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How voice mail can solve many of your telephone-answering problems.

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Voice mail can solve many of your telephone-answering problems -- provided you get the right system

It happens to everyone in business -- usually several times a day. You call someone who isn't in. Rather than dictate a long message to a busy receptionist, you leave your name and phone number, which the receptionist jots down on a pink "while you were out" slip. When the call is returned, you're the one who is out, so you find a pink slip on your desk, and the game of telephone tag is off and running. It can take three calls to get two business parties talking to each other -- provided the pink slips get to their desks in the first place. There must be a better way.

For some companies, voice mail -- telephone technology that manages messages without paper -- may be the solution. The simplest form of voice mail is an answering machine. Connected to your office phone, an answering machine lets callers leave any kind of message, however long or complicated, and you can retrieve your messages by calling in from wherever you are. If both you and the person you are trying to reach have answering machines, you can even have a dialogue of sorts.

But answering machines are designed for use at home, not at a business, so they are limited in what they can do. A business alternative is a complete voice-mail system. Here's what such a system can do.

* Serve many people. Every person with a phone in effect has a private answering machine with a personalized greeting.

* Record personal messages. You can record messages that will be played back only to persons who have been given a special access code. You could, for example, record information about flight and arrival time that could be retrieved only by the person meeting you at the airport.

* Forward messages. When you are away from your usual phone, a voice-mail system can record an incoming message, then call you wherever you are and play the message back; you don't have to continually call your "mailbox" to find out if you have any messages.

* Distribute messages. You can record a message and have the system route it to several people -- to all of your sales force, for example.

* Screen and hold calls. A few systems greet incoming calls with a recording ("You have dialed John Smith on extension 413. What is your name, please?"). John Smith hears who is on the line and can answer the call or direct the voice-mail system to take a message ("John Smith is not able to take calls right now. You may leave a message after this tone"). Callers who are put on hold are told how many people are waiting ("You are the third caller waiting to talk to John Smith. You may continue to wait, or you may leave a message by pressing 1").

* Provide a bulletin board. Employees can phone in for messages of general interest, such as office closings or the date of the company picnic. Bulletin boards can be open to everyone or restricted to authorized persons with an access code.

* Furnish access to a computer database. An elaborate voice-mail system can be tied into a company's main computers so that, for example, salespeople can look up inventory and customers can call in and track the progress of their orders.

* Serve as an automatic attendant. Most voice-mail systems can go beyond taking and routing messages, answering all phone calls automatically with a standard recording ("Thank you for calling the Acme Co. If you know the extension of the person you are calling, please dial the extension now. Dial zero for an operator"). Many calls can thus bypass the receptionist. An automatic attendant can also eliminate the need for a special "night-line" arrangement after office hours.

If your company is expanding rapidly, buying your own voice-mail equipment may not be a good idea, as you could quickly outgrow the system. But you can contract for the service through bureaus that operate like traditional answering services. Some local telephone companies sell voice-mail services in much the same way as they sell call waiting or call forwarding. Either way, the equipment is on somebody else's premises but is connected to your telephone lines. The price for this convenience tends to be high, and you are usually limited to basic features.

If your operations are stable enough so that buying a system makes sense, you can select from more than 40 vendors. Usually, the equipment is installed in your office and connected directly to your phone lines or PBX (private branch exchange) system. The price is based on three main variables: the number of telephone lines a system can handle, the system's storage capacity, and the amount of support provided. The price does not have much to do with a system's features; even the least expensive system offers a full array of options. And if you think about how most people use their phone systems, it's likely that many of these features will never be used anyway. Most of us learn only the simplest phone functions: "I'll try to transfer you, but if you get disconnected, dial this number. . . ." As a result, selecting a voice-mail system depends less on features than on other factors, such as the service that will be provided. Look for expandable systems or for a dealer who will let you trade up when necessary.

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