Journalist| AllCom

Journalist

As a journalist for a travel magazine with branches in the US, Canada, and Europe, Mark is always on the go - he's away more than he's home.

"I live out of my suitcase, and my laptop is my life. So you can imagine what a help PhonePlusPlus has been. Now my editors at the magazine can get in contact with me no matter where I am" says Mark.

Mark's editors can reach him wherever he is - at home, in a hotel room, or on his cell phone - all he has to do is program the FollowMe feature of his PhonePlusPlus. Best of all, Mark only has to give out one phone number: his Genie Number*. Where he once would have had to tell all his editors what his travel plans were and where they could reach him, now they never need to worry where Mark might be. All they have to do is call his Genie Number* and Genie* will find him wherever he is.

It's just as easy when Mark needs to make international phone calls while traveling in Europe or Canada. All he has to do is call the International Public Access line that is part of PhonePlusPlus, and he can make international calls to the US without international charges. "Sometimes I have to go to the offices in London and Toronto, or go cross-country or even overseas for a story. With PhonePlusPlus, I can forget about the expensive international telephone charges hotels would put on my room bill."

"The best part about the PhonePlusPlus program is that it helps me stay on top of my game. A writer is only as good as his story, so I need to make sure I never miss a lead. Genie* is like my own personal secretary - for example, if one of my leads calls while I'm on the road, I can have Genie* take a message, and then I can pick up my messages later from a phone, online, or by email. Or, if one of my editors needs to fax me something, I don't even need to worry about whether or not the hotel has a fax machine. My editor can fax the document to my Genie Number*, and I can receive the fax by email.

When I'm on the road, there are plenty of places I don't get cell service. That's why PhonePlusPlus is so great - Genie* makes sure I never miss a call, no matter where I am. She pages me to let me know when I have a message or fax waiting for me, even when I'm out of touch. It doesn't matter if my cell phone has no signal or my pager battery died - Genie* will keep notifying me until I know that a message is waiting.

I also use my Virtual Conference Room to have meetings with my editors, just as I would if we were in the conference room at the office. Sometimes I need to get input on a story from people at all three branches, and PhonePlusPlus makes it easy to speak to all of them at once. All they have to do is call my Genie Number* at the set time, and push a button to join the conference. So no matter where I am, the editors at the London office and the New York office can join in, without any long-distance or international telephone charges. In fact, I think Virtual Conferences are even easier than face-to-face ones, because no one has to travel to the meeting," says Mark.

"The GenieCard Visa® Prepaid Card that came with my PhonePlusPlus is also really useful. When I'm traveling, it's a hassle to bring loads of cash with me. The GenieCard makes it easy; I can load it with as much cash as I need to for the trip before I leave, and then withdraw money whenever I need it at any ATM displaying the Visa and Interlink acceptance marks. It's perfect for when I go abroad - I can withdraw local currency without having to worry about exchange rates. And my editors back at the magazine love it because they can deposit my travel expenses directly into my GenieCard, and then I can withdraw it when I need it, or use my GenieCard to shop wherever Visa debit cards are accepted."

"I'd recommend PhonePlusPlus for anyone who does a lot of traveling, if only for the peace of mind it provides."