Are you on hold with the costume company?

If you've been on hold more than 20 minutes with a costume company this season raise your eyebrows!

I thought so. It's frustrating that after all these years some companies with a long history of costuming still can't get enough people on the phones during recital season. I'm not naming names because I do respect the companies that help us dress our dazzling dancers, but I do hope they read this post!

Being on hold is managable, you put it on speakerphone and do some other work while you wait, but it's really not a great way to do business. There are many phone companies that could work with costume makers to route calls, staff up and give them some advice. So, to all those costume companies reading this --- please call your local phone system provider and get some free advice!

There is a lesson here for all of us business owners. Understand what the phone experience is like from your customers point of view. Do your phones get answerered on time? How does your on hold music sound? What does your voice mail message say? How do people answer the phone? Call yourself and check it out.

Take some time and work with your local phone provider to find out if there are new technologies you can use as a small business owner. There are many new solutions such as VoIP that are affordable and flexible -- call the local phone company for help and free advice.