Auto forward your calls

Our phone system now offers a variety of ways to forward calls.  I have already described in an earlier post how to make and receive office calls from any smart phone, tablet, or PC using Communicator.  But if you do not like Communicator, you can simply forward calls from your office phone to any other phone number.  There are a variety of options:

Call Forwarding Always can be enabled if you are going to be away for a while and want to receive calls on another phone, or have someone else at the firm answer all your calls.

Call Forwarding Busy forwards your calls only when you are on another call.  Enabling this will mean that you will not see who is calling and have an opportunity to put the other person on hold and answer.

Call Forwarding Not Reachable forwards your calls after a certain number of rings.

Call Forwarding Selective is handy as you can have your phone forward calls from certain numbers to another phone, such as your cell or home phone

In addition to forwarding options, you have the ability to received certain notifications. Call Notify will send you an email when a call meets certain criteria.  Typically you would set this for certain important numbers that may require immediate attention.  This is different from receiving emails with a message.  This option allows you to receive an email, even if the caller does not leave a message.

Another handy option is Priority Alert, which can set a different ring for certain callers.

Selective Call Rejection allows you to block certain numbers entirely.  The caller receive a recording that you cannot be reached.  This would be for people that are harassing you and with whom you never want phone contact.

All of these options can be set in the cloud portal, or the help desk can set up any changes for you.

Is someone ducking your calls?

As shocking as it may be to some, there are occasions when people try to avoid calls from a law firm.  Sometimes, this can require persistence to get through.

Our Vonage phones have a feature called Automatic Callback.  This can be set if a party you are calling is busy.  It will establish a call as soon at the other person hangs up.  Keep in mind that this only works if you are getting a busy signal.  If you are directed to voicemail, it won't work.  Because most phones now have call waiting and voicemail, this may not come up very often.  But if you find it useful, you can enable this option in the portal.  Once enabled, when you get a busy signal, you should see an option on your phone to enable a callback on this call.  As the other party hangs up, your phone and the other party's phone will both ring.

Suppose you have someone who is simply not answering the phone when you call.  They see your caller ID and let it go to voicemail.  Line ID Blocking hides your caller ID from people.  If you dial *67, your call will go out with an anonymous ID.  Unfortunately, this option is also of limited use.  Most phones today do not rely on the sender's caller ID to identify the call.  They  have their own database of numbers.  Similarly, if you call a cell phone of someone who has your number in their address book, it will identify you that way.

If you really want to be anonymous, I recommend making a call through your computer, using Google Hangouts, or using the Hangouts Dialer app on your smart phone.  Unless you have gone through the trouble of assigning a number and ID to your Google account, making a call this way will appear to come from a random phone number with no identification.

Faster Calling Fewer Buttons

Many of us call the same numbers over and over again.  We don't want to be bothered having to redial the same ten digit numbers repeatedly.  Vonage offers a range of shortcuts to make this easier.

In an earlier post I explained how you can add users to your phone's LCD screen so that you can call them with a push of a single button.  In a different earlier post I explained how to look up a number quickly on the phone, either from the firm directory or from a list of previous callers.

Today, I'm going to describe yet another shortcut.  We have the ability to set up eight shortcut that can be dialed by pressing a single number.  Essentially, we assign a phone number to the numbers 2-9 on your keypad.  To dial any of those pre-programmed numbers, you simply need to press the button and then hit "dial".

If you have more than eight numbers, there is also an option called "speed dial 100".  This allows you to add up to 100 numbers by dialing # and then a pre-assigned two digit code, then press dial.

Adding users to the LCD screen seems preferable to either of these two options.  Adding to the LCD screen means you can see the user name, meaning you don't have to remember who is assigned to what button.  It is also literally a single button press.  Therefore, the only reason to use these additional shortcuts would be if you have already filled up all the spaces on your screen.

The speed dial 8 can be set up by dialing *74 then the shortcut number, then the number to be called.  For example, if I wanted to assign 215-922-1100 to number 2 on my phone, I would dial, *7422159221100 This can also be set up in the portal.  If you are not comfortable programming it yourself or going into the portal, the help desk will be happy to set up the numbers for you.  Just send us a list via email.  Once set up you simply press the number assigned (e.g. "2") then press "dial" and you are connected.

