NEWBERRY COUNTY — As of June 17 direct extensions no longer work at the U.S. Department of Agriculture building located on Kendall Road. The direct extensions were done away with to make way for direct lines for employees.
“Basically, how the numbers work now, you can still dial the 803-276-1978 or 276-0000 and it’s very important to listen to the voice prompt. A lot of people do not want to listen to the voice prompt, but they really need to listen to it,” said Staci Henry, district conservationist with Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). “Extension 2 will get you Farm Service Agency, Extension 3 will get you NRCS and Extension 5 will get you the new NRCS Area Office.”
While the extensions will work to get you in touch with the agency you are looking to speak with, they will not allow you to speak with a specific individual. To do that, callers will need to have the direct line for the person to whom they wish to speak.
For example, in the past if someone wanted to get in touch with Henry they would just dial 276-1978 and use extension 107. Now all they have to do is dial 803-597-3166.
If anyone tries to use the old extension the line will either go dead, say it is an invalid number or take them back to the voice prompt.
“We have always had our own extensions, but never had direct lines. I do not think it will be easier or harder, just an adjustment to learn the new numbers,” said Danielle Rowe, district coordinator for Newberry Soil and Water Conservation District. “All in all, I think it will take about a year for people to get out of the habit of dialing the old extension.”
The decision to change from extensions to direct lines came from OCIO ITS Client Technology Services, the company that owns and manages the USDA’s equipment, like their phones. Henry said the decision to change the numbers was a way to be more cost efficient for the taxpayers.
Now that employees in the USDA building have these new numbers, their next task is to get the word out. Henry said they are probably going to send a letter out to NRCS customers and affiliate members to inform them of the change.
“I am going to put the new numbers in our (NSWCD/Keep Newberry County Beautiful) quarterly newsletter,” Rowe said.
The office will be working diligently to transition all materials, like business cards and letterheads, to include the new numbers.
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