Do I really need a business phone line?

[Scott Patterson]

I have a question??

I have had a business phone line (listed in the phone book) since day one of being in business. The kicker is that I have my business phone transferred 24/7 to my cell phone.

About a year ago I added my cell phone number to my website, just to get the number out in the event that I dropped the business line.

The business line cost about $80 a month. With the phone transferred to my cell phone, it really amounts to me paying $80 to be listed in the phone book. I really think that the vast majority(80%) of the consumers find me on the Internet.

Has anyone dropped their business line and just gone with a cell phone?

Is a hardwired business phone really needed?

[Jim Luttrall]

Yep, about a year ago when I moved I dropped the land line.
I had not advertised in the phone book for the last 3-4 years so other than the free one line listing that was not an issue for me.
Rather than drop the number I "ported" my number over to a cell.
I now keep one line on "conditional forwarding" to the other cell number to avoid having to carry two phones and just keep the other in the glove box as a backup.

No real problems other than spotty coverage in my current abode, sucks to have to stand outside on the balcony during bad weather in order to get a clear signal.
I have a Sprint airave device to compensate but it is not currently working and replacement is on back order.

[Nick Ostrowski]

Depending upon reliability and coverage of your cell phone service provider, you probably could do away with the landline #. As long as people can reach you is what matters. I also have my office forwarded to my cell most of the time but not all the time. I do like to hear the office line chirp for half a ring before my cell. That way I at least know if when my cell phone rings if it is a business or personal call.

I also like keeping the two numbers separate and getting all my business calls filtered through the business line. I don't like giving out my cell number because some clients think that means you'll always be available to take their call.

[Ted Menelly]

I do not know of your area but I get several telephone books delivered every year. Pay to be in one and chances are that you may have a slight percentage of folks picking up the phone book you are in.

I guess the question to as yourself would be "How many calls do I get thru the phone book per month." If you get 80% of your business every month over the internet then the rest is more than likely past clients or client referrals and Realtors.

I have a land line at home just for the sake of throwing a fax out there now and then. There is absolutely no one out there that call my land line with the exception of someone trying to sell me something or a wrong number. It has unlimited everything for about 30 a month plus all the rest of the dam fees. If I did not need to fax or be faxed something now and then I would have dropped it years ago. At 480 a year I can think of something else to do with it. At 960 a year I believe you could figure out a much nicer place to spen almost a 1000 a year :)

[Rick Hurst]

I had a land line for years, but when I got my cell phone I asked Verizon if they could use my land line number for my cell phone. They said no problem, so I don't have to go in between the 2 numbers all the time. Now I just have the one line to pay for instead of the 2.

rick

[Jim Robinson]

Some of our local phone books list cell numbers if you want them to. They aren't affiliated with the phone company, so they couldn't care less what number you list with them. But really, how many times do you pick up a phone book these days anyhow? It's less and less for me. I mostly just Google for the phone number.

[Bruce Ramsey]

We gave up all landlines about 2 years ago. Family all carry cell phones. Ported the home landline to my wifes cell phone. She answered all the "home" phone calls anyway.

I have only ever had a cell phone for business. I paid to have it listed in the phonebook the first year. Waste of money.

Instead of a fax, I got a all-in-1 printer/fax/scanner. Now I just scan whatever it is and email it. Contracts are signed at the inspection. Only need to recieve a fax about twice a year. Not worth maintaining a landline.

[Markus Keller]

I dropped the business land line a couple of years ago. Just no point to it. Why pay for the line and forwarding. I do still have a land line because the internet, cable, phone package is cheaper with the land line than without. The land line is hooked to the fax machine. I get or send a few faxes a year at this point. I don't even know the phone number and it isn't on my cards or website. On the rare occasion someone asks me for my fax number I have to look it up. I don't even call clients from the land line. With everyone having caller ID, I don't want a client thinking that is a number they can actually get a hold of me on.
Drop the line, save the money.

