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Post by Admin on Jun 29, 2015 18:52:58 GMT
One thing I did not see in the proposal was anything about paging.
As we have visited other churches we have come to really appreciate their paging systems. We particularly like the vibrating pager systems that are similar to what is used in the restaurant industry. We liked that we didn't feel like we had to have our eyes glued on the screen to see a little number pop up.
They really aren't incredibly expensive, and I believe they are worth the cost. I just looked the other day for less than 5 minutes and found 30 pager systems which included all pagers, charging station and transmitter (everything needed) for around $1,400. I did a quick search on craigslist in that time period and there was a hardly used paging system with 30 pagers for $400.
Any thoughts?
Nathan
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Post by Corissa on Jun 29, 2015 22:02:13 GMT
I looked into paging systems a few years ago. The consensus I read at that time was that paging systems were a pain to maintain. Between parents losing them in the building, pagers breaking or constantly needing batteries replaced, and parents not getting pagers turned in or workers misplacing them, they required constant, annoying, and costly maintenance. Many churches were moving away from paging systems in favor of directly texting parents, displaying a number in the service, or both.
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Post by Hillary on Jun 29, 2015 22:08:09 GMT
I didn't include a paging system in the original proposal, however it is something we have talked about and would like to have. I mentioned this to Jeff on Saturday and he said he would look in to it. Corissa, does the check-in software we talked about have any paging capabilities? We had talked about getting an iPad mini for each room to do check in on. Not sure if there's something we could do with an iPad that would work for paging too. I'm thinking that the paging systems you looked at Nathan would have one main pager that everyone would need access to? Or would there be a way to page from each individual room?
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Post by Hillary on Jun 29, 2015 22:10:27 GMT
To clarify, when I think of a paging system I'm thinking of the kind that would just display a number somewhere. Not actually giving out pagers like at a restaurant.
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Post by Nathan Ovitt on Jun 29, 2015 23:21:41 GMT
Hi Corissa,
Can you explain what you mean by consensus? I can't seem to find one. I see comments here and there regarding some of the issues you mentioned, but also see responses to these issues in the marketplace (for instance a longer pager to discourage slipping it in a bag). I have actually seen more positive comments than negative. To qualify my statements, I haven't looked in depth.
Here are some brief rebuttals of the arguments against:
Parents losing them in the building- Can be found by paging the device
Pagers breaking- like any other electronic device, research products and choose based on a good service record and company reputation.
Constantly needing batteries replaced- the systems I briefly looked at used rechargeable batteries and sat in a charging cradle. We use similar systems in the hospital.
Parents not getting pagers turned in- A parent doesn't get their child without turning in the pager- this is a training/policy/procedure issue- set-up a system with checks. much like identification bands for security. A child doesn't get picked up without the matching band, etc.
Workers misplacing them- Again, this is a training/policy/procedure issue. The worker who misplaced it needs to page it and then go find it. Our space isn't huge and the act of finding the pager is self-corrective for the future.
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Post by Nathan Ovitt on Jun 29, 2015 23:26:47 GMT
I have seen other systems that do away with the pager in favor of the cell phones that people already have. What do you think about this idea?
-I wonder if the vibration strength of personal phones is strong enough?
-Run the risk of ringers getting turned off completely, or being left on in the service and ringing.
-might cause parents to focus too much on their phones.
Again many of these things can simply be chalked up to training/policy/procedure issues, but worth talking about.
Jessa and i would like for us to use a system other than what we currently use.
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Post by Corissa on Jun 30, 2015 1:07:16 GMT
It was at least 4 years ago when I looked into this, so my memory is a little fuzzy. I don't remember turning up any kids church administrators, in person or on line that said, "We love the paging system! I would highly recommend other people use one!" The most glowing reviews were along the lines of "We have this system. There are annoyances but we make it work for us." There were discussions that said things like, "we have had a paging system and we are invested in it, so it works for us. But if I was starting over I would go with ..." I remember thinking, as administrator, I could not handle one more thing that had to be continually managed. But that would be someone else's system to manage now. :-)
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Post by Hillary on Jun 30, 2015 1:10:02 GMT
I think you're right that using cell phones has the potential to cause parents to focus on their phone too much. I know that was true for me when we first came to the church and that is the system that was used. also, runs the risk of a text not getting to them... What I had in mind was more of a wireless number board system. Something like this, www.churchnursery.com/Wireless-Number-Boards-Transmitters-s/99.htm |
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Post by Hillary on Jun 30, 2015 1:21:58 GMT
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Post by Nathan Ovitt on Jul 1, 2015 0:49:55 GMT
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Post by Nathan Ovitt on Jul 1, 2015 0:53:39 GMT
Hillary,
The type of number system you referenced used to be very popular in churches, but were largely replaced by paging systems. Does anyone know why? <-- this is not a rhetorical or trick question, but could help direct us.
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Post by Nathan Ovitt on Jul 1, 2015 1:03:31 GMT
One advantage I just thought of with a pager, as I felt the urge to use the lavatory, is that when a parent cannot see a display box (like when getting up to use the restroom) he or she will have no clue the child needs assistance.
Another quick thought- It is not uncommon for more than one child to have to go potty at the same time, especially when another child says they have to go. How do we page that with the box?
Also, and more importantly, if I am a visitor to a church and am told I have to pay attention to a box on the wall to see if my number pops up I am not very happy about it- I am distracted from the get go... especially as a visitor... I do not know this place... I am not comfortable... exactly where do I have to look on the wall again... oh man, I don't want to miss that and make little Jimmy uncomfortable in that room he has never been to before with kids he has never met! Bad start with a visitor.
If I know I don't have to pay attention to anything expressly because a pager will vibrate to alert me, I can be at ease and pay attention to what I should be paying attention to. I know this because I just experienced it at my in-laws church and my parent's church. If I was told at either place i had to look out for a number displayed on the wall I would have been distracted and not happy. <-- maybe I am shallow :-(
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Post by Corissa on Jul 1, 2015 1:29:10 GMT
I do know the answer to the multiple numbers question -- The boxes I have seen rotate through all the numbers that are being paged (a few seconds on each one). Once a parent gets to the nursery, the nursery worker "deactivates" the number of the child who has been retrieved.
As far as moving away from using a number on a special "Nursery Paging Screen," the couple of churches I know of personally who have moved to anything in the past couple of years have moved to texting parents phones directly. I have the same concerns about using phones that you mentioned earlier in the thread.
I am still a member of the Vineyard Kids Church Facebook group, so I posted a question about what other churches use and why.
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Post by Nathan Ovitt on Jul 1, 2015 7:50:24 GMT
I do know the answer to the multiple numbers question -- The boxes I have seen rotate through all the numbers that are being paged (a few seconds on each one). Once a parent gets to the nursery, the nursery worker "deactivates" the number of the child who has been retrieved. As far as moving away from using a number on a special "Nursery Paging Screen," the couple of churches I know of personally who have moved to anything in the past couple of years have moved to texting parents phones directly. I have the same concerns about using phones that you mentioned earlier in the thread. I am still a member of the Vineyard Kids Church Facebook group, so I posted a question about what other churches use and why. Thank you Corissa! |
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Post by Hillary on Jul 1, 2015 15:20:24 GMT
I think you're right about having anything you have to pay attention to (a number on a box, screen, etc., or a text on my phone) can potentially be a distraction and an annoyance... I'm open to getting pagers...
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