Update: Learn about our activities for Customer Service Week 2017 here. 

This time of year we begin busily preparing for National Customer Service Week.  It is a week I look forward to every year as it provides a great reminder to all of us as to why Chicago Communications, LLC is in existence – to serve our customers in a way that sets us apart from the rest.  While this is easily said (or written), it is not easily done.  It involves many, many pieces that all must fit together to achieve a goal of this importance and magnitude.  Our products, our knowledge, our customer relationships, our supplier relationships, the technology we use to support the work we do, our ethics, and most of all our employees must all work together to ensure the best possible experiences for our customers.  While every day we work to ensure these pieces are working together to the level our customers expect, it is National Customer Service Week that provides a special focus and recognition to all who help make it happen.

The world of two-way radios is quite technical, so how do you uncover which one is right for you and your business? Most of us don’t have a background in the operations and features of these two-way radios, yet they are the vital solution to our communication needs. Between different brands, styles, sizes, frequencies, and capabilities, it could be an overwhelming process to dig through. This is why many schools opt for a cell phone option.

If you’re in the education market, Chicago Communications suggests taking a peek into the Vertex Radios.  “What’s the need for special communications in schools?” you might ask. If your school has a lower enrollment, two-way radio communications can help keep track of when school busses arrive and depart, keeping school officials who may be outside the building connected to those who are inside, etc.  If your school has a higher enrollment, knowing where your staff is located at all times is critical to ensure school safety. The need for instant communication is necessary for any size of school to provide proper safety for school administrators and students.

Meet John Marquardt, a low key kind of guy with a big impact here at Chicago Communications. A man with many talents and very few words, John’s stomping ground is a work bench and toolbox at our Chicago Loop location. He is one of our valued technicians who has put in 29 years of hard work and dedication into fixing two way radios and other communication system accessories.

A Day in the life of a Police Officer

I had the privilege of riding first with Officer Higens. She's 1 of the 6 women working on the 113 member Bolingbrook PD. She works day shifts so her typical week is two 12 hour days  working from 6am-6pm, two days off. She’s the only female who works her shift besides her sergeant.

Once I pose with the police car for a couple pictures we’re off…around the corner to the back parking lot.  I didn’t join Ofc. Higens until 12:30 so she had already been on duty for 6 and half hours. At the beginning of the day shift, all officers report for role call at the station to go over which beat they’re covering for their shifts and anything pertinent that happened outside of their shifts or since they met last. After that officers are on their own to patrol their beats. By the way, the village is divided up into geographical areas called "beats" and each officer is accountable for that area during their shift. We’ll be covering Beat 5 today. 

Technical equipment isn't all boring!

Most people in the commercial world have little knowledge of the two way radio industry and how it works. I can relate to this because I used to be on the outside myself. Even just mentioning the word 'two way radio' to me, I would have probably said, "huh?" And there are days I still get asked what kind of company Chicago Communications is; I usually go for the same explanation when I answer. Two way radios are walkie-talkies, but not the ones little kids play with across their backyards or in the neighborhood woods. I'm talking about the professional kind that police officers use to communicate with each other while on duty, in their cars or in pursuit. But  it doesn't stop with police officers. There are many, many more uses for two way radios just like there are many more products and services available from ChiComm. Here are a mere 8 situations radios are used that reminded me just how "cool" it is to be a part of this industry. 

The Bud Billiken Parade: the oldest and largest African American parade in the U.S.

Holy Whac-a-Mole!

  Have you ever heard the saying, “The only constant in life is change”?  How true it is!  Kids grow-up (too fast by the way), technology changes (believe it or not there was no such thing as a laptop when I was in high school, and cell phones were not available to everyone), employees have unexpected emergencies that take them out of the office (for a while, or they move on to new jobs or retire) ... and somehow you have to learn how to not live in fear of change, but instead to anticipate it and keep it together through it all.  To say it’s a challenge is an understatement.  And it’s how you handle it that makes all the difference in the world.  You can panic and get frustrated or angry (which from experience, and trust me on this one, doesn’t make for a clear head for responding to the change) or you can take a deep breath and look at the change as an opportunity.

Nextel's Network has been Decommissioned. What's Next?

A common concern we expect to hear would be: "So now that Nextel has shut down, what do I do with my trucks? The cell phone bills will kill me!!"

The answer to that first depends on the coverage required to run your operations. Is it local to a town or County? Is it regional like Chicago? Is it area wide like Chicago and the surrounding collar counties or is it statewide? For all of those answers you have options. As you know you have the Cellular carrier. For those as fortunate you get a cell phone on the Sprint system or another, but your drivers are allowed to communicate ONLY when NOT operating the vehicle.

Summer in Chicago! Festivals, Beaches, Parades, Markets and ………Two Way Radio?

 Yes, Two Way Radio. It’s everywhere, just think about it.

 You’re at the beach, the Life Guard talks with another Life Guard down the beach, does he yell? No, it’s a two way radio used to speed up response times.

 You’re at your favorite parade. Thousands of people, float after float, bands marching-- how do they keep it moving? How are they keeping the path secure? Two Way Radio!

 How about the ball game? Security staff keeps the crowds in check with two way radios.

Wireless Local Area Networks, Explained

 Most of us probably have a wireless router in our house right now. 802.11a/b/g were the old standards, 802.11n is the current standard and 802.11ac is coming in the near future. You don’t know how it works, but you plugged in your wireless router when you picked it up from Best Buy (or your cable/internet provider), fumbled your way through it and low and behold-- you’re a wireless networking specialist! Congratulations. You’re not sure exactly what's happening on the back end, but your laptop at home works as well as your smartphone connecting to your WLAN to surf the web.