The holidays move fast around here. One minute it is leaf-peeping season, the next minute someone is putting a giant inflatable snowman on the roof of the Dunkin on Park Ave. Before the rush hits full speed, it helps to be honest with yourself about one thing:
Is your business phone system ready for it?
If you’re not sure, this quick holiday stress test tells it like it is, without sugarcoating. If the answer to more than a few of these questions is a sheepish “ehhh . . . maybe not,” it is a sign your communications could use the same glow-up your storefront just got.
Let’s see how your system holds up.
Q1. When holiday call traffic spikes, do your customers hear a ring, or do they hear . . . nothing?
Every business around here gets a December surge. Retail, restaurants, HVAC crews, nonprofits, clinics, dog groomers, you name it. People are trying to check things off the list before the year ends.
If callers hear silence, busy tones, or endless ringing, they assume the worst and move on.
A modern business phone system should handle call volume without blinking. This means:
- Automatic call distribution that sends callers to the right people
- Overflow routing that moves calls to backup staff, remote employees, or mobile devices
- Smart voicemail with instant notifications so no message gets buried under all the holiday cheer
If your phone system shuts down like a beach parking lot in November, it is time to look at a more scalable phone system that grows with you (like Cloudworx from Rhode Island Telephone).
Q2. When staff call out sick or get stuck on 95 during a snow squall, does it let you reroute calls instantly?
New England winter driving is a sport, and not always the fun kind. The holidays bring more callouts, more traffic, more delays, and more last-minute “working from home” days.
Your phone system should let you:
- Forward calls to personal devices with one click
- Add temporary users quickly
- Update call routing without waiting on a support ticket
- Keep everyone reachable from anywhere
This is what a local business communication system is supposed to do. If your setup acts like call forwarding is some kind of magic trick, you deserve better.
Cloud-based VoIP phone systems like Cloudworx give you full control. Zero hardware headaches, zero surprises, just flexibility for international or domestic calling when your team needs it.
Want more tips on how to optimize the right phone system? We’ve got five of them for you to implement!
Q3. Are you confident that every voicemail actually reaches the right person?
Holiday voicemail can pile up faster than snow on a Providence side street the morning after a storm. If your team has to dig through old messages, play guessing games about who should call back, or manually forward recordings, that is lost time during a season when every hour matters.
A modern system should offer voicemail-to-email and voicemail transcription. That way:
- You can read messages on the go
- You can forward them to the right teammate
- You can search past messages when someone calls back with “I spoke with someone last week. . .”
In a season built on timing and follow-through, voicemail should be easy. If it is not, that is a sign your business phone system is past its expiration date.
Q4. When multiple locations or remote staff need to coordinate, does your phone system help or get in the way?
Many New England companies run multi-site setups. Shops in Warwick and Pawtucket. Offices in Attleboro and New Haven. Teams are spread across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
If your system feels like a tangled mess of lines and extensions, it cannot keep up with the way businesses operate today.
A single, centralized cloud platform like Cloudworx gives your team:
- Shared directories
- Easy extension dialing
- Presence indicators that show who is available
- Consistent call quality across every location
Holiday coordination gets a lot easier when your system acts like one system instead of a puzzle someone taped together ten years ago.
Q5. Can your customers still reach you if your power goes out?
Storm season is storm season. Nobody has forgotten the December nor’easter of a few years back.
A good holiday telecom solution includes built-in failover. That means if your office loses power, calls automatically route to mobile devices or alternate numbers without you having to push a single button.
Customers keep reaching you. You keep taking orders, booking appointments, and answering questions. Business stays steady even when the weather gets cranky.
If your system cannot do this, it is not built for New England.
Q6. If you are short-staffed, do you have a backup plan for answering calls?
Some businesses shut down for a few days during the holidays. Others get busier than ever. Either way, callers expect a human touch, not multi-level auto attendants that end up routing them to a dead end.
