Business Bunker cancelled today. Why? British Telecom. But good things come to those who wait.

Dear readers

I am sure that you will join me in a groan of disappointment at the news that the Business Bunker radio show has been cancelled today. If you can't live without your weekly dose of Paul Andrews or Kent Business news, listen to an archived show. 

Yours truly does a feature as a Roving Reporter on The Business Bunker #3 - Episode 2 If you haven't listened in before, in addition to Kent Business news, each show features an expert guest. By listening to archived shows whilst you work, you can learn about credit control, sales and marketing and Social Media and the what's new in Kent business. (Gear yourself up for calling in to promote your business on next week's show.)

Next week's show

Paul has kindly asked me back for next week's show, so please tune in Tuesday, 8 February 2011 at 13:00 I'll be doing my second roving reporter bit. This time, I'll be talking about @ApptrenticeKim's Marketing event that I attended in London. He will also have Jules Serkin, Pressup Group my fellow Whitstable Business Tweet Up organiser on the show. Good things come to those who wait. 

Wondering why this week's show was cancelled?

The radio station was moving to a new studio. The building work was completed. The equipment was set up. The only thing missing was the broadband. An appointment was scheduled for BT to install the broadband, but they cancelled. Shame on you BT. I just did a quick Twitter search for British Telecom and saw the following comments, 

"@BillShakSharpeMoan of the day! Been trying to get my broadband sorted out by BritishTelecom for 7 weeks now. Thank god for mobile broadband and Vodaphone" 

"@albertgm why do British telecom make it almost impossible to get an end date for my contract! they hope i miss it and be stuck with them again!!!!!"

There are more tweets that are less politely worded which I won't repeat. I am sure there are plenty of talented people who work for BT. My gripe isn't with them. It's just a shame that as consumers we don't have a choice when installing a brand new phone line. The radio show could not have been rescued by another company, because there isn't another company that could have done the set up. 

Today's Rant - Reducing the communication risk of moving offices

Ok, so now I'm on a tangent, but you may find it useful. I highly recommend that business owners get a VOIP office number. These days, you can purchase a VOIP (voice of internet protocol) number that has loads of extra call features that are perfect for small businesses. You can have one number ring several mobiles, landlines or a combination of them at once. You can even get your office number put on a SIM. If you're currently only using your mobile phone for business, you could get an office number for £5 per month Or for £15 a month, you can get your local business number and their customer relationship management system (contacts, tasks and calendar that synch with your mobile phone). You can sign up for a free one month trial through my website. The customer service at this company is excellent. You can talk to real people who really know how to answer your questions. No contracts to tie you down either.

Back to my original rant, by having a VOIP number, if you move office or home, there will never be an interruption to your service. You won't have to wait for engineers to  add new phone lines. When your customers call your office number, you can configure it to make any phone ring. 

Unfortunately, if you move offices, you will still be at the mercy of BT when it comes to installing your phone lines for broadband, but at least you won't miss any calls!

Rant over - over and out

Maggie Langley

Virtual Assistant / Founder
OfficeHounds

 
Office 08432 891246 Mobile 07789 682960

maggie@officehounds.co.uk

www.officehounds.co.uk

    

Our outsourced business services include: call answering, networking follow up, CRM, and tradesman services.