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Purchasing A New Phone Systems

Purchasing A New Phone Systems
Purchasing a business phone system is not an easy endeavor, but with the right mind set and a little knowledge about business telephones, you can find a viable, budget friendly solution to your business’ communication needs.
One of the first decisions you will need to make is whether or not to go with a key system or a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) system. Depending on how many individual stations you need and how rapidly you expect your company to grow, one of these two options should fit the bill.
PBX systems work well for larger companies or those who expect to grow substantially in the upcoming years. At one time, PBX systems were considered to offer the best functionality and enable you to enjoy more features than key systems, although that has changed a lot in recent years. Now, for the most part, the biggest difference between the two types of systems is simply that PBX systems will allow for more stations than key systems. Of course, they are also more expensive.

For smaller business with less than thirty to forty employees, a key system might be a better choice. Key systems offer, for the most part, the same features that PBX systems offer but can be substantially cheaper. For businesses on the fringe, however, it pays to go with a PBX. If your company were to expand beyond the level of what your key system can handle, you would have to replace the entire system.
Whether purchasing a key system or PBX, professional installation will be necessary and is often just as costly as the phone system itself, so be sure to factor that into your budget. Also consider your leasing situation if your company doesn’t own its own building. You don’t want to pay for an expensive install only to have to change locations soon after.
Ask your retail or wholesale phone system dealer for more detailed information on the types of systems available to you, including expansion options. He or she should be willing and able to guide you in making the right purchase for your business.

May 20, 2014 Today's Business, , , , , , 0 Read more >

Winning The War in Building Customer Service 2 of 2

Winning The War in Building Customer Service 2 of 2
Customer service, how I loathe thee.  Let me count the ways.  The never-ending loop of obnoxious hold music.  The pressure to buy new products and services.  The poor-quality, outsourced call to a distant land.

A call to customer service can be an infuriating ending to a frustrating experience.  You’re upset and looking for empathy, but all you encounter is disappointment.  Could Company X have done something differently?  Probably, but if you follow these tips when dealing with customer service, you’ll be in the driver’s seat for the next dispute.

1. Be prepared.

Seems basic, right?  Unless you’ve called Company X several times, you’re probably not familiar with their required information.  Have every tracking number, account number, itemized statement, and order number before you call.  Customer service representatives are held responsible for torturous call-handling metrics designed by masochistic management.  Length of call, resolution (if the customer calls back to the company within an allocated amount of time), and randomly monitored calls are measured stringently.  Bottom line: they want to help you quickly and completely, lest a superior crack a whip.

2. Be nice.

Customer service representatives speak with upset, irritated, and/or irate people all day.  Every day.  You may not agree with a credit denial, but screaming “the customer is always right, (expletive)!” will not help.  Be pleasant and the rules may be malleable.  Be another unpleasant customer and the guidelines will be set in stone.

3. Know when to call, know when to write.

If you need to request a price quote, add/remove a feature, or ask for explanation of a bill, e-mail is the most efficient route for your correspondence.  For repair concerns or credit requests, call customer service.  Repair specialists will need to troubleshoot and get access information should a technician need to be dispatched.  Credit requests can be handled via e-mail, however, it is easier to reply with a “credit denied” form letter than to deny credit to a real, live person.

4. Get on record.

If something is not working properly, call the company immediately.  If there is a cable, satellite, or phone outage, Company X will only be able to diagnose and correct the problem if they are notified a problem exists.  This also establishes a record of communication should you need to request a credit or refund at a later date.

5. Be persistent, but not obnoxious.

Many companies have guidelines for dispensing credit that require denial the first time for any request that is not a previously-reported “out of service” issue or a known billing error.  The second time a credit request is made, these guidelines can be relaxed.  If you have followed the “be nice” tip above, you may be rewarded with your credit request.

Following these five tips will help you get what you want in the most efficient manner possible.  Stay tuned for the next installment to find out how you can aggravate the customer service experience and actually delay resolution!

May 3, 2014 Today's Business, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Read more >

Winning The War in Building Customer Service 1 of 2

Winning The War in Building Customer Service 1 of 2

Customer service, how I loathe thee.  Let me count the ways.  The never-ending loop of obnoxious hold music.  The pressure to buy new products and services.  The poor-quality, outsourced call to a distant land.

A call to customer service can be an infuriating ending to a frustrating experience.  You’re upset and looking for empathy, but all you encounter is disappointment.  Could Company X have done something differently?  Probably, but if you follow these tips when dealing with customer service, you’ll be in the driver’s seat for the next dispute.

