Phone service. Or not.

We have a relatively new phone system I am using at work.  It was presented as being much easier to contact people in other buildings (including the ones in the main office, which is in another city!), and that we could do nearly everything but make coffee with it.

Uh, I don't like coffee that well, and don't really think the IT guys remembered they were talking to people who are NOT techs...

For example.  I have to transfer calls to dispatch.  Now this should be easy.  You just ask the tech guys, and they give me a several step process. 

Uh, huh...

And when I need to do that, if you don't do it in a very short time, it will hang up on you, and more urgently, the one you were transferring.  NOT good.  I started telling them the phone number for dispatch (non emergency), if I was transferring them, or telling them to hang up and call 911 if it WAS an emergency, so I wouldn't keep dropping them.  Very poor way of getting the job done.

I finally sat down and read the booklet (paper, even) we had for the phone.

Well, it wasn't MUCH of an improvement, but I found out, from that, and one of the gents who is in the office, that if you know the extension, you type that in, then wait for it to ring, then hang up the phone.

That's all.  Not several steps.  Just 2, basically.  And I've only lost one since, and that was because of a power blink.  Much improvement there. 

So, now, I need to learn how to transfer calls IN THE BUILDING.  This shouldn't be hard, right?  Dial the number of the phone the person is near, they pick it up, all is rainbows and unicorns. 

Well, except, no one seems to know what the extension numbers are for the six phones in here, except for the main phone, i.e., mine.  That would be great if I call myself for some goofball reason, but doesn't do me a bit of good if I have to call one of the guys up to my phone.  I have needed to do this very thing more than once, which leads to me handing them paper and pen, and leaving my desk, so they can get the info...

So, I need to go get one of the tech guys, and a tech to confused person translator, and see if we can straighten this out. 

On the bright side, I do know how to 'park' calls, and can send them wither and when they need to go, now... If I know the extension.