Speed dial 100 works in a similar way but allows you to store up to 100 numbers using a two digit code (00-99).  You can configure a speed dial 100 number by dialing *75, then the shortcut numbers, then the number to be called.  For example, to set 10 as the shortcut for 215-922-1100, I would dial *75102159221100.  Like speed dial 8, speed dial 100 numbers can also be set up in the portal.

Once configured, simply dial # plus the two digit code, then dial, to call a number.  For me it seems more complicated to memorize 100 different two digit calling codes then to simply look up the number and dial it.  But if you think this may be useful to you, it is an option we can program.

iCore Communicator

Our phone accounts also come with a license to use a software program called "communicator".  This is a program that you can install on a computer, tablet, or cell phone that gives you the ability to make and receive calls as if you were in front of your office phone.  It also gives you access to voicemail and allows you to do a number of other things.

Firm policy allows only attorneys and other non-hourly employees to use Communicator.  Hourly employees are expected to use their phones only, since they should not be making or receiving work calls when not at work and on the clock.  If you have some wish to use Communicator on your computer in the office, please contact Michael Troy to explain why and get approval first.

You must install the Communicator application.  Your license permits you to install the program only on one computer and up to three tablets or phones.  So don't try to install it everywhere.

If you want the computer version of the software (PC or Mac) you can download it here:

http://www.icore.com/support/icore-one-communicator-download/

If you want the software for your Android or IOS device, you can download those for free from the Google Play Store or Apple's App Store respectively.  Just search for "icore communicator".  Note that there may be separate apps for tablets and phones.

Once installed, you will need to log in using your full 10 digit phone number as your user name. Please contact Michael Troy to get your password.

From there, you can view a list of callers, look up numbers, make or receive calls, or change some of your work phone settings.

If you are using this app on your cell phone, note that it uses your data rather than cell phone minutes for calls.  If you are connected to Wifi on your phone, the call will use neither minutes nor mobile data.

Phone Hoteling - for the Lawyer on the go.

Perhaps you occasionally or often need to work in another office.  You would like to be able to receive calls, but don't want to deal with all the calls on your cell phone.  There is a phone at the location where you are working, but it does not have your number on it.  This is where the phones "hoteling" feature comes in handy.

Hoteling allows you to set up temporarily any phone in the firm with your phone number.  We just need to know the extension of the phone where you are sitting.  From that, we can configure your calls to ring directly to that phone.  Further, any calls you make from that phone will identify you as you, rather than the name of the phone you are using.  It will also alert you about pending voicemail messages.

Hoteling is really limited to the phone number itself though.  It will not import your favorites or other settings you may have on your permanent phone.  The LCD screen does not change at all.  Hoteling also will not work with phones outside the firm.  Also, while you hoteling, calls to the host phone will go directly to voicemail.

With those limitations, hoteling can be a valuable tool if you are visiting another office and want to keep in touch.  If you have the need, feel free to call the help desk to set it up for you.

Receiving Voicemail Messages

Messages as Email Attachments

Many people have commented about the new feature that allows you to receive all of your voicemail messages as an email attachment.  If this was not turned on for you and you would like the feature, call the help desk and we can fix it for you.  Similarly, if you find the feature annoying and don't want copies of your messages filling up your email inbox, let us know and we can turn it off for you.

You may also just want the email notification, but not receive that bulky WAV attachment.  We can configure your line to notify you with an email only, no attachment.  You can then still check messages on your phone after getting a notification.

Keep in mind that WAV files can take up a fair amount of space.  I recommend you delete these emails after listening to them unless there is a specific reason you need to save it.  Otherwise, you may find your Gmail inbox filling up at an alarming rate.

If you try to open the attachment in Gmail, you will get an error that it cannot be played.  You would need to download the file to your computer and listen to it in Windows Media Player, or whatever preferred audio player program you may use.

You should be able to download the files on your phone, however, you may find it takes longer to download that it would be simply to call your phone and check messages.

Checking Messages Remotely

That brings me to my next topic, accessing messages remotely.  To do this, simply call your office phone number on an outside line and press * once your voicemail message begins.  You will then be prompted for your password and can then listen to your messages.

Messages Waiting

If you have unread messages on your phone, you will have a red blinking light at the top of the phone informing you of this (although we can turn that off if you prefer).  Check messages by pressing the message button (the envelope button to the left of your number pad) and connect.  Then follow the prompts.

