Ask HN: How do small businesses handle phone calls?

5 points by duckkg5 159 days ago | 7 comments

If you run or work at a small business: cell phones, landline, VoIP, or something else?

What sucks about your current setup?

What would you like to see instead?

I work for a business phone provider, so obvious bias there…but we always encourage a dedicated business number, and have found that it’s less about VoIP vs landline and more about the ease of separation and routing. That said, features like calls routed to mobile phones, auto-attendants, and voicemail or callbacks instead of constant live answering tend to function a lot more cleanly on VoIP systems.

Setups that hold up best usually prioritize flexibility over hardware. Ringing multiple devices, limiting interruptions during focus time, and having visibility into missed calls matters more than the specific underlying tech.

If it helps, here’s a neutral comparison of common small business phone setups and their tradeoffs: https://www.virtualpbx.com/blog/general-telephony/top-10-sma...

tptacek 158 days ago |

At Matasano --- and this is back to like 2005 --- we just used an online telephony provider that routed calls to our mobile phones. I'd probably still just do that today.

gumboshoes 159 days ago |

Google Voice for local, VOIP. ms for toll-free text and call in US and Canada. No live calls. Everything goes to voicemail and we call back.

Amir6 154 days ago |

If you’re building something in this space I’d be open to have a call to share my experience owning a couple of companies.

duckkg5 151 days ago | |

Let's do it, how do I reach you?

sejje 158 days ago |

Landline for incoming customer calls. Technically it's a package deal with the cable internet company.

My cell for real business, like my distributors. Mostly we text.

Nothing sucks about it. People call, we answer.

toomuchtodo 159 days ago |

I use https://www.quo.com/ (previously OpenPhone).

(no affiliation besides being a customer)