Kandy provides solutions for today’s mobile-centric workforces. The two stories below evidence the need for a telephone built to solve for today’s blended personal and work environment
The On-Demand Dilemma
Gig Economy:
Making Money Without Sharing Your Personal Information
As a gig economy worker, you likely get numerous calls from people you don’t know. That can get awkward really fast. How can you keep working without stressing out? We explain.
Over the last few years, millennials nationwide have been joining the gig economy. Whether that’s renting out a room on Airbnb, doing odd jobs through TaskRabbit, or leasing out cars through Turo, a growing number of 20- and 30-somethings are supplementing their income through on-demand work.
By 2020, more than 40% of the American workforce will be considered independent contractors, according to an Intuit study.
And more millennials will be following suit. By 2020, more than 40% of the American workforce will be considered independent contractors, according to an Intuit study. It’s decent work for those who can make a go of it, but it comes with some uncomfortable challenges.
Constant Calls
Gig economy’s problem:
Putting personal information online
One of the biggest problems: having to put personal contact information online, then having strangers call at all hours. While most on-demand workers want to take the calls—that’s the job, after all—many feel uncomfortable with random people having the same phone number they give to family and friends.
Using a personal number for gig economy work can also make for awkward conversations. Say you’re taking your boyfriend out for dinner to meet your family for the first time. You’re at the restaurant hoping that the night goes smoothly, when your phone rings. It might be your sister calling—she hasn’t arrived at the restaurant yet and could be phoning to say she’ll be late—but it also could be that guy who recently hired you through Etsy to create a piece of artwork for his wife.
Many on-demand workers feel uncomfortable with random people having the same phone number they give to family and friends.
You’re nervous, of course (it’s a big dinner, considering your boyfriend could be the one), but you start to sweat even more thinking that you might have to take the call in front of everyone to discuss a painting you haven’t started yet. You also don’t want to reach for your phone to look at the call display just as the conversation between your boyfriend and your parents starts to get going.
Plenty of other situations where you don’t immediately know who’s calling—is it the friend in need or an Airbnb renter asking about the washing machine?—can lead to uncomfortable conversations. If you’re not in the right mood to take a business call but do because you thought it was a friend, you could end up losing that customer—and her good review.
Stay Anonymous
Keep your personal details private
Fortunately, you can maintain anonymity and know that a business call is coming through while using your personal cell phone. Kandy Business Call lets users add a second phone number to an existing mobile.
If you’re not in the right mood to take a business call but do because you thought it was a friend, you could end up losing that customer—and her good review.
Having that additional number, which can be used exclusively for on-demand work, means that you don’t have to give out your personal information to strangers. A distinct ring can also indicate when a client is calling versus a friend.
Kandy’s service comes with other useful features, too, such as allowing users to send calls to voicemail (if you don’t want to take a call at an inopportune time) and letting you keep call notes on everyone who phones, so that the next time you see a number pop up you’ll know exactly why the caller is trying to reach you.
Best of all? You’ll never get interrupted during a critical dinner again.
Keeping YOUR Clients
Service-oriented companies typically let staff use their own cell phones for business calls. That can cause big problems when an employee leaves.
Running a company with contract employees, or with staffers who are always out in the field, comes with challenges that other operations don’t usually face. You might need to monitor people’s whereabouts, for instance, or ensure that workers show up to a job at their scheduled time.
There’s one issue, though, that business owners tend not to consider until it’s too late: letting employees use their personal phone to communicate with clients.
Allowing personal numbers for business might not seem like a big deal, but that simple act can cause a company to lose valuable customers.
Real estate firms, plumbing companies, financial advisory operations, and others do it all the time. But that simple act can cause a company to lose valuable customers.
Consider the budding real estate firm with five agents. As they’re hired, they are told that they can take calls and text clients from their own phone. For the next six months, more and more customers call, deals get closed, and clients leave happy, eventually referring friends to the agency.
A week later, you start wondering why your prized client, who had been working with the now departed agent, hasn’t asked to see another house.
At some point, though, one of the agents lands a job at a competing firm. A week later, you start wondering why your prized client, who had been working with the now departed agent, hasn’t asked to see another house.
Then it hits you: The client has the ex-agent’s phone number. No one had given the client the company’s main line. A day later you find out that they bought a house using your former staffer as their agent.
Opportunity down the drain
It can be the same story across any contract-based company. The plumber leaves his employer, but those clients continue to call him for help. The financial adviser moves to another firm, taking his clients—and millions in assets—with him.
Other challenges exist with using personal phones for business, too. If a client calls after hours, the employee might answer the phone thinking it’s a friend or family member instead of an important customer. That can make for an awkward situation when the staff member has to fumble for files or takes too long trying to remember the name of the person who’s calling.
Work life balance restored
At some point, these issues will come to a head and you’ll need to find a solution. Many small-business owners have found the answer in Kandy Business Call. When you sign up for the service, you’ll get a business number, or numbers, that can be assigned to a staffer’s personal mobile phone. You’ll then give out that line to clients, who will use it to reach their agent, plumber, or adviser.
Workers will be able to text and talk using their own cell for business calls, but the firm will own the digits dialed and data received. When someone leaves, their number can be transferred to another employee.
Kandy’s service has other features, too, like sending after-hours callers to voicemail and offering distinct ringtones for business and personal calls.
But the best feature of all? It lets you rest easy knowing that your clients aren’t going anywhere.
Let's get technical
Business is Calling: Business Call is the Answer!
Keep your mobile phone number for personal use and get a second line for business calls
Create and manage Faxes on the go directly from your phone.
Easy access to messages and customized voicemail options via desktop and mobile app.
What you can expect
Two Flavors that Adapt to Your Business
Individual Professionals
What's included:
Small & Medium Businesses
All of the features of Individual Professionals plus:
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So what are you waiting for?
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BusinessCall wants you to try before you buy. So download the app and use it for a while to see if you like it. Then, take advantage of BusinessCall on a month-to-month basis at a low cost with no contracts to sign, ever.
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KEEP THE SMART PHONE YOU ALREADY HAVE
With BusinessCall you can use your existing Android or iPhone smart phone. There’s no new equipment to buy. And if you do decide to upgrade your phone, your BusinessCall app and your second number will work just as well on your new device.