Hugh, The Maze Master

Hugh's Reviews

Each week Hugh reviews something, anything really, that has provoked a thoughtful insight.

This week I'm reviewing tech tools I use to manage our ever-expanding enterprise at Maize Quest. These are simply reviews with a few short Pros and Cons for each.

If you'd like more information about any of the tools listed here, please give us a call at 1-866-935-6738 ext 102.

Blackberry Storm Matt, Michelle, and I all got Blackberry Storm smart phones to help manage email, text messaging (with employees), and our calls.
Pros: Great promotion and price (about $99). Having email on your hip makes it much more accessible and timely. We can respond much quicker and we don't end up with a mountain of messages each day we're not in the office.
Cons: It has a weak GPS interface. It's still not like typing on a computer. It does slow down if you have multiple programs open at once.

You Mail and soon Google Voice
This service sends you cell phone voicemail to you as an email attachment. This might not sound like much, but if you get a lot of voicemail, listening to it without dialing in on your computer is really handy, plus you never lose a message!

When Google Voice launches, it will offer the same service, only it will TRANSCRIBE the voicemail and send you a text message or email so you can READ your voicemail without dialing in. This is going to be a revolution in speed of message reception for us.

Pros: Free! Easy to archive messages. Handy for lots of voicemails.
Cons: No transciption yet. Doesn't work on all phones.

Fonality PBXtra This is our new web-based phone system for the farm, Fun Park, and Franchise business and it ROCKS.

Call our menu system and you'll find great menu options all recorded on the desktop phones and arranged by me with the web-based interface. It is super-flexible and easy to update.

Pros: Big options, small price system starts at $995. Super flexible. Emails your voicemail to you so you can get office voice mail ANYWHERE you check you email, including on smart phones. GREAT tech support and follow-up on questions.
Cons: A little challenging to set-up. No transcription of voicemail, yet.


If you want a better deal on a system, email my guy and tell him you know Maize Quest. Bill Bake at William Blake <wblake@fonality.com>


Online Booking system
We are about to release to the public the updated version of our online group booking software. We've had a system in place for managing and booking groups for the fun park and our franchise clients since 2001, but we've updated the features and are nearing release.

Be ready to set-up your attraction for online booking in an afternoon! More soon...


Call Hugh anytime at:

1-866-9... ext 102
hughmc@mazecatalog.com