Posts Tagged ‘Weather’

Rain, Rain Go Away

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

If you live in the Northeast you can certainly relate to the title of my blog today.  I have barely been out of the house it seems in the past two weeks as I have been on conference calls dodging the rain drops.  A hurricane followed by a tropical storm have spurred people to contemplate building an Ark.  My home and our conference call service offices have been spared any damage but many people have not.  And to them I send my thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery from what is some of the worst flooding ever.    Especially my friends and customers in Vermont who really had no warning for some of the worst damage the storms could impart.

As devastating as the weather has been over the past couple of weeks, our customers have had the advantage of continuous communications throughout with our conference call service.  I have suggested many times on this blog to have conference call information at the ready in case of emergency and it has certainly come in handy for our customers.  We have customers in Vermont who literally could not get to their place of business if they wanted to and were ostensibly cut off.  But conference calls with their employees enabled them to maintain lines of communication and continue their businesses without interruption.  And with the Zip Conferencing Pay As You Go service there isn’t even any cost unless you use the service so there is no excuse not to have conference call information in case of emergency.

And the hurricane season is not over.  Another named storm is brewing in the Atlantic and could once again threaten the East coast with wind and rain.  We were lucky that Irene did not have the damaging winds that were possible but the rain certainly did its damage.  Next time we may not be so lucky so be prepared.  Also, when the hurricane season ends the next thing we get to deal with is the snow.  And if last year was any indication we can’t wait for global warming to get us out of trouble any time soon.  Several times in the Northeast last year we were paralyzed and could not get to office buildings.  Our business was not affecting thanks to careful planning, is yours?  Make sure you have a back up communication plan in place with conference calls and web conferencing just in case you need them.

So anyway, rain, rain, go away and help poor Texas anyway.

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Conference Calls on Vacation

Monday, August 10th, 2009

It’s summertime!  That means vacations, family, barbecues and for the fortunate people on the coasts, the beach.  And we all take time off during the summer to enjoy the weather that only comes around for a few months a year for most of us.  But that also doesn’t mean that work totally stops.  Many people own their own business or have a job where it is simply understood that 40 hours a week punching a clock is not enough.  Today the miracle of cell phones, blackberrys and conference calls can keep you in touch without the need to cancel your entire vacation.  A conference call, like many of these modern day conveniences allows you to stay in touch with your work or family wihtout having to be there physically.  And that can be a good thing!

Some people feel that wireless devices and conference calls are a leash they would rather do without, but without them what would you have to do.  It used to be that the hotel phone or even a pay phone and a calling card was the way people stayed in touch, but now a cell phone andyou can be on a conference call, conducting a business meeting without leaving your lounge chair.  The hotel, the mountains, the lake or the beach can now be the place you are when you attend a conference call.  Of course, you may want to keep yourself on mute so that the sound of the waves does not interrupt the conference call.  That is what I did just last week.  I had a week off planned and of course at the last minute an important meeting comes up and there is no way to avoid it.  Did I cancel my vacation?  No.  Did I stay home the day of the call?  No.  All I had to do was remember that I had a conference call, put the call in number and passcode on my Blackberry and I am all set. 

So, I don’t know about you, but I sure feel that is a lot more convenient than staying home or missing the meeting which in this case was not an option.  So, the next time you are going on vacation and an important meeting comes up, simply set up a confernece call and the interuption on your well deserved time off will be minimal.   www.zipconferencing.com

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