handset Features

The number one change order that Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. sees is for the changes in the handsets. All business phone systems have multiple types and styles of handsets. Take your time in deciding what is right for your business. The break room can be a different phone than the backup receptionist, BUT if the break room phone is next to the file room that may be a highly used phone and should be the same as others. If your staff is used to having buttons that allowed them to see all the lines, is that still important?  If it is, make sure you have those buttons on the phones.

Gaynor Telesystems, Inc. prides itself on having less than 1% change orders. We take our time to listen to our clients, visit their sites and get to know their current and future needs. What to know more? Ask for a quote today to discover how we can assist you in getting that new business phone service without costly change orders. 

And remember:

“The most important thing in COMMUNICATION is to hear what isn't being said.”

~Peter Drucker

Worst Reasons to Buy New Office Phone Systems

If you're moving from your office or starting a new business, now is a prime time to buy an office phone system. Still sometimes though there is no good reason to buy an office phone system. Let’s face it, buying a new phone system will cost you time, money, and a small headache as you try and help your staff adjust and explain to your CPA what you just bought. So if you are trying to justify NOT buying, let me help you out.

Your Heart is Set on a Must-Have Feature

Many times clients will come and say they have to have THE FEATURE, and no matter what, they will buy a system because of that FEATURE. I had a recent client ask for the feature of Call Back During Queue. They are a small office, but insistent on getting the feature that allows callers to leave the queue and have an agent call them back. Now this is a small business with only 20 people and only 4 people that answer the phones. To get this one feature, they would have had to upgrade the entire system and spend thousands of dollars. I offered the solution of clients leaving voicemails and then the agent can call them back.

Features may be worth the price and hassle, but explore all options. Make sure the feature you are needing/getting has an ROI that meets your needs. Ask your trusted advisor if there are other options, and be open to handling your needs in a different way. As long as you are not dealing with a cookie cutter company, most should be able to find you a solution within your budget.

You Currently Have a Discontinued Product

All products get discontinued. Remember TAB Cola or the BetaMAX video player? Office phone systems come and go too. Just because a product is no longer built and distributed does not mean death. A good vendor will have resources to keep your system in working order for a few years to come. Most companies have at least 2 to 3 years past the discontinued date that they still support the products. 

So ask yourself, Is what I have meeting my office phone system needs? If so, stay put. But if you are expanding, moving or even need more features, look at the new system. But check out the options and do some research on tips for buying a phone system.

You Are a New Business

Maybe you are a new business. The first 2 months have been great and you have already hired 4 more people, but now things started to slow down. Investing in office phone systems may not be the best approach right now. Maybe you know you will have ups and downs and want to adjust your phone system needs with your staffing. So instead of buying a traditional system look at hosted or cloud based.

Many new businesses spend tons of money on getting the office ready with phone systems, copiers, office furniture etc. Instead of that capital outlay, check out hosted. Then when you settle into your business you can leverage your money and maybe the handsets and buy your own system.

At Gaynor we are here to assist you and be your advisor when purchasing office phone systems. But we have also told clients to stay where they are and not make that purchase yet. We want your business to be successful and sometimes NOT BUYING is the right way.

About Us

Gaynor Telesystems Inc. has been proudly serving the North State Communities of Chico, Yuba City, Marysville, Eureka, Arcata, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Redding, and Red Bluff for more than 40 years. We hope the information you found in this blog was useful. To learn more about how Gaynor Telesystems Inc. can help you install, maintain or service business communication solutions, please contact us at 877-Gaynor1.