Reviews

Choosing a Quality Telephone Services Vendor

Posted on February 11, 2009. Filed under: Reviews | Tags: phone vendors, telephone companies |

If you’re starting a new business or moving in to a new home, you’re probably looking at a myriad of telephone service vendors in your area, and trying to distinguish the differences between the different telephone companies.

Most often we find ourselves comparing price as that is perhaps the most concrete metric to compare the different telephone companies. This isn’t necessarily a bad approach because price is extremely important to both business and home owners. Yet, many people who consider price alone find themselves stuck with poor telephone service, customer service, and inferior hardware because it is extremely one-dimensional and doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the company you are about to do business with.

Here are a few factors in no particular order that you should consider before choosing a telephone service vendor.

Customer Service

Every company will claim to have high quality customer service. But, be sure to find out what their customer service hours are. Is their contact information available and accessible on their website?

Contracts

If the telephone vendor has a service contract, be sure to read it thoroughly. A quality telephone service company will be happy to review the details with you about the contract, and inform you of all limitations.

Years in Business

This is a key differentiator.  There may be promising phone company startups in your area. Yet the telephone companies that have been in business a long time have probably overcome many challenges,  learned from past mistakes, and more than likely have strong internal business processes.

Variety of Telephone Services & Equipment

A quality telephone services vendor will offer a variety of services and equipment. Look for telephone companies that offer hardware choices from a variety of manufacturers such as Toshiba, ESI, and NEC. Also, look for vendors that offer a variety of telephone services such as long distance, voice mail, and networking. This gives you an idea of their range of expertise and dedication to their trade.