The modern world is bringing technology through severe and incredible advancements in order to enable it to meet the growing expectations of its users, and the technology of telephone operation systems is no different; yet, while the technology continues to advance, one thing remains continuous in the advancement of small businesses and corporations alike—the Business Phone Service continues to adapt and evolve in order to meet the professional needs of your advancing business.
Where did the Business Phone Service Originate From?
The Business Phone Service was built and enhanced for business professionals who wanted to create a simpler and more efficient way to manage their incoming telecommunications. Historically, PBX (private branch exchange) systems were used by switchboard operators, who, throughout the 1960s, connected calls by manually inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks in the switchboard. Each pair of plugs was a part of a cord circuit, otherwise known as a switchboard circuit, which was used to establish the connection between the user lines. Each circuit generally contained a switch which allowed the operator to participate in the call, and each jack was identified by a light that lit when the receiver was lifted.
The development of computerized telephone systems enabled the role of the operator to be absorbed into the software of the system, enabling calls to be placed without the intervention of a live operator. Contemporary Business Phone Services, however, including the more evolved version of the PBX system, still allow calls to be received by an operator—generally speaking, a business receptionist—who directs all incoming calls to the appropriate business departments, ensuring that a live agent is always available to tend to client needs and customer relations.
Switchboard operators, or, nowadays, receptionists, are required to have strong communications skills as well as polite mannerisms—which is why, historically speaking, females were hired to fulfill the operating role, former attempts at hiring teenage boys being recurrently unsuccessful. In 1878, Emma Nutt became the first female telephone operator, working directly for Alexander Graham Bell.
Initially identified as a telephone exchange serving a particular business or office, the acronym ‘PBX’ is now applied to all forms of in-house telephone switching systems. Regardless of whether or not they are for private or branch use, the PBX telephone system plays a key component in the Business Phone Service.
What are the Uses of the Business Phone Service?
With business activity on the rise, more and more small business entrepreneurs are turning to their local Business Phone Service in order to more efficiently and professionally manage telecommunications, creating for their businesses a more competent and official appearance that enables them to make their way to the top of the business market. Business Phone Services, such as the PBX phone system, make developing control over your business quick and easy. Customizable features, such as call forwarding and call logging, help to enable the efficient organization and access of important information, which can be used to make important decisions as well as simply enable proficient business operations, while allowing the system to be tailored to your specific, unique, and changing business needs. The Business Phone Service provides an efficient, economical, and limitless way to expand and improve your business.
Popular Business Phone Service Features
Popular components of the Business Phone Service include many features which are specifically designed to make customer service simple, reliable, and professional. Calls can be directed through a live operator (receptionist), or can be forwarded to specific people through different lines or directed to voice-mail accounts. Each Business Phone Service user is attributed their own basic features, including hold, call transferring, automated attendants, voice-mail, and some modern systems even operate through the cloud, allowing phone services to be more efficiently, reliably, and economically powered by the internet. Further optional and customizable features include call recording, remote call pickup, mobile integration, email notification, and voice-mail to email conversion.
The Business Phone Service is an effective and economical system that enables even small businesses to make a big mark in their respective industries. Initially designed as a means of efficiently accommodating mass communication, Business Phone Services—and the PBX telephone system—became instrumental in business operations, enabling simple, effective, and organized systems of communication between businesses and their clients.
This article was written by Martin Gable, who believes that a great business phone service can make communication a whole lot easier within a business.