Phone System

We have used Phone.com for our phone system since 2012. While there are cheaper alternatives if we want to do more legwork to manage the system, phone.com had a simple enough setup in the beginning for setting up a phone system with different lines without too much fore-knowledge. We pay approximately $420 per year on phone.com, although in 2012 we were only paying about $180/year.

We may consider replacing the system someday but it is a lower priority than some of our other costs.

We can take incoming calls to our cellphones, make outgoing calls through their system, which does have an app, and we can send and receive texts.

Over the years we've mostly just devolved into using the one line, internally referenced as the Rovers line. We have a few phone numbers, but probably should pare it down to just the one

Phone Messages

We have two messages we set on our system for when we are open or closed.

Open Message

This is the message that plays while the system dials through our phones to try to find someone to pick up and help them.

Thank you for calling the SNAFU Con Hotline

If you know your party's extension you may dial it at any time

Stay on the line and we will try to reach a staff member for you

If no one is available, you will be prompted to leave a voicemail.

We will return as soon as we can!

Have a great con!

Closed Message / Voicemail Message

If we are closed, or no one picked up their phone, this is the message to prompt for voicemail. Note that it will need to be re-recorded for every location we host at.

You've reached the SNAFU CON voicemail

Come down and join us at the Reno Sparks Convention Center

Please leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

Opening / Closing

Overview

The system is set up to route calls to the appropriate teams, with different handling methods depending on whether the event is open or closed. The primary number we use is the "SNAFU Hotline," which is the main line for the event. We also have other numbers, including a company line and two 800 numbers, but they are rarely used and ignored in this configuration.

The SNAFU Hotline configuration involves setting up different schedules to manage calls during and outside of event hours. This document outlines how we handle this, why we set it up the way we do, and considerations for future events.

Why We Do It This Way

The challenge with Phone.com is that their scheduling system doesn’t allow for complex open/close setups across midnight, which is crucial for a 24-hour event like SNAFU Con. We need to manage hotline availability to ensure calls are routed properly to the Rovers when the event is active, while sending calls to voicemail during closed hours. The system also doesn’t natively support splitting the day across midnight without closing the line entirely during the overlap period.

To work around this, we use a "reverse schedule" approach, defining closed hours instead of open hours. This allows us to manage the hotline’s availability more flexibly, especially during event days that run late into the night or early morning.

Current Configuration

1. Hotline Setup: The SNAFU Hotline’s call handling is managed through two sections in Phone.com:
   • Top Section (Closed Hours): When the schedule indicates the hotline is closed, calls are sent directly to voicemail for the Rovers extension.
   • Bottom Section (Open Hours): When the schedule doesn’t apply (i.e., the hotline is open), calls are routed to the Rovers queue. The system attempts to connect with available Rovers, and if no one is available, the call goes to voicemail.
2. Reverse Schedule Definition: Phone.com schedules normally allow you to set open hours for each day of the week. However, since we need the hotline to stay open past midnight, we reversed the logic by defining closed hours instead of open hours. Here’s how the schedule is configured:
   • Main Schedule: For weekdays when the event is not running, we set the hotline to be closed from midnight to midnight (i.e., closed all day).
   • Exception Days (Event Days): For days when the event is active, we define exceptions. For example:
     • Thursday: Closed from midnight to noon, then open from noon to midnight.
     • Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: Closed from 3:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., then open from 8:00 a.m. to midnight.
3. Challenges with Midnight Crossovers: The main complication comes from Phone.com’s inability to define schedules that cross over midnight without closing the line for the entire day. For example, we can’t configure the hotline to be open from midnight to 3:00 a.m. and then again from 8:00 a.m. to midnight. To address this, we’ve defined the schedule as closed from 3:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on event days. This keeps the hotline open during peak hours and only closed for a few hours of downtime.

Future Considerations

• Switching to a Positive Schedule: In future years, we may switch from a “closed” schedule to an “open” schedule to simplify management. This would allow us to define the hotline as open from specific hours, such as 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., rather than working with a reverse schedule. However, the current reverse setup has worked well, and there’s no pressing need to change it yet.
• Sunday Closure: Currently, the hotline stays open until midnight on Sunday as we continue event-related tasks late anyway. We may consider closing the hotline earlier on Sunday in future years, but for now, we’ve decided to keep it open until the end of the event.

Steps to Configure Hotline in Phone.com

1. Access the Hotline Configuration:
   • Log into Phone.com and locate the SNAFU Hotline number.
   • Edit the call handling settings for this number.
2. Define the Schedule:
   • In the settings, there are two sections:
     • Top Section: Controlled by a schedule, set this to send calls to voicemail during closed hours.
     • Bottom Section: Set this to route calls to the Rovers queue during open hours.
3. Set Up Closed Hours:
   • Configure the schedule as closed from 3:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
   • For days when the event isn’t running (weekdays), set the schedule to be closed from midnight to midnight.
4. Add Exception Dates:
   • For event days, use the exception system to define specific open hours. For example, for Thursday, set the hotline to be closed from midnight to noon, then open from noon to midnight.
5. Test and Adjust:
   • Test the schedule to ensure it works as expected, especially with midnight crossovers. Make adjustments as necessary based on event needs.