The default configuration is that your messages are saved both on the phone and sent to you as an email.  If you listened to your WAV file attachment, that does not affect the read status of your messages on your phone. If you prefer to receive messages only as emails and never saved to your phone, we can configure that for you, or as mentioned previously, save messages only on your phone and just receive notifications via email, or the third option of no email notifications at all.

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Calling Your Favorite Numbers

On the main LCD screen of your new phone, you should see  your name and extension next to the first button. If you press the button, you can get a dial tone.

You may see a few other names on your screen if you cover calls for other people.  Most likely though, you don't have names next to all 12 buttons. For empty spaces, you have the ability to add people in your group to this list for making quick one button calls to that person.

If you press and hold a button for about two seconds, you will bring up the "Add Contact" menu. Enter a person's name and phone number (number goes under "contact") and press Save.  That name will show up on your screen all the time.  Just press the number next to that name to call that person.

You also have the ability to change the ring type for calls from certain people.  This can alert you immediately from the sound of the ring when a particular person calls.

There is also an option to auto-reject or auto-divert calls from a certain number.  However, if you are using that feature, you probably are not calling that person all the time either.  There are better ways to do block a person without having that number appear on your screen.  If you need help doing that, the Help Desk can assist you.

Favorite numbers are different from call coverage numbers in that your phone will not ring for the other person's calls, and you cannot pick up their line.  A favorite is simply an easy shortcut way to call someone you call regularly.  If you need call coverage, please contact the help desk.

There is also an option to add a "busy lamp" button to your phone which will allow you to add a name to your screen, but will also show you when that person is on the line.  A "busy lamp" will only work for numbers within the firm.  They can be added through the cloud portal.  If you are not comfortable with that, the help desk can add a "busy lamp" contact to your screen for you.

Do Not Disturb: Be careful!

The new phones come equipped with a Do Not Disturb button, labelled DND.  There is also a DND button on your home screen which does the same thing.  If you enable this feature, all of your calls will go directly to voicemail.  If you have a staff member covering your calls, turning on DND will prevent the calls from ringing at that phone too.

If you don't want to be bothered by incoming ringing, but still want your secretary to answer your calls, just use the -/+ key at the bottom of your phone to turn the ringer all the way down.  This will prevent you from hearing the ring until you turn it up again.

Some people have turned on this feature inadvertently, so be careful not to do this by accident.

If you see a red "do not enter" symbol next to your name on the LCD screen, you have DND turned on. To turn it off, simply press the DND button again and the symbol next to your name because a green circle with a check mark.

Easier Ways to Call

Our new phones make it much easier to find a phone number for someone in the office, or someone we regularly call.

Calling Someone in Your Office

Say you want to call someone in your office, but don't remember their extension.  To access the office directory, click on Home (the button that looks like a house).  Then use the arrow keys to highlight "directories" and select that.  Select "Contact Directory" to see a list of all phones in your office.  Highlight the person you want to call, press "select" and you are calling them.

Calling Someone in Another Office

Only, phones in your office show up in the Contact Directory.  You may, however, search for names in other offices by using the Broadsoft Directory.  Type in a few letters of a person's first or last name, then hit "submit" to find all phones that match the name, or portion of a name, that you typed. Once you find the person you want on the list, highlight and select to call.

At present, we seem to have an issue with the Broadsoft Directory that is causing it to search only first names.  Until we get this fixed, you can click on the AdvFind button to search the last name field.

We did  have a few other glitches getting the search feature to work at all on some phones.  If you get an error about "server unavailable", please email Mike Troy so that we can get it fixed for you.

Outside Lines

Outside numbers are not in the directory, but you can view lists of all recent of missed calls, received calls, placed calls, or all calls calls by clicking on the down arrow from the main screen (just press "type" to change what type of list you are viewing).  Again, just select the number you want to call them.

Setting Up And Using Your New Voicemail

When you get your new phone, one of the first things you will want to do is set up your voicemail.

To set up your voicemail, do the following:

1. Press "messages" button.  This is the button with an envelope on it to the left of your number pad..
2. The main menu screen showing the number of any messages pending.  Press the button below "connect" to continue.
3. You will first be asked to enter a password.  The default password is 5252.  
4. Next, you will be asked to change your password.  Enter your new password as instructed (twice).
5. You must then record your name, which will be used by the voice mail system.  Record your name and press # to save.  Be sure to record and save your name.  Failure to do so may result in an error message when you try to change other settings.

