We did it again: Telco Ltd. has achieved Elite Reseller status from ESI for the second year running.  ESI Elite Resellers comprise the uppermost echelon of dealers of ESI phone systems who demonstrate outstanding commitment to customer service and support.  It goes beyond ESI’s Quality Program, and highlights those ESI resellers that show a special dedication to providing their customers with outstanding, reliable equipment and support.

ESI does not formally state what the requirements are for becoming an Elite Reseller, but we do know that they hand-pick those resellers out of the entire country who demonstrate superlative achievement and dedication.  We believe that fewer than 10% (and possibly even fewer than 5%) of all ESI resellers achieve Elite Reseller status.

What does all this mean to you in a practical sense?  In short, that you can depend on us!  Telco Ltd. has been in business for over 26 years.  Our personnel have over 150 years of combined telecommunications experience.  We have multiple ESI-certified Master Technicians (the highest level of certification, and one that only a small percentage of ESI-certified technicians have achieved).  We are strongly committed not only to selling and installing what could well be the best business telephone equipment on the planet, but, through our knowledge and customer service abilities, to keeping your business communications operating smoothly, year-in and year-out.  You can depend on us!

Maintenance and service agreements: you see them everywhere, in one form or another, offered on products from cars, to computers, to home stereo systems, to (yes!) telephone systems.  I thought I’d cover Telco Ltd.’s maintenance program, and describe why it stands apart from the crowd–and even do a little bragging.

Most such programs out there are essentially extended warranties: they cover the equipment you’ve bought for a certain extended period of time (usually ranging from one or two years, in the case of electronic equipment, to 5 years or so for vehicles), and either cover the parts only, or parts and labor.  In every case I have seen, this is a fixed period after which, if it breaks, you’re paying full price for repairs.  Telco Ltd.’s maintenance program covers all parts and on-site labor for as long as you’re on the program, with no fixed termination (all we ask is that you stay on the program for one year, after which it’s month-to-month and you’re free to cancel at any time).

What do I mean by no fixed termination?  Put simply, your equipment is covered for as long as you want it to be.  It’s not that you can’t be cancelled (after all, we have to protect ourselves in case a manufacturer goes out of business, parts are no longer available on the market, etc.), it’s just that we never have cancelled anyone (except in cases of non-payment of the monthly dues).  This is great peace of mind for those customers who want their phone system to serve them for many years, without assuming the increased risk of disrepair (and costly bills) that comes with an aging system.  What a lot of people forget, especially over time, is that, aside from the phones themselves, there is other equipment that can cost thousands of dollars if it breaks: CPU cards, line and station cards, voicemail, etc.  This is equipment that is often “out of sight, out of mind.”

Our maintenance plan has some other nice features that make it an especially good value.  For example, most programming changes on the systems we sell can be accomplished remotely, and there is no charge for any number of programming changes.  There is also no charge for telephone support under the program.  Here are some other things that you can expect when you have a phone system provided by us and you’re enrolled in our program:

• Discounted on-site work for non-warranty work like moves and other changes (warranty work is always no-charge)
• On-site hourly rates that never increase
• Free software upgrades
• Free backups
• Free on-site training sessions (up to 2 per year)
• Free wire and jack maintenance
• 10% discount on any new equipment
• Faster response times
• And more!

One would assume that we charge an arm and a leg for this type of coverage.  But this assumption would be wrong.  Compared to the price of the equipment, the monthly amount is small and reasonable, and compares to what many companies charge for just the warranty portion of their service agreements.  Something that is also noteworthy is that, unlike with competitors’ programs, the amount you pay on a monthly basis does not increase year-over-year as your system ages unless, of course, you add equipment to your system (there is a discount for the first year, though, to account for the fact that the equipment has a manufacturer’s warranty on it).

The above point bears emphasis, because with every insurance or warranty program I have seen out there, the amount a company charges is related to its assessment of risk based on the age (and even service history) of the equipment.  With Telco’s maintenance program, the monthly amount does not increase year-over-year as the equipment ages.  It also does not increase based on your service history, so if you’ve had bad luck and have had to have a bunch of equipment replaced, you don’t have to worry about your rates increasing.  Here is a note I got recently from a satisfied customer who is on our maintenance program:

Dear Stephen,

I believe that the maintenance program that Telco Ltd. offers is the best in the industry, at a very reasonable price.  It should be no surprise that we have actually closed sales based on our maintenance program.  I have explained our program to other phone system vendors over the years, and the reaction has always been something along the lines of, “But I could never make money with that!  You really should re-think offering so many benefits–you could get away with much less.”

Maybe we could.  Maybe we’re crazy, who knows?  But as long as our customers see the value we provide, we will continue to offer the best maintenance program in the industry.

We did it again!  Telco Ltd. is the recipient of the ESI Reseller Quality Program Award for 2008.  This award is granted to those ESI resellers who demonstrate excellence in customer service:

ESI Quality Program Award 2008

The Platinum level is the highest level offered in the quality program, and Telco Ltd. has achieved this level for four years in a row, demonstrating outstanding customer service and satisfaction.  Telco Ltd. is also the recipient of an Elite Reseller award for 2008, the highest distinction offered by ESI:

ESI Elite Reseller Award 2008

These two awards reflect our sincere commitment to our customers, and our desire that each customer have the best experience they possibly can.

When looking for a new phone system, one should realize that not all phone systems are created equal.  While, on the surface, it may appear that most phone systems have the same basic level of functionality, this could not be further from the truth.  All phone systems are based on unique technology and designs, and, when you take a close look, you will find vast differences in one manufacturer’s system to the next.  The three broad questions to ask yourself when evaluating a phone system should be:

• Does it have all the functionality, robustness, and capacity my business needs?
• Are the phones intuitive and easy to use?
• Can I see a live demonstration of the phones and their operation?