1. Be prepared.

Seems basic, right?  Unless you’ve called Company X several times, you’re probably not familiar with their required information.  Have every tracking number, account number, itemized statement, and order number before you call.  Customer service representatives are held responsible for torturous call-handling metrics designed by masochistic management.  Length of call, resolution (if the customer calls back to the company within an allocated amount of time), and randomly monitored calls are measured stringently.  Bottom line: they want to help you quickly and completely, lest a superior crack a whip.

2. Be nice.

Customer service representatives speak with upset, irritated, and/or irate people all day.  Every day.  You may not agree with a credit denial, but screaming “the customer is always right, (expletive)!” will not help.  Be pleasant and the rules may be malleable.  Be another unpleasant customer and the guidelines will be set in stone.

3. Know when to call, know when to write.

If you need to request a price quote, add/remove a feature, or ask for explanation of a bill, e-mail is the most efficient route for your correspondence.  For repair concerns or credit requests, call customer service.  Repair specialists will need to troubleshoot and get access information should a technician need to be dispatched.  Credit requests can be handled via e-mail, however, it is easier to reply with a “credit denied” form letter than to deny credit to a real, live person.

4. Get on record.

If something is not working properly, call the company immediately.  If there is a cable, satellite, or phone outage, Company X will only be able to diagnose and correct the problem if they are notified a problem exists.  This also establishes a record of communication should you need to request a credit or refund at a later date.

5. Be persistent, but not obnoxious.

Many companies have guidelines for dispensing credit that require denial the first time for any request that is not a previously-reported “out of service” issue or a known billing error.  The second time a credit request is made, these guidelines can be relaxed.  If you have followed the “be nice” tip above, you may be rewarded with your credit request.

Following these five tips will help you get what you want in the most efficient manner possible.  Stay tuned for the next installment to find out how you can aggravate the customer service experience and actually delay resolution!

May 3, 2014 Today's Business, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Read more >

6 Great Apps for Small Businesses

6 Great Apps for Small Businesses

The rise of mobile has certainly changed the face of business as we know it, and mostly for the better. Now that pretty much everyone has a smartphone, it is important that those phones are equipped with the right tools to keep up with the hectic life of a business professional. Having to put something off until you can get back to the office or hotel room could cost time, money, and even sales. That makes having everything you need in one mobile package a smart choice.

 

Take a look at these five apps that will add functionality to your phone – and life – with ease:

 

Audio Memos

 

Audio Memos is a great app that lets you record audio quickly and easily, whether you’re leaving yourself a reminder or recording a meeting or lecture.Lifehacker called it “the best voice recording app,” and it’s easy to see why – it’s simple, easy to use, and incredibly useful.

 

The app can even be set to start recording when it hears voices, so you can avoid long silences at the beginning of your recordings. Use the various extensions to trim your recordings, compress them for email, and upload everything to Dropbox, Box, Evernote, Google Drive, or simply send messages via email.

 

CardMunch

 

What do you do with those 20 or 50-odd, assorted business cards you’ve collected after you leave the conference? Most of us do a quick sort, and even then, the ones we keep often just get tucked away. Is there a better way to organize them? You bet.

 

With CardMunch, you just snap a picture of a business card and the app does the rest. It automatically converts the text on the business card into an address book contact using your mobile phone’s contact system. Snap a picture, ditch the card. Additionally, since CardMunch is owned by LinkedIn, you can take that contact information and add the person as a connection on LinkedIn, making it easy to view even more info through their profile right away.

 

 

MightyMeeting

 

MightyMeeting is a powerful tool that ensures you are never unprepared for a meeting. You can:

 

  • Store PowerPoint presentations and PDF files and share them any way you want to.
  • Set up online meetings that anyone can connect to using their phone, tablet, or computer.
  • Download documents to your device before you head out to a spot where you know that you are going to be without an internet connection, and use Nearcast to share them over Bluetooth between any iOS devices in the room.
  • You can even create an interactive whiteboard that everyone can use to share ideas.

 

TripIt

 

I travel a lot, giving speeches and what not, and TripIt is my go-to travel app. Here’s how it works: with each travel reservation you make – car rental, flight, hotel, etc– you simply forward the confirmation to TripIt and the site combines them all and sends you back a master calendar/confirmation/itinerary. The elegant itinerary then syncs with Apple and Google Calendars. It also contains weather info for where you are going, as well as maps and directions for each stop on your travels. TripIt Pro adds real-time flight information, a flight finder, and more to an already robust app.