That's it! Voicemail is set up and ready to go.

It is also recommended that you record a full greeting message. You may choose to record one greeting while away or another for when you are busy.  You are not required to record both these, but the option is available if you wish.  If you just record the away greeting, it will be used for both instances of away and busy.

To record a new greeting, do the following:

1. Press "messages" button.  
2. Press the button below "connect" to continue.
3. Enter your password and press #
4. Per the instructions, press 1 to listen to voicemail.
5. Press "2" to record a greeting to be played when you are on the phone (a busy greeting) or press "3" to record a call when you are away from your desk.  In other words, you can have two messages, one for when you are on a call and another for when the phone just rings several times when no on can pick up.  Again, you don't have to have separate greetings, but you have the option.
6. Once you have recorded your greeting, press #.  You have the option to listen to your greeting, re-record it, or simply be finished.

When someone leaves you a voicemail, you should see a red blinking light on the top right of your phone.  This indicates you have a new unread voicemail waiting.

To access voicemail, do the following:

1. Press "messages" button.  
2. Press the button below "connect" to continue.
3. Enter your password and press #
4. Per the instructions, press 1 to listen to voicemail.
5. Per the instructions, press 1 again to listen to your messages.
6. You may save the message by pressing pound or delete by pressing 7.

There are a few advanced voicemail features that I will cover in my next blog post, including ways to be notified of voicemail messages while away from the office.  Stay tuned for more soon!

Introducing Your New VoIP Phones

New VoIP Phones

The firm is in the process of upgrading our phone system after decades of use from our existing PBX. We have decided to move to a Voice over IP (VoIP) phone system.  Essentially, that means instead of using traditional phone lines and equipment, your phones operate on the same Ethernet cable used by your computer.  Calls can go out using either the Internet or a private computer network that connects back to Vonage (formerly iCore) where it connects to the other party using whatever phone system is being used on the other end.

VoIP has been around for many years and is now the norm for most businesses.  It is more efficient, can provide better sound quality, and provides you with many more features than traditional phones. Many businesses delayed moving to VoIP because of call quality issues.  When making a call on the Internet, delays of even a fraction of a second can greatly hurt call quality.  For this reason, we have installed an internal private line to most of our offices that will ensure call quality of service back to the phone vendor's main connection.

Everyone who currently has a direct dial number will keep that number.  None of that will change. Some people within the firm do not have direct dials at present.  Under the new system, they will. Because of this, some 4 digit extensions may change to make them consistent with the direct dial numbers that we get for those people.  We will also maintain everyone's existing extension as a alternate extension.  So if you have someone's extension memorized, you will still be able to reach them using that old extension, as well as the new one.

The new phone system comes with a wide variety of features that I will address in upcoming posts over the next few weeks.  Today's post will focus on the phone itself.

All existing landline phones in the firm will be replaced by a new Polycom VVX 410 Business Media phone.  It works much like your current phone, but there will be a few changes.

Vonage has provided this Quick Start Guide, which you may fine helpful.

Making a Call:

Currently, in most offices, you must press an outside line button or dial "9" to get an outside line. That is going away.  With the new system, you dial the area code and number.  No need to dial a "1" either.  You must dial an area code, even for local calls.  Dial 10 digits, and the phone should start ringing.  If you dial a four digit extension, you must then hit the "dial" button to complete the call.

You also have the ability to assign speed dials to up to 11 numbers.  These will show up on the LCD screen on the phone.  Once configured, just press the button next to the person you wish to call and it starts ringing.

The Firm's directory is also available on the main screen.  If you do not know a number, just scroll until you find it and select that number.

Receiving a call:

No real changes  here: You can simply pick up the receiver and start talking, or press the speaker button and talk through the speaker.  There is also a button for a headset usage.  We don't expect many people to use this, but if interested, let me know.  Personally, I find the speaker works just as well as a headset.

Transferring a call:

There are three ways to transfer.

1. Consultative Transfer.  This is where you want to speak with the recipient before transferring.
1. Press the "transfer" button (button with two hand sets to the left of your number pad)
2. Dial the recipient's extension and wait for them to answer.  You may announce who is calling and ask if they want to speak to the caller.
3. If yes, just press "transfer" again and hang up.  If no, you should see a "cancel" option on your screen.  Press the button under cancel and you are speaking with the original caller again.
2. Blind Transfer: This simply transfers the call straight to the recipient without any discussion.
1. Press the transfer button
2. Press the button under "blind" on your screen.
3. Dial the recipient's extension.
4. Press transfer and hang up.
3. Transfer to Voicemail
1. Press Transfer
2. Dial *55
3. Dial the recipient's extension
4. Press # and hang up.

