Telephone System: Line with Extension

September 2nd, 2010

Telephone System: Line with Extension photoI recently replaced the phone system to accommodate business in my own company to the needs of my staff. I wish I could say that they meet the needs of our customers, but unfortunately it did not happen. You see, our old phone system is much more than a line extension for us. Based on the assumption that inter-office communication can be used for more than one incoming and outgoing calls. Since my company is primarily concerned with internet business and not much to do in the form of transactions over the phone, I have put this system in force in the late 90’s have also served until recently. Lately, I have a traditional provider that send me through my by phone to e-mail. They complain that it is often impossible to get past me. I looked into this issue, and that is what I found … Most of my staff spent many hours talking on the phone. They did not speak with the seller, service provider, customers or other business entity. Instead, they use cell phones for personal reasons.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the type of boss who thinks it’s never acceptable to talk on the phone. I understand that during the workday, things are inevitably bound to come up which require an employees’ attention. We’ve all been there. Perhaps a child is sick or the car is in the shop needing repairs. I understand that these things often require time spent on the phone. Judging from the traffic on my lines and the astronomical phone bills I was receiving, however, this was way beyond what I think any employer would consider acceptable.

So, I decided to replace the old phone system. The new system has a line for every extension, including mine, so that vendors or anyone else will be able to reach me at any time. Since the new phone system also offers increased functionality, I had an additional feature programmed in.

Now, whenever someone makes an outgoing call, they must dial in their own code so that both the number they call and the times spent are recorded. These records are matched to the phone bill and all employees are required to mark the non-business related calls they make each month. Since the calls bear their code, they cannot say it wasn’t them who made the call. Of course, they must pay for these calls. I have noticed that phone times (and my phone bills) have decreased substantially.

Computer Repair Training

August 31st, 2010

Computer Repair Training photoThere is much to know whether you plan to fix computers for a living. Even if you only intend to know to fix this page using the computer business, the amount of information you want can be daunting. Computer repair classes may make sense for you if you invest the time and little money in an education.

The first thing you want to see what kind of training you need. Do you need training or you are looking for a simple technique? Knowing what kind of training you need to, the time to reduce you to find the appropriate class for your needs training.

How much of a budget have you set aside for training? Most computer training takes money. The more advanced the training, the more money it will cost. The cost will also depend on whether you follow a course of study. For the computer repair industry, compTia’s A+ certification is the one most recognized. Most computer training centers will offer a course on A+ certification.

Other training that makes sense for a computer repair technician includes computer networks including compTia’s Network+, Microsoft’s MSCE certification and CISCO certifications. You could also benefit from computer security certification like compTia’s Security+, MCSE security, Cisco security and even an ethical hacking cert like CISSP training.

Know what you plan on focusing your energies on. If you plan on working for someone else, know what area you plan on concentrating on. If you plan on owning your own business, you should also know what your area of concentration is going to be. Don’t take the MSCE certification if you intend to focus your business on Linux based products. While this may seem obvious to some, I’ve encountered people who were confused on this issue.

Bottom line, choose a computer training firm that has been around a while and is known for their thoroughness and expertise. There is nothing worse than paying big bucks for computer training that fails to prepare you properly for the field. Do some research, ask some people in the industry. In the end, if you’ve done your homework, you’ll be fine.