Here are some questions that you’ll want to make sure to ask as part of your checklist:

• Caller ID. Does the system support Caller ID on all lines?  Does this capability cost extra?  Do all phones have displays so that I can take advantage of Caller ID?  Can I add a caller’s Caller ID to my personal electronic “Rolodex” with one button press?  Will Caller ID be stored with voicemail messages?  Can Caller ID of the original caller be relayed on calls forwarded outside the office?  Can I review a list from my phone of recent calls’ Caller ID, along with whether I answered the call or it was missed, went to voicemail, or was redirected?
• Voicemail. Does the system support voicemail?  How many ports (simultaneous connections) does it have, and will this be sufficient for my needs?  Is it built-in, or added on?  Will my phone display show me how many messages I have? As I am listening to a message, will a counter on my display count down the time remaining in the message?  Can I transfer callers to voicemail in 2 button presses or fewer?  Can I easily send a message to multiple mailboxes on the fly without having to go through a menu?  When listening to a voicemail message, can I return the call by pressing one button?  Can I allow callers who reach my voicemail to be forwarded to me off site?  Can I be notified of new messages by pager or phone?  Can employees without an office phone still have voicemail?  Am I charged based on the number of mailboxes I use, or are as many as I need included?  Is Unified Messaging available?  Can I save a copy of a message to my computer for archiving or email?
• Auto-Attendant. Does the system have an automated attendant with the ability to provide multiple options to the caller?  Can the menus be several deep if needed?  Can callers be transferred to extensions, mailboxes, departments, overhead paging, remote IP extensions, off-site branches via VoIP, or to outside phone numbers?  Can I have multiple answer modes (such as day, lunch, night, and holiday), and can I either activate them on demand or have them follow a schedule?
• Call Recording. Does the phone have a dedicated Record button for one-touch recording?  Will the recording begin without a delay?  Can I record a call with or without notifying the caller?  Can I record a live conversation directly to my own or another user’s mailbox? Can I record a conversation to multiple users’ mailboxes, on the fly?  Can I save a copy of the recording to my computer for archiving or email?
• Automatic Call Distribution. Does the system support Automatic Call Distribution (ability to let caller stay on hold for the “next available agent”)?  Can calls be escalated if the caller has been in the queue for a certain amount of time, or if the number of callers in queue reaches a certain threshold?  Can the type of routing be flexible (i.e. longest idle extension, uniform distribution, or in-order distribution)? As an administrator, can I silently monitor calls for quality assurance purposes?  When monitoring calls for quality assurance, can I record the conversation for later review and employee feedback?  Is computer software available to facilitate communication between agents and administrators, and to allow administrators to keep track of activity (both real-time and historical)?  Can off-site users (i.e. telecommuters) be part of an ACD group?  Can I monitor them as well?
• Music On Hold. Is music on hold capability built-in to the system, or does it require additional equipment?  Are there pre-recorded tracks so I can hit the ground running?  Can I load custom tracks that will loop automatically?  Can callers dial an extension from hold?
• Built-in Help. Does the system have built-in help?  Does it have a built-in verbal tutorial on phone and voicemail features?  Is there a dedicated Help button?
• Conferencing. Does the system have built-in conferencing?  How many parties can be conferenced together simultaneously?  Is it easy to initiate a conference and add parties?
• Voice over IP (VoIP): Does the system support both local (on-premises) and remote IP (off-premises) extensions?  Do IP phones have all the same features and functionality as non-IP phones?  Can remote IP phones be moved from location to location geographically and plugged into practically any broadband connection, or does this require extensive configuration?  Do the remote phones use high-quality compression for the best voice quality?  Are SIP phones supported?  Are “soft” PC phones supported (local or remote)?  Can multiple, geographically distant sites be connected together?  Does this linking capability include robust features such as one-touch intercom/transfer, auto attendant or DID routing between sites, or ability to see when users at other sites are using their phone, in Do Not Disturb, or available?
• Presence Management. Does the system support door phones/security access readers using RFID technology (with security cards or keychain fobs)?  Can designated phone users unlock doors for guest entry from their desk?  Can I tell at a glance, from my phone, whether or not someone is in the building?  Can building or secure area access be limited based on a schedule?  Can a security card or fob be disabled quickly if it is lost or stolen, so that locks do not need to be changed?  Can the security readers also be used as time clocks, and can this data be reported on or imported into payroll software?
• Wireless Integration. Does the system support digital cordless phones in addition to standard analog cordless phones?  Do the digital cordless phones support a wide range of features, such as line and station appearances, transfer, conference, voicemail access, call record, do not disturb, overhead page, and more?  Can these features be accessed with one button rather than memorizing a code or button sequence?  Can users utilize a wireless Bluetooth headset of their choice with their office desk phone?  Can I automatically redirect cell phone calls to my office phone while I am in the office, without having to remember to forward and un-forward my cell phone (if that’s even an option)?  Can I run a cell line through my phone system as a backup line in case my regular lines ever go down?
• Expansion. Can the system be expanded easily without having to replace the entire phone system?  Can new capabilities be added to the system via a software upgrade?  Can software upgrades be done remotely?
• Support. Does the company I purchase the phone system from have extensive experience with this brand?  Do they have multiple technicians that are fully certified on the equipment?  How long have they been in business?  Are they a local company?  Do they have the ability to diagnose most issues quickly, without dispatching a technician?  If a technician needs to be dispatched, and it’s an emergency, will I get a response within a few hours or less?