COSE Update - September 2008 - (Page 27)

telecom can you hear me now? Dealing with no dial tone. snow storm closes roads or a backhoe rips through your phone lines. It’s disturbing enough to have your phone system down; but couple that with an interruption from a major emergency, and your employees and business could be in danger. Here are some tips to help keep your downtime to a minimum. Phone Systems Battery backup—simple, but often overlooked, battery backups are inexpensive and can be purchased at your local office supply store. Outside line, please—get a separate phone a line outside of your phone system. It could be your fax line but keep an analog handset nearby to plug into the jack so you can at least call to alert customers. Additionally, you may be able to configure your phone system to provide basic dial tone to one or more handsets for incoming calls. Remote control—ensure you can access your phone system remotely to activate the auto attendant or reroute calls to cell phones if employees can’t get to the office. Phone Lines Call for backup—a relatively new option, Internet backup lines can be provisioned for as little as $15 per month, per line. If your phone lines go down and you still have Internet, you can temporarily forward your traditional phone line to the Internet number. Send in the alternate—some carriers allow you to set up an alternative number in advance that will automatically receive calls if your main number goes down. Fast forward—if your phone lines are out, call your carrier to forward your lines immediately. Make sure to get a “trouble ticket” number for later reference and request a time period for resolution or follow up. ● —Laura Leggett cosemindspring●com Get more telecom tips at cosemindspring/leggett. KICK-OFF THIS FALL WITH HUGE SAVINGS! Integrys Energy Services has teamed up with COSE to offer exclusive rates on natural gas for COSE members and their employees. The program is designed to provide savings opportunities and budget certainty for small business owners. When you team up with Integrys, you can easily ﬁnd the best natural gas plan to ﬁt your speciﬁc needs. And best of all, through our partnership, COSE members and their employees receive rates even lower than the very competitive rates we offer the general public. In addition to attractive discounts, Integrys Energy Services offers a unique blend of pricing options that include monthly variable, quarterly ﬁxed, seasonal ﬁxed and year ﬁxed. There are no switching or cancellation fees for changing from a variable rate plan to a ﬁxed rate plan. EXCLUSIVE COSE OFFER: All September enrollments will be entered into a drawing to win a pair of tickets to one of these exciting games: • OSU vs. Troy • OSU vs. Purdue • OSU vs. Michigan More than 1,600 COSE members are already saving at their businesses… With 3,900 more saving at home. Enroll TODAY to see for yourself! For more information or to enroll in COSE’s Natural Gas Program: Call COSE Customer Service at: 216-592-2222 Or Integrys Energy toll-free at: 1-888-878-5420 Enroll Online: www.integrysenergy.com/COSE september 2008 • cose update • 27 http://www.cosemindspring.com http://www.cosemindspring.com/leggett http://www.integrysenergy.com/COSE http://www.integrysenergy.com/COSE

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of COSE Update - September 2008

COSE Update - September 2008 Contents Memo Upfront Vision Tech Business Interrupted The “Bigness” of Small Business What’s the Plan? People Telecom Advocacy Communications Health Pipeline Connect Arts My Cause Plugged In

COSE Update - September 2008

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