Background - My dad and I have our own small business(es). There are only 2 employees, himself and I. We might be adding a third soon (my mom). Our current office complex has a phone system built in that we use and pay an access fee for. A shared secretary for several suites on this floor can answer the phone if the line is tied up, and ring in/transfer calls to other phones.
Well the office complex is taking our office and moving us to another part of the building. We don't like what they are offering us, so we are looking to move to another office complex closer to home. The new office complex does not have a phone system built in. We will be responsible for the phone system, basically we get a phone jack in the wall and that's it. So I am going to be in charge of setting up a system for the new office.
What we need - We will have 2 separate phone lines coming in, one for our marketing company and one for our distribution company. We will need 3 phones, all with access to both lines. We will need the ability to place calls on hold, transfer calls, voice mail, etc.
I would like that if the phone line is being used and another phone picks up on that line on accident, that it will not pick up on the current conversation, instead the line will act "dead" to the person that picked up on that line accidentally.
Also, ideally, I would like for one of the phones to be able to answer calls if the line is tied up, like a receptionist would be able to. If there was no answer on any of the phones, it would need to go to voice mail.
Are there phones readily available (i.e. Staples, Office Max,...) that I can buy and just plug in the 2 phones lines and have all the features I need? Is there something I need to contact the local phone company about?
I realize I may be asking for too much from what is available, but I'm hoping someone here might be able to help and or point me in the right direction, because I'm not having any luck right now.
Well the office complex is taking our office and moving us to another part of the building. We don't like what they are offering us, so we are looking to move to another office complex closer to home. The new office complex does not have a phone system built in. We will be responsible for the phone system, basically we get a phone jack in the wall and that's it. So I am going to be in charge of setting up a system for the new office.
What we need - We will have 2 separate phone lines coming in, one for our marketing company and one for our distribution company. We will need 3 phones, all with access to both lines. We will need the ability to place calls on hold, transfer calls, voice mail, etc.
I would like that if the phone line is being used and another phone picks up on that line on accident, that it will not pick up on the current conversation, instead the line will act "dead" to the person that picked up on that line accidentally.
Also, ideally, I would like for one of the phones to be able to answer calls if the line is tied up, like a receptionist would be able to. If there was no answer on any of the phones, it would need to go to voice mail.
Are there phones readily available (i.e. Staples, Office Max,...) that I can buy and just plug in the 2 phones lines and have all the features I need? Is there something I need to contact the local phone company about?
I realize I may be asking for too much from what is available, but I'm hoping someone here might be able to help and or point me in the right direction, because I'm not having any luck right now.
