If you have Dial-Up for internet, then you know the hassle and worry about missing calls every time you log on to the Internet! Now I have high speed internet but for years had to make do with Dial-Up since where I lived did not have high speed internet….further off the road and down a long dirt road! So when I heard about callwave.com being able to answer calls while I was still logged on, I jumped at the chance. I see some complaining about the price….really the price is so low! Even after the free months, I was thrilled to be able to keep it for $7.95 a month! Are you kidding? It was worth so much more, it was priceless!
Before I got callwave.com, my only other option was to have the internet shut off when a call came in and the phone would ring. That meant bill collectors, sales calls, AT&T; asking me to upgrade my phone services, and even wrong numbers wasted my time and had me cursing at the phone every day! Once I started the adoption process, I needed to be able to screen calls and pick up immediately for any potential situations or for The Call to come pick up my baby! callwave.com was essential at that point and I was excited to have it. I used this service for years!
What Went Wrong:
Not much. I had a cousin in the hospital who tried to reach me to come pick him up once he was discharged…he called and didn’t realize that I could pick up the phone or that I was hearing his message as he left it. So he was highly irritated that I was on the internet. By the time I picked the phone up, he had hung up. That was a minor issue, if I had walked away for a moment for a bathroom break and didn’t click on take the call, then I could not pick up during the person leaving a message. A little hiccup. Or family and friends did not realize to hold on a moment and I would pick up. Even when I clicked take the call, it took a moment to connect so they would hang up before I got them on the line!
I am not the most computer savvy person around but I was able to install easily this simple download within minutes. It was working right off the bat. All I had to do was to call my phone company and make sure I had Busy Call Forwarding in place and give them the number from callwave.com. This cost me under $2 a month. $7.95 a month is the cost for the internet answering machine from callwave.com and the first month is free. A $10 charge will be taken from your billing method once the free trial is up and then $7.95 each month for this service. Callwave.com can bill through your phone bill or your credit card if unable to bill through the phone company.
The site is very simple. There is a demo you can watch so you know what happens as calls come in as well as answers to questions you might have about the service. The site loads quickly and everything is easy to access and find.
Signing up is a quick form to fill out that will take you seconds. Once you download it, you will see a tiny box on your screen. Even when no calls are coming in, this box stays on your screen…it can be moved to anywhere but not off of the screen. This is your control panel to do many things…see the caller id to find out who has called, hear messages, look up someone’s number, and more.
My computer ran the same after this service was installed. I had no issues with computer slowing down or anything. I could surf as usual even when calls were coming in!
Options:
When callwave.com greets your callers, it can use a standardized greeting or you can personalize it with your name or your own greeting. When a call comes in, you will see who is calling and from where with their phone number so even if they leave no message, you will have this caller id to know that they called. If you choose to let callwave.com take a message after seeing who is calling, you will hear the message as they are leaving it! Push the Talk button and the call will be transferred to your phone so you can pick it up. You can do this while the person is leaving a message but it takes a moment to switch over to phone…it is not instant! The message to the caller will say something like “The person you have called would like to speak to you. Hold on a moment while your call is being transferred to the person you have called”. As I said before, this takes a minute so many people would think that I was not coming on the line and would hang up. Hitting the Talk button before the caller starts to leave a message was instant!
Another feature is free call back, just click on a name from the caller id on callwave.com’s little box and the call is put through. Another option is to send a text message as a reply to a call you missed. Your contact list will automatically be populated by anyone who calls more than once. You can always delete or edit out or in anyone that you choose. Harassing calls and sales calls can easily be deleted from callwave.com’s call service so your phone does not ring nor does the service alert you to the call! The alert system lets you know via email or cell phone if you have missed a call, same information as the caller id! If you are away from home and not online, you can use the forwarding service which will forward all calls to your cell phone or wherever you are that day.
What Does this Service Do and Look Like:
This service will allow calls to come through even when you are online using your only phone line. Like having two phone lines! Dial-up ties up phone lines so emergency and important calls can’t come through. With callwave.com you can screen all calls with the caller id and never miss a call again! Take the call or hear their message as they leave it. For example Aunt Ida calls you multiple times a day and you can call her back later so you decide to let her leave a message and get back to her later…but then you hear her say as she leaves a message that she is out of her prescription medication and needs you to run to the pharmacy before they close. Without this service, you would have missed her call completely!
Once installed, a small box about 6″ long and 2″ tall will be displayed on your computer screen. From here you can choose to take calls or let the internet answering machine pick it up. Although this can’t be removed from your screen, it is your control panel and very useful for keeping phone numbers handy while you are online. Send text messages through it, forward calls, take calls while on Dial-up, or listen to messages left on it for you.
Customer Service:
I never once had to contact customer service over any problems. I only discontinued use after moving out of the area so had no issues with cancellation as my phone was disconnected and callwave.com was billing through the phone company. I have not needed it with high speed internet! Calling my phone company to set it up was as simple as asking for Busy Call Forwarding added to my phone services. That was it! (They also have a fax option that I never tried.)
