Business Phone Hurricane Preparedness: A Simple Plan

Business phone hurricane preparedness comes down to one afternoon of setup: decide who answers when the office is closed, put the app on their cell phones, record a storm greeting and make sure voicemail reaches an inbox. Do it on a calm day, and a storm will not cost you calls.

We are in the busy stretch of hurricane season. Here in the Southeast, that means a few weeks of watching the forecast and wondering whether tomorrow is a normal workday. Most owners have a plan for the building. Fewer have one for the phones, yet the phone is how customers find out whether you are open and how new business keeps coming in while you clean up.

A cloud phone system does most of the hard work for you. With a hosted phone system, your number does not live in a box on the wall. It lives online, so it keeps answering even if your office loses power or internet. You just need to decide, ahead of time, where those calls should go.

Who Should Answer When the Office Is Closed?

Start with one simple question: if no one can get to the office tomorrow, who should answer the main number?

For many small businesses, the answer is "the owner and one or two key people, on their cell phones." Write those names down. Then set it up now, while the sky is blue.

• A call group that includes cell phones. Put the Telonium app on the phones of the people who will cover. A call group rings all of them at once, so whoever is free picks up.
• Forwarding. If someone prefers not to use the app, you can forward their line to an outside number, like a personal cell.
• A backup for the backup. If nobody answers, send the call to voicemail rather than letting it ring forever.

What Should Callers Hear During a Storm?

When a storm is coming, you will be busy. That is not the time to write a script. Record a short greeting today and keep it ready.

"Thanks for calling. Because of the weather, our office is closed today. We are still checking messages. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and we will call you back as soon as we can. If this is an emergency, press 1."

Keep it calm and short. Callers want to know two things: are you open, and when will they hear from you. A greeting is an audio file (MP3) you record on your phone or computer and upload. When a storm is forecast, add the closure to your number's holiday hours: give it a name like "Storm closure," pick the days, and choose the storm greeting. On those days calls go to the greeting, and your regular hours come back by themselves when the dates end.

What If the Phone System Itself Can't Be Reached?

Telonium lets you set a backup number for your account. If the system cannot reach your phones, calls go to that backup number instead of failing. A cell phone that belongs to the owner or office manager is a good choice. Set it now, and check it once a year.

How Do You Get Voicemail If the Office Has No Power?

If the power is out at the office, nobody is going to stand next to a desk phone and dial into a voicemail box. With voicemail to email, every message arrives in your inbox with the recording attached. You can listen on your phone from the kitchen table, forward it to the right person, and call back from the app using your business number.

Check now that each person's voicemail goes to an email address someone actually reads. A shared inbox for the main line is a good idea.

Can Your Team Take Business Calls from Home?

Yes. The Telonium app runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. It works over any high-speed internet, including Wi-Fi and your phone's cell signal (4G or 5G). If your office is dark but your home has power, or your phone has signal, your team can make and take business calls as if they were at their desks.

Calls you make from the app show your business number, not your personal cell number.

Do a short test before you need it. Ask each person to install the app, sign in and make one call. Ten minutes on a quiet afternoon saves an hour of frustration on a stormy morning.

One more thing: 911. Telonium sends your street address and suite or floor to 911 with the call. That location can come from a desk phone, the office network, or a location the person sets in the app. If people will be working from home for a few days, ask them to set their home address in the app, so help is sent to the right place. And remember that 911 from desk phones won’t work while the power or internet is out: during a storm, use a mobile phone’s own dialer for emergencies.

Your Hurricane Preparedness Checklist for Business Phones

• List who answers the main number when the office is closed.
• Install the Telonium app on those people's phones and test a call.
• Add them to a call group for the main line.
• Record an emergency greeting and know how to add a closure to your holiday hours.
• Confirm voicemail to email goes to an inbox someone checks.
• Review 911 locations for anyone working from home.
• Set a backup number for your account.
• Save our support number, 404-566-8888, in your phone. Emergency support is available 24/7.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will My Business Number Keep Working If the Office Loses Power?

With a cloud phone system, yes. The number lives online, so calls can ring the app on your cell phone or laptop instead of the desk phones at the office.

Do I Need Internet at Home to Use the App?

You need a high-speed connection of some kind. Home internet works, and so does your phone's cell signal (4G or 5G).

Can Callers Still Reach a Real Person?

Yes. Add an "emergency, press 1" option to your storm greeting and send it to a call group of the people who are covering.

Storms are stressful enough. Your customers just need a friendly voice, or a clear message, and to know you will call them back. You can see every tool mentioned here on our features page, and our frequently asked questions cover the basics of how Telonium works.