Years ago was the prank call ancestor: the prank ring. A young boy rang the doorbell and ran away. It was a child game with almost no consequence.

Nowadays technologies have evolved. When was the last time your doorbell rang with nobody behind the door? A long time ago I am sure. But when did you receive a prank call on your home phone line or cell phone line? It is so easy to make prank calls. There are more and more of them. It is often difficult to know the real risk when you receive a prank call. You never know if it is a joke made by a bored teenager or by an insane person potentially dangerous for you and your family.

So your best move is to take action and show the prankster that you will not tolerate his behavior. The way to react is to run a reverse phone number lookup to identify the caller. Obviously you need the phone number of the caller. You get it by looking at the call display on your phone. If you can not get access to the number because it is displayed as a “confidential number” or “private number” you may ask help from your phone service provider by providing him with the date and the hour of the prank call.

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Ever since Alexander Graham Bell magically transmitted his voice into the back room of his science lab, home landlines have been an immovable fixture in the American home. But more and more, some people are cancelling their landlines and letting their cell phones do double duty. Recently, Ivan Seidenberg, the chief executive of Verizon Communications, told a group of investors that the home landline is a thing of the past. He told the group that his company is already making plans to reorganize itself to address this growing defection from the home landline. But as Mark Twain once commented on the premature publication of his own obituary, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” So before you cut the cord to the trusty home phone, consider the following: Many families have eliminated their landlines only to return to reconnect a few months later. There are lots of reasons why this trial separation simply isn’t working out. Reasons people are coming back to their landline (more…)

In this recent economy, more and more people are being pushed out of the work force and into starting their own businesses. For some, this sudden career change has been exciting. For others, it has been scary. But for everyone, it’s been a learning experience. And one thing that everyone has to quickly learn is how to make their telephone pull its weight in their new business ventures.

For instance, you may want to add a dedicated phone line to your home for your new business. Or you may, at the very least, just change the way you answer your phone. The simple “Hello” is now changed to “Gonzales Enterprises” or “Williams Landscaping, may I help you?”

Once you have made your decision on the best way to handle how you answer the phone, the real work begins. A professional tone on the phone is essential, and proper, business-like etiquette is key. Here are a few basic tips:

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You and your family are sitting down to dinner and like clockwork, the telephone rings. The voice on the other end of the line speaks in a slow, robotic voice, like someone reading a fill-in-the-blank script. He is soliciting donations on behalf of some wonderful-sounding cause like, say, the “American Firefighters’ Gifted & Talented Amputee Fund.” You are asked to contribute whatever you can. Just give the guy reading you his script your credit card number and he will do the rest.

Not all of these calls are scams. Some are on the up-and-up. But both varieties can easily be eliminated and your dinnertime can be family time once again. Just head over to https://www.donotcall.gov, register your phone number and most of these cold-call solicitations will magically go away. Another smart thing is to upgrade your phone package to include features like Caller I.D.

However, some of these nuisance calls may persist. The more unethical the culprit behind the scheme, the more likely they will find your number and dial it. And there goes your dinnertime.
Spotting the bait

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Let’s say it again, “Lines, stations, and voicemail.” This is the basis for all business phone system purchases. If your salesperson is thorough, he will discuss each of these elements with you.

1. How many incoming telephone lines will your business need?
2. How many telephone stations will there be at the business?
3. Do you need voice mail?

How many telephone lines do I need?

Let’s take one step back before we answer this question. First of all what is a telephone line? A telephone line allows your business to make and receive telephone calls. Each telephone line has an assigned phone number(s) (e.g. 555-555-5555) that allows other people to call your business. Telephone lines are provided by your service provider and are connected directly to a telephone or business telephone system at your place of business. Types of telephone lines that you will encounter include analog, digital, and VoIP (see blog post “What kinds of lines can I add to a phone system?).

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