telephone solutions for small business

[mariner]

I currently have a single business line that I forward to my cell phone while im out working. That worked ok for last year but I am planning on a bigger year this year and don't want to be bothered with the phone ringing while working. I would rather not hire anyone as that would not be economical right now.
Are there any other means of dealing with this? I've looked into a business phone system and they are real expensive. What about an answering service? Are they expensive and a good choice? I'm open to any comments on this. Thanx!

[SCW]

What about an executive suite? They typically have telephone answering packages that are extremely reasonable for small start-ups. An executive suite telephone answering package would provide you with a live receptionist, voice mail, etc----things that would cost alot of money if purchased/hired on your own.

[mariner]

Do you have a website that I could look at? I have no idea what you are talking about.

[Littleriver1]

Why don't you just use the telephone Co's answering service. You can use your own message. Then check it durning the day from your cel. then return the calls as you go. You can even leave a message for one of your customers and when they call they get their personal message that only they can get. If you call me and I'm not here you get to hear " Thank you for calling Little River Lawn Service" yada yada yada You can't hear the phone ring anyway with ear plugs and the trimer blasting. Works great for me and the price is next to nothing. There's a lot of other stuff that goes with it. Like if you call someone and there line is busy you leave a message and when the line is free, there phone rings and they get the message.

Bill

[Elwood]

A local ansering service is a good idea. Have them page you when a call comes in.

Also, many people will hang up on an answering machine, but if you include in your message that all calls recieved will be returned by the end of the business day, that increases your number of left messages.

I agree, taking calls on the job site slows productivity down. I would check into an answering service. People like to talk to PEOPLE.

[Jack D.]

Use a Standard Answering Machine & return calls only if needed.

Most customers will prefer simply leaving a message than actually talking to you.

All pertinant information can be contained in a recorded message.

[SCW]

Check out www.offices.org or www.hq.com. And...for what it's worth - our customers love it that we actually have a live person answering our phones. We personally don't use an executive suite, but I used to manage one several years ago and they're a great option for small start-ups.

[mariner]

I've always answerd the phone. Yes, I could hear my cell when the mower was running. The phone also vibrated. However, my experience is that people want to have a person answer the phone when they call. Machines get a lot of hangups.
I checked into a couple of places and I'll let you know when I get some replies as far as costs.