Question about virtual phone number for my company

[Taxsaver]

I'm just starting my own business. I spent so much time and talked to so many people at Bell, it's incredible. Today in 30 minutes, I talked with 6 people. A few told me, "Let me transfer you to the right department". I had to re-explain again what I wanted. Maybe it's the way I explained that confused them.

I have my personal, non-business cell phone service with Fido (416-xxx). The Bell Business department gave me a 1-800 virtual phone number so my clients can call me without charge. That number is forwarded to my Fido number. Easy so far.

When my clients call me, they see my toll-free number that they dialed, which is fine.

The problem is when I call them, because they see my personal name and my 416-xxx number. What I want is simple: When I call my clients, I want them to see the name of my company and the 1-800 number that I advertize.

The second thing I want is to have a distinct ring when someone calls me on the 1-800 number so I can either answer in this case "Welcome to ABC inc", or just "Hello" to my friend when they call my 416 number. Of course, I could answer by default "Welcome to ABC inc" for every call. But having a distinct ring helps me to prepare better.

Thanks for your help!!!

[Spudd]

For the distinct ring, at least on your Bell home phone they call that "ident-a-call". On your cellphone you might be able to set that in your settings... not sure. The other thing is on your cell, put all your friends in your contact list so that their name will appear when it rings. If it's a number that's not in your contact list, answer "Welcome to ABC inc".

I have no idea about making calls FROM you appear as a 1-800. If you'll always be calling from your Fido cellphone, I would suggest calling Fido to ask them if there's anything they can do. I doubt Bell can do anything since you aren't even using their network to make these calls.

[atrp2biz]

I did some research on this in the past. Ring Central might be of interest to you.

www.ringcentral.ca

[kcowan]

You can talk to Fido about "spoofing" your phone. Then everyone you call will see the 800 number.

[Taxsaver]

I did some research on this in the past. Ring Central might be of interest to you.

www.ringcentral.ca

I just talked with this company. They say they can give me a 1-800 number that will be attached to my Fido Iphone. When I call my client, I will choose an application on my Iphone which tells my Iphone to use the 1800 number, which means my client will see my 1-800. I forgot to ask him if the client will also see my company name. I will call him back tomorrow to clarify. If it does, I think I will sign up with them.

I will give it a last try with the Bell Business department tomorrow.

[Taxsaver]

You can talk to Fido about "spoofing" your phone. Then everyone you call will see the 800 number.

I just called Fido. They do not offer that service.

[Taxsaver]

As far as I can see, the two best possible solutions left are: 1. Deal with Ring Central 2. Buy a phone with Bell that I will use for both my personal and business needs.

[Taxsaver]

I called Fido again. They can give me a second phone number under ABC inc. So my main issue with my customer not being able to see ABC inc. is resolved. I have enough for today. I will call them again on Wednesday to confirm that everything will be the way I want it to be. The other issues I will address: 1. I want the second phone number to give a different ring tone than my first number 2. I want my clients to see ABC inc. on their phone screen when I call them.

Do you think it is an issue if they see in addition to ABC inc. the 416 number rather than the 1-800 attached to it. Does it look suspicious when you call a 1-800 number that you rather see a 416 number on your screen? I may as well want my clients' phone screen show only ABC inc. and no phone number. I will make sure with Fido if it is possible to have only ABC inc. showing.

[Taxsaver]

I could not wait... I called Fido again. They revealed to me that if I want to have 2 numbers with them, I need 2 handsets. lol.

So far, the options left are:
1. Ring Central: I can use my current phone, use an application that Ring Central downloads on it, and I call either from my first line (for my friends) or from my second line, a 1800 number.
2. Have 2 phone handsets with Fido (ridiculous)
3. Keep only my first line, and change the name on it to ABC inc. When I get a call, and unsure who is calling, I answer "Welcome to ABC inc". Since I'm just starting this company and have no idea if it will be a failure or not, I don't want my friends asking me "What the heck is ABC inc???!!" and silly questions.

[Taxsaver]

The Fido guy I talked to yesterday told me I cannot change the name showing on my clients' phone when I call them. Today, his colleague told me it IS possible! For this, I need to change the name on the file for my phone number. I think this will satisfy me.