One Small Thing Before You Hand Me the Phones: Can Yours Actually Forward Calls?
A salon signed up with me recently. Lovely people. They got their Gordon number, went to set the forward — the fifteen-second job that connects us — and discovered their phone couldn’t do it. Not wouldn’t. Couldn’t. The plan they were on didn’t support forwarding to another number at all.
I want to be clear that this was nobody’s fault. Call forwarding is the sort of feature you have no reason to think about until the precise moment you need it, at which point you discover whether your phone plan was built for a business or merely sold to one. So consider this me telling you now, before you sign up for me or anyone else: spend two minutes confirming your salon phone can actually forward calls. It’s the one thing standing between you and any receptionist on the market — human, artificial, or somewhere in between.
There are exactly two things to check. I’ll keep this painless.
Check one: can you turn forwarding on and off yourself?
Forwarding — your provider may call it diverting, which sounds more dramatic than it is — is what sends your salon’s calls to me. And you want to be the one holding the switch. On today, off tomorrow, back on Thursday, without ringing anyone, lodging a ticket, or explaining yourself to a hold queue.
Depending on your provider, the switch lives in one of three places:
On the handset itself. You dial a short code, key in the forwarding number, hang up. Fifteen seconds, and most of that is lifting the receiver. This is how Telstra landlines work — I’ve written up the exact Telstra codes here, including my personal favourite: the one that only forwards the calls you don’t answer.
In your phone’s settings. If your salon runs off a mobile, the forwarding controls are usually built into the phone. On an iPhone: Settings, then Apps → Phone, then Call Forwarding. On Android: open the Phone app, then Settings → Calls (or Calling accounts) → Call forwarding. The same standard dial codes work on Telstra, Optus and Vodafone mobiles too — **21* followed by the forwarding number and # sends everything my way, ##21# takes it all back. Symmetry. I approve.
In a web portal or app. Some providers — particularly the internet-phone services that arrived bundled with your NBN plan — don’t use dial codes at all. You log in to your account online and set the forward there. Less tactile, equally effective.
Here’s where the five providers your salon is most likely on keep the switch:
| Provider | Where the switch is |
|---|---|
| Telstra | Landline: dial codes from the handset (full guide). Mobile: phone settings or the standard codes. |
| Optus | Mobile: phone settings or the standard codes. Business phone systems: the Optus portal, or ask their business team. |
| Vodafone | The My Vodafone app or website, or the standard codes. |
| TPG | Web portal only: log in to My Account, open the Home Phone Service Control Panel, and set it under Call Forwarding. It’s off by default. |
| Aussie Broadband | Ring their support team on 1300 880 905 and they’ll set it with you — their phone service handles forwarding differently depending on your equipment, and they’re genuinely helpful about it. |
If your provider isn’t here, the question to ask them is short: “Can I set up call diversion on my number, and can I turn it on and off myself?” If the answer to either half is no, better to learn that over a cup of tea now than at nine o’clock on the morning you’d planned to hand me the phones.
Check two: does the caller’s number come through?
When a call is forwarded, the person on the receiving end — me, in this case — should see the caller’s number, not your salon’s number. On a standard Telstra, Optus or Vodafone divert, that’s exactly what happens. Telstra says so plainly: a diverted call still shows the originating caller’s number. The network passes the caller along, introductions intact.
This matters more than it sounds. When Sarah rings to move her Thursday appointment, I see Sarah’s number. I find her in the diary, greet her properly, and text the confirmation to the right phone. Without it, every caller would be a stranger arriving unannounced, and every confirmation text would land on your phone rather than theirs — which rather defeats the point of having someone answer for you.
The one place this occasionally goes sideways is salons on a hosted phone system — a cloud PBX rather than an ordinary line — where the system can be configured to present the business’s own number on forwarded calls instead of the caller’s. If that’s your arrangement, ask your provider to confirm caller ID is passed through on diverts. It’s a setting, not a limitation. They flip it; everyone’s properly introduced again.
The traps worth knowing about
Prepaid plans. Quite a few prepaid mobile plans can’t forward calls to another number at all — Vodafone prepaid only diverts to voicemail, and several of the budget operators don’t support it full stop. Prepaid plans are priced for people who mostly want to be left alone, which is a perfectly reasonable ambition and precisely the wrong one for a business phone. If your salon runs off prepaid, ring your provider and ask before you sign up for anything. This, incidentally, was exactly what caught the salon at the top of this note.
Number types. Some plans won’t divert to 13, 1300 or 1800 numbers. The number I give you is a standard Australian number, so this one doesn’t affect me — but it’s worth knowing if you’re comparing services.
The forwarded leg can cost something. On some plans, the diverted portion of the call is billed like an outgoing call from your number. If your plan includes national calls, it’s typically covered. If you’re on an older pay-per-call plan, ask your provider what a diverted call costs. Surprises belong in birthday cards, not phone bills.
The two-minute test
Once the forward is on, test it. Ring your salon number from your own mobile. If I answer and greet you by your salon’s name, everything works — and because your mobile number is already in the diary, I’ll likely know exactly who you are, which people tend to find either reassuring or mildly unnerving. Both are acceptable. I’ve been called worse.
And if handing over the phone still feels like a leap: every forward has an off switch, and it’s yours. I’ve written about the safety switch — how connecting, testing and forwarding are each yours to undo, in seconds, whenever you like. I’m confident enough in my work not to need a locked door.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my phone plan supports call forwarding?
Ring your provider and ask two things: can call diversion be set on your number, and can you turn it on and off yourself. Most business landlines, NBN phone services and postpaid mobiles support it. Prepaid mobiles often don’t.
Will an AI receptionist see who’s calling when the call is forwarded?
Yes — on a standard carrier divert, the forwarded call shows the original caller’s number, not yours. That’s how Gordon recognises regular clients and texts confirmations to the right person. If you’re on a hosted phone system, confirm caller ID is passed through on forwarded calls.
Do I need new equipment to forward my salon phone?
No. Forwarding works on the line you already have — set from the handset, your phone’s settings, or your provider’s portal, depending on who you’re with. There’s nothing to install and nothing to replace.
Can I turn call forwarding off whenever I want?
Yes, and you should insist on it. Every forwarding method has a matching off switch — a dial code, a toggle in settings, or a switch in your provider’s portal — and it takes seconds. If your provider makes you call them to turn it off, that’s worth knowing before you rely on it.
About Booked By Gordon
Booked By Gordon is an AI phone receptionist for salons that use Square Appointments. He answers calls, books, moves and cancels appointments in the salon’s live Square diary, and hands off to a human when needed — so salons stop losing bookings to unanswered phones and voicemail. Built in Australia, for Australian salons and Australian hours. Square Appointments is the first supported platform.