Changing the Phone Greetings

We have one of those fancy phone systems that prompts callers to find out info or dial the extensions they want before ringing to the front desk. We also installed voicemailboxen for individual staff members. Try it out! Do you love it? Hate it? Let staff know! Below is the current message, and reference instructions for staff who'll be changing the greetings.

Please do not change the phone messages without first knowing how. We need the person updating the greetings to really know what they are doing. If you want to learn, let us know.

FYI - The phone number for the main line at FREE GEEK is (503) 232-9350.

Our secure wiki has the technical instructions.

Overview
When anyone calls FREE GEEK on the main number (503-232-9350), it is answered by our pool of 4 outside lines. The caller will hear a GREETING, followed by our HOME MENU, and if they choose an option, they'll hear a PATH. After the PATH, the caller is returned to the HOME MENU.

Here are scripts for the GREETINGs, the HOME MENU, and the PATHs.

Greeting 1 (plays during open hours)
This is the FREE GEEK Community Technology Center.

(Temporary Closure Message Here - e.g. "Please remember that we're closed on Saturday, May 29th during Memorial Day weekend.")

We're a non-profit computer and electronics, reuse and recycling facility in close-in industrial SouthEast Portland.

To volunteer, you must attend an Orientation Tour at NOON or 5 PM Tuesday through Saturday. Please arrive early to fill out paperwork.

Greeting 4 (after hours)
This is the FREE GEEK Community Technology Center.

(Temporary Closure Message Here - e.g. "Please remember that we're closed on Saturday, May 29th during Memorial Day weekend.")

We're a non-profit computer and electronics, reuse and recycling facility in close-in industrial southEast Portland.

To volunteer, you must attend an Orientation Tour at NOON or 5 PM Tuesday through Saturday. Please arrive early to fill out paperwork.

To donate to Free Geek, or to shop in our thrift store, please stop by anytime Tuesday through Saturday between 11 AM and 7 PM."

Our normal hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 A.M. to 7 P.M. If you have called outside of these hours, we are closed.

Home menu
If you know your party's extension, you can dial it at any time. For information on our hours and location, press 1 (info mailbox - path 1) For information on what we accept for donation, press 2 (info mailbox - path 2) To learn how to become a Free Geek volunteer, press 3 (info mailbox - path 3) To reach our thrift store, press 4 (ext. 228 - path 4) To reach tech support, press 5 (ext. 225 - path 5) For directions on how to get to Free Geek, press 6 (info mailbox - path 6) For a staff directory, press 7 (info mailbox - path 7) To speak to a receptionist, press 0 or stay on the line (ext. 222)

Path 1: Hours/location
Free Geek is located at 1731 SE 10th Avenue. That's on 10th Avenue, two and a half blocks south of Hawthorne Boulevard, between Market and Mill streets.

Our normal hours are 11 AM to 7 PM Tuesday through Saturday. We are closed on Sundays and Mondays. These hours and location are the same for our Thrift Store.

Free Geek is served by Tri-met SouthEast Portland bus route numbers 4, 6, 10, 14, and 70.

Path 2: Donations
We accept for recycling all computer and electronic equipment in any condition. There is a suggested donation associated with the items you bring to us for reuse and recycling. In some instances, there are fees for large businesses bringing us more than 7 CRT monitors in a load. We also accept audio and video equipment like stereos and DVD players.

We DO NOT accept microwaves, photocopiers, household appliances, smoke detectors, styrofoam or batteries and we CANNOT accept any donations outside of our business hours, 11 to 7 Tuesday through Saturday.

We now offer limited pickup service for large donations for a fee. This service is by appointment only so please plan ahead. Email: pickups@freegeek.org or hit "0" to speak with a receptionist for more information.

We never boot from the hard drives we receive for donation. The small ones are physically destroyed beyond repair, and we overwrite the data on the larger ones so that it is unrecoverable.

For more information on what we take and how we process it, please visit our website at www.freegeek.org.

Path 3: Volunteer Info
We have two main volunteer programs: Adoption & Build.

In our Adoption Program, anyone can volunteer 24 hours of his or her time at the Free Geek facility to earn a computer. After completing 24 hours with us, volunteers enroll in a 3 hours class to get comfortable with their machine and to qualify for one year of free tech support from us.

In our Build Program, our volunteers spend approximately 60-80 hours learning about and building at least 5 computers for us. We will teach you everything you need to know. Build volunteers may take home the sixth computer they build and also qualify for one year of free tech support from Free Geek.

If you are thinking of volunteering, but feel intimidated, don't worry: you do not need any computer experience to volunteer at Free Geek. Our facility is wheel-chair accessible and we have seated tasks for individuals who cannot stand at length.

If you'd like to volunteer in any capacity at Free Geek, please come by for a 30-minute tour at NOON or 5 PM any day Tuesday through Saturday to see the facility and learn more about us and our programs. You're also welcome to speak with our front desk by hitting "0", or check out our website at www.freegeek.org.

Path 4: Thrift Store
TO BE RECORDED, NOT SURE HOW:

Thank you for calling The Free Geek Thrift Store.

The Thrift Store is located at seventeen-thirty-one south-east tenth avenue. We are open Tuesday through Saturday, eleven to seven.

We do not give inventory over the phone. Things move through here so fast any information we could provide over the phone would be inaccurate by the time you arrived here. The best way to find out if we have what you need is to pay a visit. You can find a list of our regular inventory, ballpark prices and store policies on our website: go to freegeek-dot-org, then click on "thrift store."

If you are looking for a power adapter, cable or part, please bring the gizmo-in-question, or specific information as to what you need. The more information you can provide, the better we can help you. There is a computer available for product research in the store.

Thank you for calling.

We hope to see you soon.

Path 7: Extension List
When you hear your desired extension, you may press # to return to the main menu, and then dial the extension.

Ali 223 Caitlin 226 Dave 235 Darryl 248 Kathie H 238 Laurel B 224 Liane 233 Meredith 252 Michael 245 Richard 227 Santiago 236 Sergio 247 Sophia 251 Valerie 231

You will now return to the main menu.

NOTE: The available extensions and mailboxen are listed. Callers have to wait until they're returned to the home menu to dial the extension they want. They can interrupt the message and press # to return to the main menu at any time though.

This isn't one of those, "Dial the first three letters of the person who you'd like to call" things. It also isn't a "Dial the extension at any time" things.