Almost all businesses face the problem of having to deal with phone calls that arrive after business hours. To avoid missing these calls, many small firms turn to answering machines.

Answering machines are much less expensive than voice mail systems or answering services. In addition, as technology has improved, these machines have become much more flexible at handling large volumes of messages or multiple users.

Types

There are four different types of answering machines currently on the market. The least expensive models use a single tape for both incoming and outgoing messages. The problem with this approach is that callers must wait a long time before recording if the tape is filled with other messages.

More sophisticated machines use two tapes, one for incoming and one for outgoing calls. This minimizes the delay before recording, since the incoming message tape is kept wound to the appropriate place. Newer answering machines often use digital chips to record incoming or outgoing messages. Models typically combine a digital chip for the outgoing message with tape for incoming messages.

Purely digital machines use no tape at all, recording both incoming and outgoing messages digitally.

Two-line answering machines, while relatively uncommon, are available for businesses that receive calls over more than one line. However, most two-line answering machines are fairly limited in terms of capabilities. For example, many cannot pick up a call on the second line while simultaneously answering a call on the first.

Digital vs. Analog

The biggest difference between digital and analog tape machines concerns storage flexibility. Unlike a tape recorder, digital machines can erase one message without disturbing others on the machine. This allows important messages to be kept without cluttering the machine with less relevant messages.

A second advantage of digital machines is that sound quality can be better than with tape devices. Tape machines all suffer from some level of background hiss, particularly with the outgoing message, while digital machines typically offer a much cleaner-sounding message. However, be aware that digital technology does not guarantee good sound. Some digital recorders use cheap microphones or very low sampling rates. In many cases, a cheap digital machine may sound worse than a tape machine.

A third advantage of digital units is reliability. Since these units have no moving parts, they tend to be very sturdy. In contrast, tape-based machines are relatively complex, and tend to break down after a few years of use.

One disadvantage of digital machines concerns power failure. If the power goes out, digital machines can lose all their messages unless there is a battery backup feature.

Handling Incoming Calls

To keep track of when messages arrive, most firms find it very useful to have a machine that offers a time and date stamp. This records information about the time of the call before the start of each message.

Many businesses need different messages for different times of the day. Answering machines equipped with a multiple greeting feature can easily handle this requirement. In most cases, you record multiple greetings, and then set specific times when each message should be played.

Some answering machines offer multiple mailboxes that allow callers to route messages to a specific recipient. The caller simply enters a touch tone code and records the message in a specific mailbox. When people return to the office, they can play just the messages left in their mailbox.

For those who do not wish to handle individual messages, an announce-only feature allows a recorded message to be left without giving callers the option to record a response.

Message Lengths

One important specification to check with any answering machine is its recording time. Many units limit either the length of individual messages or the total amount of recording time. In either case, short recording limits can frustrate callers.

For individual messages, look for a machine that allows at least one minute per call. Even better are machines that offer 2.5 minutes per message, since this is enough for even the most detailed request.

Total recording time tends to be a bigger issue for digital machines than cassette recorders. Many digital units can only hold 10 minutes of messages, which may translate to 20 or 30 messages. If you suspect that this is not enough, look for a machine that offers 15 to 30 minutes of recording time. Some now come with 60 minute recording time.

Key Features and Pricing

If you are frequently away from your office, you will want to purchase an answering machine with remote access features.

The most basic remote access feature is message retrieval. Users can pick up messages on the road by entering a touch-tone password after calling. In most cases, other touch-tone buttons allow you to skip, rewind, or delete messages.

Another useful feature is remote activation. This allows you to turn on the machine via telephone in case someone in your office forgets to activate it.

One money-saving feature is toll saver, which modifies the number of times the phone will ring before the machine picks up. Typically, the machine will answer a call immediately when there are new messages. If no new messages have been recorded, the user can hang up before the machine picks up the line.

Like computers, digital answering machines are increasing in memory as prices continue to fall. Some manufacturers are suggesting that by the end of the year, low-end digital machines will go for under $30. From high end machines that go for about $200, expect nothing less than features like incoming data line recognition, remote access and two-line capability, multiple mailboxes, pager notification, and more.

Special Tips

Avoid units that integrate an answering machine and a phone into a single component. If you have difficulty with one of the two, you will be unable to use the other until the problem has been resolved.

If you often find yourself trying to decipher incoming messages, purchase a machine with variable speed playback. This can reduce the bother of listening to long-winded callers and aid in deciphering messages from fast-talkers.

If you are looking to replace your existing answering machine, some manufacturers offer special replacement pricing if you can show proof of ownership (either by sending the receipt or the machine to be replaced). Others offer refurbished units; be sure to check the warranty information before choosing this replacement option.

Voice mail services provided by local telephone companies may be a viable alternative to answering machines. These services provide multiple mailboxes for as little as $15 per month.

High-end digital answering systems offer voice mailboxes and other simple voice mail features at a fraction of the cost of voice mail service bureaus or low-end voice mail systems.