Three people for the insurance company have visited us so far to test and inspect equipment and it sounds like they'll be coming again. No sign of replacement equipment or a check to get it with, yet. Needless to say, I've got other things, like writing articles, that I would rather be doing. This has left us rather hobbled, with much of our equipment down and what is left working only partially and slower or sporadically. As I continue to try to track down the remaining problems in our network and phone system I've had plenty of time to think about how to rework the system to avoid Thors playful jabs in the future.
Prevention is the best medicine.
We have battery backups to handle blackouts as long as four or five hours, sometimes more depending on the load. We have surge suppressors which handle the minor power company surges and some of the local lightning. What we can't handle is when a close blast of lightning induces a surge in our longest network and phone wires. Charlene, Erica and Holly in sales have long used Tropez digital portable phones with headsets. These give them mobility and hands free operation as they handle orders, subscription requests and information requests.