Hightail

 

This is another of my favorite business apps. Hightail is a great way to share large files that might otherwise be practically impossible to send. The app lets you send files up to 2GB instantly from your computer or mobile device, and store an unlimited amount of files online. Such large attachments usually upset regular email servers.

 

At Hightail.com (formerly YouSendIt), you can see who has downloaded your files, and even control who can and can’t make changes to those files. Finally, you can also sign documents through Hightail and return them immediately, making sure that contracts, mocks, and other documents take as little time as possible to get approved.

 

These apps help make your phone or tablet the only device you need to get everything done. Do you have an app you can’t live without? Share it with us.

More apps for business http://www.businessinsider.com/50-best-business-apps-2013-8?op=1

April 10, 2014 Today's Business, , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Read more >

Ideas on Purchasing a Business Phone Systems

Ideas on Purchasing a Business Phone Systems
After recently updating our office phone system, I have a few pieces of advice to share about purchasing an office phone system. We thought we did enough research to make this a simple purchase and installation, but found out later that we really had little idea of what we were getting into. This, in itself, wouldn’t be so bad, but the phone supplier we went with flatly refused to help us out after the sale. We ended up having to contact another vendor for the information we needed to make our new phones function properly.

First, and let me stress this; always contact the vendor prior to the purchase. Not only do you want to know who you are dealing with, you need to know if it is someone who can and will answer your questions and who will stand behind the products they sell.

Second, always go with a vendor who has more than one option for phone systems. We found out after we had already purchased our new phones and equipment that there were phones on the market which would have served our specific needs better and would have cost less than the phones we went with.

Third, always think about compatibility. We thought that because we had purchased the same brand of phone, that we could simply switch out the new phones for the old ones and that our line equipment would never notice. We did ask the supplier before the purchase if there would be compatibility issues and were told, “it should be fine”. That should have set off a red flag, but one likes to assume that someone selling phones might know a thing or two about them. See rule number one.

Finally, do a healthy amount of comparison shopping. We went with the first supplier because he was the cheapest of three that we had looked at. Three was nowhere near enough. We found out after it was too late that the vendor we contacted for help had the same phones for cheaper (although he would have been kind enough to steer us toward what we really needed) and offered far superior customer service.

In short, purchasing a new office phone system, whether you have five lines or five hundred, is a big investment. Follow the step that we didn’t, and you’ll save a lot of time, money and effort.  You’ll be glad you did.

January 26, 2014 Today's Business, , , , , , 0 Read more >

Office Phone System: Know How Important It Is To Your Operation

Office Phone System: Know How Important It Is To Your OperationOffice Phone System: Know How Important It Is To Your Operation

Office Phone System: Know How Important It Is To Your Operation. Because of a recent boom in business, my company needed to update our office phone system. We had a very nice system in place already, but our business had tripled within a matter of months. Since we rely on phone orders for the vast majority of our sales, we needed to upgrade in order to handle the increase in call volume. We were lucky to have a great relationship with our telephone equipment provider, as within days we were able to have a new system ready to put in place. It’s not often that businesses find themselves in situations like this, but when they do come up, it’s important to know that the companies you have chosen to do business with are capable of meeting your needs in a timely manner.

Prior to this happening, we had a trunk study performed, after which we were told that we were losing business as a result of not having a new phone system in place. Anyone who has ever run a business knows that losing money because you are ill equipped to handle your customer’s needs is the worst way to lose money. Being able to make a phone call and knowing it would be taken care of quickly and efficiently was a great relief to me. I knew that with every passing day, thousands of dollars were being lost and that’s something I couldn’t afford to let happen. The whole situation made me think about the importance of knowing qualified vendors who can get you the products you need, when you need them. Office Phone System: Know How Important It Is To Your Operation

I soon began looking into other areas where we were dependent upon other companies for goods and services to see if we were utilizing vendors who could facilitate the changes our growing business was experiencing. After a long, hard look, we decided to switch shipping companies and to switch to a new overnight call center operator. It’s not that our needs weren’t being met at the time, but that if things continued to grow, we would likely outpace our current vendor’s ability to provide service. Being proactive in your business relationships is just as important as being proactive about your business. After all, most companies depend on other companies to make their operations run smoothly. I encourage all business owners to seek out the service providers and vendors that can handle your needs both now and in the future. When your business grows, you’ll be happy you did. Office Phone System: Know How Important It Is To Your Operation

December 3, 2013 Today's Business, , , , , , 2 Read more >

Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet. Fraudulent schemes range from peddling water purifiers, vitamins, and make-up kits to stock investments and abusive “900” numbers. According to the Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing (AAFT), Americans lose an estimated $40 billion each year to telemarketing fraud. Con artists and swindlers use the telephone more and more as their “weapon” to hold up victims. Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

If a sales pitch sounds too good to be true, just hang up. If you don’t, you may become the next victim of telephone fraud.