We have a Transfer Quick Tips Sheet, which basically spells out what I said above, that you can also review or save for future reference.

Three way calling:

When speaking with one party, you should see an option for "Confrnc" on your screen (if not, press the button under "more").  Press the button under confrnc and call the third party.  You can then speak with that party alone, then press confrnc again to join all three of you on a single call.  You cannot have more the three parties (including yourself) on a call unless you are using one of the conference room speaker phones.  However, if there are two or more people in our office on the call, each of then can conference in one other party and have everyone speak together.

Getting Help:

For a more detailed presentation of the phone's features, you may also find this PowerPoint presentation helpful.

Of course the Help Desk is always available to provide assistance.  Please keep in mind that we are still learning some of this as well, so please be patient with use. Our main focus right now is just getting everyone set up with the basics.

The other option for help is the iCore Help Desk.  Dial 611 on your new phone and you will be connected to them.  They should be able to answer your questions or help you make any changes you need.

Stay tuned for more:

I will be posting several more blog posts over the next few days that will help you with additional information on some of the other things you can do with your new phones.

Phone System

Since the firm switched phone providers last year, phone service for many has been, to say the least, sub-par.  We have been working to address this problem and are on the verge of implementing a complete solution.

Margolis Edelstein has contracted with iCore (recently acquired by Vonage) to install an entirely new Voice over IP (VoIP) phone system.  Everything will be new: new phones, new lines, new carrier, new voicemail.  With this change, the firm will shed all of its existing communication problems once and for all.  In addition, there are a great deal of behind the scenes upgrades as well.  We are replacing all the tie lines that connect all of the offices.  We will be putting in Power over Ethernet Switches in all offices to power the phones.  We are also getting all new routers to connect voice and data between offices.

VoIP does not work like traditional phones.  Voice is converted to a digital signal and sent over the same digital line that connects your computer to the network.  Some businesses have been using this technology for over a decade, and almost all large and mid size law firms have adopted this system.  That said, to the end user, the phone will look pretty much like your standard office phone.  They will have a new color LCD panel that will provide you with more information.  But they have a basic hand set and key pad just like any other phone.

If you want a closer look, everyone's phone will be replaced with a new Polycom VVX 410 IP phone.  Several of the conference rooms will also receive a Polycom Soundstation 6000 (a conference phone).

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting additional blog entries on how to make the best use of the phone's advanced features, and the many more capabilities we will have.  But today I am simply going to discuss the transition to the new desk phones.

Network installations will start tomorrow (Thur 8/27) when iCore professionals will be installing new switches and routers in several offices.  We will then deploy the new IP phones to your desk.  This will all be done while your existing phones remain in place.  Once we are confident everything is working properly, we will cut over your current phone numbers to the new phones with a minimum of down time (a matter of minutes).  The final cut over will be scheduled after testing of the new equipment is complete, but we plan to move relatively quickly and have everything in place within the next few weeks.

Once complete, you will continue to use the same phone number and extension that you always have had.  Many people currently do not have a direct dial.  When we move to iCore, every single phone will have a direct dial.  This will mean some changes for people who do not have a direct dial now.  You will receive a new number and can be reached by others in the firm who dial the last four digits of your new number.

That said, your old extension will not go away.  We have set up alternate extensions for everyone whose extension is changing.  If, for example, you are used to calling Lucy Harding at ext. 5416, you can still dial that extension to reach her phone.  Lucy will also have another extension that is the last four digits of her new phone number, which will also reach her phone.  In other words you can use either extension to reach her. Both will ring her phone the same way.

As part of the installation, iCore will offer phone training either in person or via Webex to all offices.  If you want a head start though, here are links to some of the training documents they have already provided to us.

iCore Phone Training Powerpoint
Polycomm VVX410 User Guide
Voicemail Setup Guide
Phone Transfer Tips

To reiterate, you will receive training so don't feel you have to dig into all these materials yourself.  I just posted them here in case anyone is curious.

While I realize that any change can be disruptive, we have done our best to minimize disruption for you.  The new system will be to the long term benefit of the firm.