calling from work while not at work

December 31, 2008 12:26 PM

How can I use a cell phone as a business line without revealing cell phone number?

I do contract work where I'm only physically in the office a few days a week. I do all of my calls that I need to return on those days. Occasionally I need to return a call while I'm out of the office. I only have a cell phone - an iphone specifically. How can I call people without them getting my cell number - other than getting another phone? What are my options? Skype? A 2nd line on my cell? Some way to call the office first and have them patch through a call? Thanks for your help.

posted by striker to Technology (9 answers total)

You can restrict caller ID access to your number on outgoing calls for one call at a time (dial *67 first, I believe) or for all calls, which requires arranging it with your mobile provider. All I had to do was change my call privacy settings online. The people I call see only "restricted" or "unknown" when the phone rings on their end.

A caveat, however, is that your phone number will still be available when you dial toll-free numbers (800, 866, 877, etc.) and if you should ever dial 911. If there's a way to get around this, I don't know what it is.
posted by jeeves at 12:35 PM on December 31, 2008

Sign up for grandcentral and then use the grandcentral app to call people back, that way it will show your grandcentral # as the CID and not your actual cell phone number.
posted by wongcorgi at 12:46 PM on December 31, 2008 [1 favorite]

Links:

http://www.grandcentral.com/

iPhone app is called GrandDialer (free) on the App Store
posted by wongcorgi at 12:49 PM on December 31, 2008

Response by poster: I like the grandcentral idea, especially if it allows me to give out a number for clients to call as well that is seperate from my cell number. However they appear to not be accepting new users
posted by striker at 1:18 PM on December 31, 2008

You are aware that on the iPhone you can turn off caller ID

settings -> phone -> "show my caller ID"

Don't forget to turn it back on when you're done with the workday.
posted by birdherder at 1:54 PM on December 31, 2008 [1 favorite]

The people I call see only "restricted" or "unknown" when the phone rings on their end.

Keep in mind that lots of people, myself included, ignore calls with no caller ID information.
posted by Netzapper at 2:01 PM on December 31, 2008

Response by poster: Same here Netzapper; I'd like to avoid that option if possible.
posted by striker at 2:11 PM on December 31, 2008

I use Skype. You can change the number that's displayed on the caller ID in your account settings. Mine is set to show my cell so they'll call that number.
posted by cdmwebs at 3:42 PM on December 31, 2008

You also might want to consider GotVMail.com. Before moving to an in-house phone system, we used them with a lot of success. They offer a lot of options to make a small business look extremely professional.
posted by richardhay at 11:52 AM on January 1, 2009