Signing Business Telephone Service Contracts
A little while ago we wrote a short piece entitled “How do I Change My Business Telephone Provider?”
Over the last few months we have come across a number of companies that are very unhappy with the business telephone service they have purchased. Highlighting the care that needs taking when signing a business telephone service contract. Discussing the issues, Stamford Telephone Company find we just can’t help them out. Contractual obligations mean these businesses are tied in to the poor service they were sold. With any possible termination incurring a prohibitively expensive penalty charge.
What problems are businesses encountering with the telephone systems being sold?
One example is a lack of technical qualification when it comes to the design and specification of hosted telephone systems. Those that are wholly in the cloud. These require good quality internet connectivity to work effectively with the gateway routers needing to protect the voice quality. This is done by reserving bandwidth for all concurrent voice calls, maintaining the clarity of sound. In addition signalling traffic used to set up the call, and the speech itself, must also be prioritised.
Businesses are telling us that their incumbent suppliers are installing low speed broadband connections when superfast broadband is available. Days in to the operation of the new solution call quality is found to be poor with the customer having no option but to upgrade the broadband service. An extra expense and inconvenience they were not expecting. The business telephone service contract tying the customer in and giving them little option but to pay the extra charges.
Who is supporting the business telephone system?
There are commission only sales organisations operating in the telecommunications industry. These organisations invariably have a large corporate entity providing the contractual support to the end customer.
This situation is another example of the lack of customer care we encounter on a weekly basis. Customers are unable to find anyone in the large corporate to support them effectively when issues arise and the company that sold the solution are uninterested once the ink is dry.
Typically, there is another sting in the tail with business telephone systems sold in this way; the hardware lease agreement. The cost of the telephone system and the handsets is rolled up in to a lease lasting for the length of the contract, likely to be 5 years. The unhappy business sold the system now has two companies they must pay money to with little or no way of getting out of the agreements.
Our recommendations
Stamford Telephone Company strive for 100% customer satisfaction and directly support every system we install. Offering free remote support for the lifetime of the contracts our customers sign.
We recommend that any business looking to change their telephones, or telecoms provider, consider the following:
- Don’t sign a contract of more than 12 months with any supplier. Unless you have been working with them for long enough to ensure you are happy with the services they provide
- Don’t install an ISDN based system. The lifetime of this technology is limited and you will need to upgrade again shortly. This legacy service won’t be available from as early as June 2021 in many exchanges around the country.
- Look to avoid leasing telephone system hardware where at all possible. Ask your new supplier what other options are available.
- Ensure the new supplier will be supporting your new business telephone system directly
- Ensure that the new supplier will be billing you directly
Stamford Telephone Company are always happy to offer advise so call us today on 01780 430490 or fill out our contact form.