[Ted Menelly]

Some of our local phone books list cell numbers if you want them to. They aren't affiliated with the phone company, so they couldn't care less what number you list with them. But really, how many times do you pick up a phone book these days anyhow? It's less and less for me. I mostly just Google for the phone number.

The last time I picked up a phone book was yesterday. I picked it up from my door step, walked into the kitchen and thru it in the trash.

If I cannot find a number online for what ever the need is then they don't get called. News papers are about to go the way of the multi ton creatures as well.

[Matt Fellman]

I keep the landline for business just because not everyone in my house has a cell phone so it's nice to have in a pinch. Like others, it's tranferred to my cell phone 99.9% of the time.

I did away with the fax line and got an e-fax account (actually Ringcentral is the company) and it's great. I use it like a scanner... just fax something to it and it's a pdf that can be emailed.

Also, a note on the crummy cell service in the house.... My TMobile phone does wifi calling which works great. As soon as I'm in the house it picks up the signal from my wireless router and the call quality is perfect 100% of the time. Cell phones just don't work well inside buildings. I've had numerous people with all three major carriers in my area and they have trouble in my house. Many (most?) newer smartphones will do the wifi calling thing. My only problem is I can't leave while on the phone or the call drops. I can go from tmobile network to my wifi without a problem.... just not the other way around. The only real problem is if I wander too far from my router while talking it drops but I just have yellow crime tape strung around the house to remind me :)

[Scott Patterson]

All good points...

I have AT&T for my cell service. Coverage for the most is good in most of the areas I travel. Now and then when I go in a holler or behind a Tennessee hill I might be without service, but that does not last for long. Truth be know I think that is true with just about all of the providers in my area.

[Eric Barker]

Scott, I'm phasing out the land line. I've dropped the service down to the minimum - no call waiting, no forwarding, no long distance etc. The answering machine picks up on the 2nd ring with a greeting that tells people to call my cell #. I dropped the dedicated fax line and now use MyFax.com for $10/month and a dedicated number. So far it's working out just fine and I'm saving about $60.00/month. I now have the fax machine hooked up to the main house line - sending physical pages is still easier on the fax machine than scanning into the computer.

[Scott Patterson]

Scott, I'm phasing out the land line. I've dropped the service down to the minimum - no call waiting, no forwarding, no long distance etc. The answering machine picks up on the 2nd ring with a greeting that tells people to call my cell #. I dropped the dedicated fax line and now use MyFax.com for $10/month and a dedicated number. So far it's working out just fine and I'm saving about $60.00/month. I now have the fax machine hooked up to the main house line - sending physical pages is still easier on the fax machine than scanning into the computer.

That is what I'm really thinking of doing. We are getting ready to switch the house phone to the cable service(Charter) and bundle the TV, Internet and Phone together. I really do not need a fax! I might need to send a fax 2-3 times a year and I think it has been over a year since I received one. Right now I have the fax on the home line.

I wish I could find a Internet fax service for around $50 a year or one that is based on volume. I agree about the scanning, I have an older bed scanner that I hate with a passion!

Just getting rid of my business line will save me $78 a month!

[Scott Patterson]

Scott, I'm phasing out the land line. I've dropped the service down to the minimum - no call waiting, no forwarding, no long distance etc. The answering machine picks up on the 2nd ring with a greeting that tells people to call my cell #. I dropped the dedicated fax line and now use MyFax.com for $10/month and a dedicated number. So far it's working out just fine and I'm saving about $60.00/month. I now have the fax machine hooked up to the main house line - sending physical pages is still easier on the fax machine than scanning into the computer.

That is what I'm really thinking of doing. We are getting ready to switch the house phone to the cable service(Charter) and bundle the TV, Internet and Phone together. I really do not need a fax! I might need to send a fax 2-3 times a year and I think it has been over a year since I received one. Right now I have the fax on the home line.

I wish I could find a Internet fax service for around $50 a year or one that is based on volume. I agree about the scanning, I have an older bed scanner that I hate with a passion!

Just getting rid of my land line business line will save me $78 a month!