This is where Rhode Island Telephone’s Professional Answering Service can help. It offers:
- Real people who answer calls in English or Spanish
- Proper message taking
- Call transfer and routing
- Appointment scheduling, if needed
If your business sees big swings in staffing this time of year, this support makes a real difference. No missed leads. No frustrated customers. No extra stress on your team.
Q7. Are you paying out of pocket to replace failing desk phones?
Phones get dropped. Cords get crushed under office chairs. Displays dim over time. By the holidays, a few of those older handsets always seem to be holding on for dear life.
If your team is replacing phones with individual purchases or limping along with outdated hardware, it gets expensive fast.
RIT’s Phone Rental Program solves that problem. It bundles top-tier phones into your monthly bill, offers free replacements if anything fails, and keeps your technology current without the upfront cost. It is an easy win for any team trying to manage year-end budgets.
Q8. Does your system make it easy to track call activity when things get busy?
The holidays are a good time to review call patterns. How many calls come in during peak hours? Which customers need faster response times? Where are missed calls happening?
Without clear reporting and analytics, you are guessing your way through the busiest stretch of the year. However, with a modern business phone system like Cloudworx, you’ll get insights into:
- Call volume by hour and day so you can schedule the right number of people exactly when you need them.
- Missed call trends so you can fix problems before customers bail and call your competitor.
- Average call handling times so you can shorten wait times and keep callers moving.
- Staff activity reports so you can balance workloads and prevent burnout during the busiest weeks.
- Caller details and return-pattern tracking so you can prioritize repeat callers and keep loyal customers happy.
In short, good reporting helps you see the past, and good analytics help you plan the future. If your current phone system cannot pull even a basic report, that is a sign that it probably belongs in the vintage section of the RIMOSA.
Q9. Does your team enjoy using the phone system, or do they avoid it altogether?
The holidays come with enough stress. Staff should not feel like using the phone system is another item on the list, right next to wrapping presents and finding parking at Garden City.
A good system should feel simple. Your team should not have to wrestle with the basics or ask for help every time they need to transfer a call.
A modern business phone system should make life easier by offering:
- Clear, intuitive buttons and menus
- Easy call transferring without long instructions
- Straightforward conference calling
- Features that work the same on desk phones, computers, and mobile apps
- A consistent experience, so staff do not need extra training just to help a customer
If your team hesitates every time the phone rings because they worry they might press the wrong option, your system is getting in the way of good customer service. You might need to upgrade to a solution that’s more user-friendly than the one you’ve got.
Q10. If your holiday hours change, can you update your greetings quickly from anywhere?
Schedules shift a lot during the holidays. Early closings, extended hours, weather disruptions, and last-minute adjustments all come with the territory.
Your phone system should let you:
- Record new greetings without calling support
- Update after-hours messages on the fly
- Make changes from any device
- Keep customers informed without delays
Accurate information matters more when people are trying to squeeze errands in before dinner or navigate a snowstorm. Your phone system should make updates simple, fast, and stress-free.
Bonus Q: Does your phone system unify your communications?
This is a big one that many businesses overlook. Communication during the holidays is not just about handling phone calls. Teams need to stay connected across different tools and locations, especially when people are in and out of the office.
A unified platform brings everything together, including:
- Team chat for fast back-and-forth collaboration
- Video conferencing for quick meetings without travel
- Document sharing for holiday schedules, menus, estimates, and end-of-year reports
- Integrations with business apps like CRMs, ticketing systems, calendars, or customer databases
When all of this lives inside one ecosystem, your team spends less time jumping between apps and more time getting things done. During the holidays, that kind of productivity is priceless for your organization.
Want to learn more about how UCaaS can benefit your team? Dive into our blog on the subject.
So . . . how did you do?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, you are in good shape!
If you hit more than a few no answers, your phone system may be holding back your business during the most important time of the year.
It’s time to investigate Cloudworx. We built Cloudworx for local companies and small businesses that need reliability, flexibility, and support from a provider who lives and works right alongside them.
If you want to prep your business for a stronger, smoother season, reach out to our team for a quick and easy quote on a phone system that can support you today and tomorrow.
