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billbenson
11-07-2018, 09:49 PM
I had no idea where to post this post. Does anyone use Google Voice for work and why. I've been looking for a used car on craigslist and a lot of the cars have Google Voice numbers for cars priced unrealistically low, like they are a scam of some sort. I can't figure out why people are placing these types of ads. Perhaps dealers doing a bait and switch??

Anyway, Google Voice just seems to be a fancy call forwarding service. For business calls I would think this service would appear to unprofessional. Just curious about it and what people might be doing with it.

Owen
11-08-2018, 08:46 AM
I had no idea where to post this post. Does anyone use Google Voice for work and why. I've been looking for a used car on craigslist and a lot of the cars have Google Voice numbers for cars priced unrealistically low, like they are a scam of some sort. I can't figure out why people are placing these types of ads. Perhaps dealers doing a bait and switch??

Anyway, Google Voice just seems to be a fancy call forwarding service. For business calls I would think this service would appear to unprofessional. Just curious about it and what people might be doing with it.
My company uses Grasshopper for toll-free. They also do local numbers. You can add in extensions if you'd like or you can simply call forward. I haven't had any issues.

Harold Mansfield
11-08-2018, 11:07 AM
I've been using Google Voice for years. I started using it about 10 years ago as a business number because I couldn't afford a second line and didn't want to put my personal number on my website. Back then you could choose or search for available numbers and I configured a vanity number that made sense at the time.

Later when Google Fi (Google's phone service) started I signed up to have a second line and my Google Voice number became my Fi phone number and that's been my second phone for years now. I also have a data sim on that same account that I rarely use.

I also use another Google Voice number for other things where I don't want to use my personal number and have done it that way for years. Running an ad would certainly qualify as something that I don't want to put my personal number on.

So basically I have my personal line that only friends and family have.
A business line through Google Fi and that's my public business number and I don't care if that's all over the internet since that's the point.
And a Google Voice number for things that don't qualify as either.

Every now and then I'll toss a one month sim in an old phone when I need a temporary number for something, but I'll still run a Google Voice number through it.

Works for me and helps keep all my calls compartmentalized, keeps clients and business associates from having my personal number and contacting me on it after hours, or at 6 a.m. or when I'm out with friends on the weekend. The work phone is on M-F 9-5.

I also have a vanity Grasshopper number with 3 extensions that I plan to use in the near future as a single business line for everything.

So yes, at times I carry 2 phones during business hours. But technically can set it up so that 4 different numbers go to one phone.

I know it sounds complicated and expensive but it's not, especially since Google Voice is a free service.

billbenson
11-08-2018, 03:58 PM
With Google Voice, do messages always say they are answered by Google? That seems unprofessional to me if you are (as I was in the past) trying to appear as a large company when i was really a one man show.

Harold Mansfield
11-08-2018, 04:31 PM
With Google Voice, do messages always say they are answered by Google? That seems unprofessional to me if you are (as I was in the past) trying to appear as a large company when i was really a one man show.

You can create your own outgoing voicemail message just like any other phone service. Or if you're forwarding to another phone just use that outgoing message.
When you get a message you get an email alert and can listen to the message in the browser from any device.

For outgoing calls there's an app and you can set it to ask which number you want to call from, your phone's actual number or your Google Voice number.
However, you cannot affect the caller ID that the other person sees and make it show your company name. It's going to show your Google Voice number and the name on the Google account that you're using Voice through.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.googlevoice&hl=en

When you get a call through Google Voice the caller ID you see can be your own Google Voice number or the caller's ID.

I made it work when I had to, but I also did business as my real name so it worked just fine for me. There were times when the app didn't function correctly and I had to call from my real number so that's something to think about if you're using it for business today.

If you're looking for a professional business solution I'd recommend Grasshopper.


Edit: When you get a message you get an email AND an alert through Hangouts. It's through the Hangouts alert that you can listen to the message, and it also does a voice to text transcription but it's rough.

billbenson
11-08-2018, 06:17 PM
Thanks Harold, that helps.

J from Michigan
11-08-2018, 10:52 PM
I use google voice to give a local area code.
(Preface, at one point my normal/single area code got shuffle into about 3.)

Started noticing my calls were coming from mainly East Side, and less from West side.
Now, I set the number incoming to default "Work #" and I know they are coming from the side of town targeted.

tallen
11-13-2018, 09:12 PM
We use google voice for one of our businesses. We set it to forward calls to whichever one of us is designated to answer the phone. We set the settings on our GV account so that the forwarded calls are coming to our phone from our GV number, and then we set our phones with a distinctive ring for that number, so that we know how to answer the phone. We use the GV app on our phones to handle texts and voice mail, and to make outgoing calls (since our own phone doesn't know the originating number of the incoming calls, and we want return calls to appear to be coming from our business number). We can also log in to GV through our google account on a laptop to handle texts, listen to voice mail, and even place calls. For the people calling us, they have no idea that we are using GV.

billbenson
11-15-2018, 10:13 AM
I'm probably going to be the only person answering phone calls. These days my business line, which is actually a personal phone number shows a picture of my house in a Google search. I don't want that. I want the impression of being a larger company. I also want a personalized message. Lastly, I want transcribed messages emailed to me. What is the best way to accomplish this with Google Voice or otherwise?

Harold Mansfield
11-15-2018, 12:59 PM
I'm probably going to be the only person answering phone calls. These days my business line, which is actually a personal phone number shows a picture of my house in a Google search. I don't want that. I want the impression of being a larger company. I also want a personalized message. Lastly, I want transcribed messages emailed to me. What is the best way to accomplish this with Google Voice or otherwise?

You can do all that with Google Voice, but it's not perfect and not a business solution.

If you want all the tools without breaking the bank I still say go with Grasshopper.
For $24 mo. I got a vanity toll free # with unlimited extensions (each with voice mailbox), unlimited minutes, and all the bells like hold music, call screening, virtual fax, you can have their voice actors record your messages ( extra $75).. The voicemail transcription is an extra $10 mo, as well as SMS messaging to your number.

billbenson
11-15-2018, 02:01 PM
That sounds great Harold. Thanks