[Benjamin Thompson]

I converted my business line number to (I think its called) an expansion line. No physical phone but it is forwarded to the answering service (or wherever you want). Still is a business listing and the same 3 but $23 a month compared to about $60.

[Ted Williams]

I got rid of land line five years ago and use efax for faxes. Cheap, easy and works well.

[Richard Stanley]

There was a news story a few days ago about the yellow pages disappearing.
Several years ago I dropped my business line and used cell only - got a yellow page listing for $6 per month ... have since dropped that.
haven't used a fax in several years - e-mail only.
House phone is t-mobile via router -- $10 per mo.

[Scott Patterson]

I converted my business line number to (I think its called) an expansion line. No physical phone but it is forwarded to the answering service (or wherever you want). Still is a business listing and the same 3 but $23 a month compared to about $60.

Well that is not going to work for me. I just called AT&T and the young lady said that in my state it will cost me $18.50 a month plus .50 per call that comes into that number! Just the calls from AT&T and the Yellow Pages would have my bill back up to what I'm trying to get rid of! :)

I honestly think that the answer is going to be to just get rid of the business line and not worry about it. Heck, it really can't get much slower anyway! ;)

[Jerry Martin]

Majicjack. $39.95 at Walmart. Plug into USB port and it installs itself. Plug any phone into it. Local and long distance calls nationwide. Yearly fee $19.95. I send faxes with it and talk to anyone I want to. I have three business phone numbers on remote call forwarding and they ring to my cell phone for around $20.00 monthly each. Also I have my local phone company's phone and internet service $49.95 monthly with lifetime price gaurantee. ( Lifetime is difined as "as long as you live in this home") This has worked well for me.

[Ted Menelly]

Well that is not going to work for me. I just called AT&T and the young lady said that in my state it will cost me $18.50 a month plus .50 per call that comes into that number! Just the calls from AT&T and the Yellow Pages would have my bill back up to what I'm trying to get rid of! :)

I honestly think that the answer is going to be to just get rid of the business line and not worry about it. Heck, it really can't get much slower anyway! ;)

I know you are a religious man so let's pray about that. If it gets any slower I might just fall asleep an hibernate for a while.

[Scott Patterson]

I know you are a religious man so let's pray about that. If it gets any slower I might just fall asleep an hibernate for a while.

Yep!

Actually I have had a good week. Had a litigation case that ended yesterday after two days of being out of town and in a courtroom. Today I have a 6000sf McMansion. Al in all a very profitable week. But next week looks like a dry spell.

[Bill Hetner]

based on all the replies wireless is the way to go now that the costs have gone down. the only other thing to do is spend sometime and see what is out there for service and the costs. there are a lot of service contracts out there that are sub's but they just go back to the main carriers. so sometimes a cheaper price but same service. I currently have sears connect which subs to rogers network. same service but no 911 fees and connection fees. Bottomline is whatever works best for you in your area is the way to go

[Robert Foster]

Land Line....phone books....what do you need those for?

I just use my cell phone....with different ring tones to tell me how to answer the phone. All my friends and family are programed in with one ring tone....agents are a second ring tone...and unknown numbers are a third ring tone which always gets answered by a professional home inspector anytime between 8am and 10pm 7 days a week.

[Caoimhín P. Connell]

Congrats, Scott, on the end of your litigation – I just had a two-year case end (almost) last week with a 1.6 million $$ judgment in favor of my client (we thumped a “toxic mould� nut-job pretty badly). I still have to testify in Federal court in 2011. But, even winning takes its toll.

On to phones: Being old and bald means that although our primary phone is a cell phone, and my boss and I both have business cells, we just can’t seem to get rid of the land line – even though nobody calls us on it. (At least its not black Bakelite.)

Now, on the bright side, I did get Efax, so I’m making progress…

But, Dude, I still think Etcha-Sketch is da bomb…

I’m sol old, I can remember when the Nobel Peace Prize actually meant something!