Top Phone Scams

While some of the following products and services can be and are legitimately sold by reputable telemarketers, the Division of Consumer Protection has identified seven areas where fraud can occur and does the most damage to the consumer’s wallet:

Free Prize Offers: If you receive a phone call that you have won a free prize, be cautious! Usually there are conditions to securing those offers such as substantial handling fees, shipping charges, membership fees and/or the purchase of other merchandise.
Ask the telephone solicitor what the prize is worth. It may be of little value, and it may not be worth the money you will have to spend to receive it. A “contest” or an offer of a “free” prize or gift is only a sales tactic. No one is in business to give things away. Look for strings attached. Telemarketers must be registered with the Division of Consumer Protection. Call the Division to verify current registration. Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

Charitable Solicitations: Telephone solicitation is one method used by charitable organizations to raise funds from generous consumers. Unfortunately, fraudulent charitable operators may call you, too. State law requires charities to inform donors if they are registered with the state, what the permit number is and what percentage of your donation will actually go to the charity. Call the Division of Consumer Protection to verify the information they give you. Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

When you make a donation, it is a good idea to pay by check and make the check out to the organization, not the person collecting the donation. Be cautious of organizations that pressure you to pledge money on the spot or tell you they will send a representative immediately to your home to pick up your donation. A legitimate charity will gladly accept your donation today, tomorrow, or a month from now.

Travel Offers: It can be quite tempting to purchase a bargain-priced travel package over the telephone, but be careful. Many of these scams operate by enticing people to join “vacation clubs” or offering consumers “free trips.” Often the vacation club or free trip has many hidden costs or conditions attached. Your bargain or free trip could end up costing you a lot of money. Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet
Investment Fraud: Many unsound investment opportunities are peddled over the telephone. Fraudulent sales pitches usually involve such statements as “you must act now,” “there is no risk” or “this must be kept a secret.” Promoters will often try to make you feel guilty or silly for asking questions or exhibiting doubt. Stop and think before you quickly turn your money over to an investment promoter calling on the phone. Ask for written information. And, if you are receiving undue or uncomfortable pressure, or if other “warning flags” arise during the conversation, hang up.

“900” Numbers: When you call a “900” number, you are charged either a fee for the number of minutes you are on the phone or a flat fee for the entire call. These fees can add up rather quickly after you have spent more than a few minutes on the telephone.

Some services will keep you on the line for an extended length of time before you get all of the information you called for, making it a very expensive phone call. Find out the costs of the call before you make it, and never call any “900” numbers that doesn’t disclose the costs up front. Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

Recently, unscrupulous telemarketers began transferring calls made to toll-free “800” numbers over to “900” numbers. This improper practice makes it more important today then ever before to know who you are calling. You should also listen carefully to any recorded information at the beginning of the call.

Advance-Fee Loan Scams: These scams often target people who are out of work or have poor credit ratings. Con artists promise “guaranteed” loans, no matter what your credit rating is, in exchange for an up-front processing or application fee. You may wait weeks or months to find out credit has been denied and the processing fee is not, as promised, refunded. Or, you may never hear from the company again, and may even find the company is withdrawing from your credit card or checking accounts using information you disclosed over the phone. Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

Credit Repair Schemes: If you are having a problem getting credit, you may be tempted to listen to telephone solicitors who advertise quick and easy solutions to credit problems. Unfortunately, in many cases, these companies take your money and do little or nothing to improve your credit history. Credit repair companies cannot remove bad credit information from your files. If there are genuine mistakes on your credit file, you can remove them yourself–for free. Credit repair companies must be registered with the Division of Consumer Protection. Call the Division to verify their registration. Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

First Line of Defense

Your best defense is yourself. Follow some basic rules, and arm yourself with the tools to safeguard your hard-earned money from telephone con artists. Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud by Tim Jacquet

 

January 10, 2013 Today's Business, , , , , , , , , , , 2 Read more >