Spring Forward, Check Voice Mail Greetings, Replace Batteries and Prepare for Disasters

Spring Forward and Check Voice Mail Greetings

On Sunday, March 13th at 2:00 AM, we spring forward an hour to begin Daylight Saving Time. Newer telecommunications equipment will automatically change the time, but older systems must be changed manually.

This is also a good opportunity to make sure your voice mail holiday greetings will play at the correct time and day. Since some holidays are observed on different days from year to year, the schedule must be altered for the current year. Failure to make the necessary changes could result in a "Sorry we're closed." message playing on a day when you're open and a "We're open for business." message playing while your business is closed for the holiday.

Replace Batteries at Least Every 3 Years

The batteries in battery backup and UPS units should be replaced at least every 3 years.

Everyone knows the importance of changing batteries in smoke detectors so they're ready to protect your life in case of fire. You also depend on the batteries in UPS's (uninterruptible power supplies) and battery backup units to protect the life of equipment and your business in case of power fluctuations and outages.

Power fluctuations are hard on electronics and can shorten the life of phone systems, voice mail, computers, etc. What would happen to your business in a total power outage? Will customers and prospects call back or will they question the reliability of your business if you fail to answer their calls? Many business owners tell us, "Without our phones, we're out of business." Battery backup and UPS units protect and extend the life of your equipment and keep your business running when the power fails.

Prepare for Spring Storms

Spring weather in the Midwest brings thunder, lightning, torrential rain, flooding, microbursts and tornadoes. Every year businesses suffer damage caused by the whim of Mother Nature. You know the spring storms are coming. Can you afford to be unprepared?

Here are 6 simple tips to protect your telecom equipment and your business.

• Current Programming Backup
  If your equipment sustains significant damage and must be replaced, this backup information will make the transition to new equipment much faster. Without a backup, all programming will have to be recreated which can mean hours of programming.
• Remote Change of Greeting
  The ability to remotely change the main greeting on your company voice mail system will let you tell customers what is happening even if you can't get to your office.
• Remote Re-route of Calls
  For most businesses, if your phones are down, you're out-of-business. Plan ahead for emergencies with the ability to reroute calls from your office to a different location without having to go to the office to activate the re-route.
• Emergency Mailbox
  Keep employees informed with the latest status and instructions with an Emergency Mailbox on your voice mail system.
• Battery Backup or a UPS (uninterruptible power supply)
  Battery backup or UPS units will keep your systems up during a power outage. Be sure to change the batteries at least every three years.
• Partner Protection Plan
  Plan Members enjoy a list of benefits including priority service and guaranteed service response time with no expedite fees. Call us at 816-763-1100 or email info@commworld-kc.com for details on the benefits and discounts included in the Plan.

Trivia about Lightning

• Caused over $6 Billion in property damages in the U.S in 2009.
• Typically 25,000,000 lightning strikes every year.
• Increases by as much as 25% during the work week.
• Pollution increases lightning strikes.
• Can contain 100,000,000 volts of electricity and be more than 5 miles long.
• Can travel at 60,000 miles per second.
• Can heat the air around it to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sources: National Weather Service report generated 4/26/2010, www.sciencefacts.us

Your Body Clock on Daylight Saving Time

Everyone knows about the effects that time changes associated with "jet lag" can have on your body. But did you realize that the one hour of sleep you lose when we "spring forward" can also create a big impact?

Wall Street economists claim that sleep-deprived traders have produced up to $31 billion in negative returns on the Monday following the time change. A physician from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine says it takes two to three days or longer to adjust to the time change and some studies show there is a 6 to 10% increase of serious heart attacks during that time.

There are just as many arguments for Daylight Saving time. We can enjoy more time outdoors after working hours which can mean quality family time, exercise, ball games and cutting the grass. We drive better in the daylight, so car accidents may be reduced. There are arguments that the time change also results in energy savings.

A brisk walk, exposure to sunlight or melatonin may ease you through the time change. Just knowing that spring is almost here makes most of us feel great in spite of the lost sleep.

Sources: www.timeanddate.com, www.cbsnews.com

Free Battery Backup and Quarterly Programming Backups for 1 year!

• Call 816-763-1100 or email info@commworld-kc.com for any telecommunications questions or for information on a new system.
• Get a new telecom system from COMMWORLD of Kansas City and you'll get great, reliable equipment designed to fit your needs. Purchase by April 15th and you'll also get a Free Battery Backup Unit and Quarterly Programming Backups for 1 year!
• For service, call 816-763-1100 or email service@commworld-kc.com.

"The best warranty in telecom and 1st class service — guaranteed!"

Blame Daylight Saving Time on Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin came up with the concept of Daylight Saving Time. (By the way, the preferred is Daylight Saving not Savings — although both are accepted.)

At age 78 in 1784, Franklin was an American delegate in Paris. Everyone knows he was an advocate of thrift and this included not wasting daylight. By this point in his life he was afflicted by gout and other physical limitations and he had a habit of playing chess into the wee hours of the morning and then sleeping the morning daylight hours away. (Sounds like a case of "Do as I say and not as I do.")

After seeing a demonstration of a new type of oil lamp which was invented by some of his friends, Franklin was inspired to write a whimsical essay called "An Economical Project". It parodied himself, his love of thrift, his scientific papers and his passion for playing chess all night and then sleeping until midday. It was in that essay that he introduced the concept of Daylight Saving Time. His tongue-in-cheek recommendations included the following.

• A tax be laid on every window built with shutters to keep out the light of the sun. (Oh no, not another tax!)
• Candles rationed to one pound per family per week, and the regulation enforced by the constabulary.
• Guards posted to stop the passage of all coaches, etc. upon the streets after sunset except those of physicians, surgeons and midwives.
• Every morning as soon as the sun shall rise, church bells and, if necessary, cannon shall inform the citizenry of the advent of light and "awaken the sluggards effectually and make them open their eyes to see their true interests ... All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days; after which the reformation will be as natural and easy as the present irregularity. ... Oblige a man to rise at four in the morning, and it is probable he will go willingly to bed at eight in the evening."

On Monday March 14th, if you're feeling tired after losing an hour of sleep, just be thankful that all of Ben's suggestions haven't been adopted. Cannon fire would be a disturbing way to start the day and everyone knows we don't need another tax.

To read the entire essay go to http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/franklin3.html.

Source: www.webexhibits.org