Cheers!
CaoimhÃ*n P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
Forensic Applications Consulting Technologies, Inc. - Home (http://www.forensic-applications.com)

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG

[John Kogel]

Land Line....phone books....what do you need those for?

I just use my cell phone....with different ring tones to tell me how to answer the phone. All my friends and family are programed in with one ring tone....agents are a second ring tone...and unknown numbers are a third ring tone which always gets answered by a professional home inspector anytime between 8am and 10pm 7 days a week.Where I live on the edge of civilization, we are still a couple of years away from full cell coverage - not enough towers yet, but they're coming. I miss calls to my cell all the time. It's part of my business plan, "he's unavailable at the moment, can I take a message?" :D

I'm waiting for the chip implant - telepathic messaging. :D

I'm so old, when I was growing up, the phone had to be started with a crank. :D

I keep the phone book around for one reason - the maps in the front are up to date, including all the new subdivisions. Google maps can't keep up, they rely on input from contributors. Lots of inaccuracies.

[Mark Cramer]

I have a question??

Has anyone dropped their business line and just gone with a cell phone?

Is a hardwired business phone really needed?

I changed my cell number to my business number and dropped the business line several years ago, when that first became an option. Like others here, it was called forwarded to my cell 24/7 in any case.

Never looked back and saved $72.00/month. It's a no brainer. . .

[Trent Tarter]

I have never had a business land line. My cell is all I need. I use my cell# for yellow pages, vehicle and other forms of advertising. In this business I really don't think it's necessary to have a land line unless your a multi-inspector business.

[Mark Mustola]

For those of you that only use your cell phone, do you still maintain a fax line? I have been thinking about porting my office number to my cell phone for awhile. As far as faxes go, I do not recall the last time I used it, but I just can't seem to make the leap and get rid of it.

[Jim Luttrall]

No fax for me. I very seldom used it and finally ditched it, the land line, DSL and all when I moved.
By the way if you are with Sprint and have coverage problems at home, get an Airave. The first one had lots of problems but I just got my new one up and running a few days ago and it is great, anywhere within a few hundred feet and I get great coverage with no issues now. It has been a real pain to get it fixed but for now it works flawlessly. There is a fee but I asked them to waive the charge and they waived both the monthly fee as well as the fee for the equipment.

[Dan Harris]

Right now I have the fax on the home line.

I wish I could find a Internet fax service for around $50 a year !

I have my fax on my home line. I'ts $5.00 a month, it's a different # using the same line, with a different ring that identifies the fax number.

[Katie Bedard]

I saw another note in here about magicJack...it really is the way to go. If you sign a longer contract the amount lessens significantly - we just purchased one for $30 for five years (yes, years), and are looking into purchasing another on for a dedicated fax line. (I am not sure, however, if these are logged into the phone book, so it might not solve your problem.)
Check magicJack (http://www.magicJack.com) for details.

[Erby Crofutt]

Here's your fax Scott:
https://secure.trustfax.com/doccorpweb/tf/tf_signup.jsp?pc=TF011909B

Don't "give up" your business number. It's yours. Just transfer it to your cell phone.


-

[Tim Allison]

$80 a month is crazy. Fax from kinkos or office depot. Magic Jack.

[JB Thompson]

I see you've had plenty of responses. But I'm chiming in as well.:D

I've never had a business line - only a cell phone. I use ATT now, but used to use Sprint. Each have their moments. From I have determined in these here parts, Verizon has better coverage. I can't make a call while in the other room the Realtor is talking on her Verizon phone and surfing the internet with her laptop and Verizon card. Maybe one day....

I use Trust Fax @ $4.95/mo. With that price I have a toll-free fax number and it comes to my computer as a scan. Paperless, baby!

Most of my contracts come back to me signed this way - the rest are scanned and emailed.

Bruce

[Jim Turner]

Dropped mine about 4 years ago and saved $60 per month. For a fax line I went with Virtual PBX | The Onebox Receptionist Virtual Phone System (http://www.onebox.com). About $13 per month and I get a fax line that also acts as a second phone line.