3 pitfalls of Hosted VoIP and How To Avoid Them

As VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) demand continues to grow, users are promised big savings if they drop their traditional phone lines and move their voice services to the internet. For businesses big or small, it’s usually an offer they can’t pass up.

Unfortunately, not everyone has a positive experience. We all see the problems people post online about VoIP service. Things like dropped calls, choppy audio or even ghost calls. Here are the three reasons businesses have problems with their VoIP services.

1)     Wrong Provider. The explosive demand for VoIP around the world has made it very attractive and new telecom companies are opening their doors with just an Asterisk box in the backroom and call themselves a VoIP company. They don’t have the experience or understanding required to provide the type of service needed for small and medium sized businesses.

2)     No Professional Installation. When I’m talking to a potential client and they tell me they have a VoIP system already but don’t like it, one question comes to mind. I ask them “who installed it for you (even though I usually know the answer)? They always tell me they did it themselves.

3)     The Wrong Equipment. If the business doesn’t already use voice quality equipment or their voice service isn’t programmed correctly to have priority over data, the voice service will end up choking. This leads to dropped calls and audio getting choppy.  Most users don’t know how to fix the problem and have to call the IT company. This is often their computer expert but they aren’t voice experts. This ends up just costing the business more money and doesn’t really fix the problem.

Monica at Electric Tuna (a web design company) is one of our customers. She said when they moved into their office the suite came with an old PBX system but they never liked it. The phones were old and outdated. Between the phone bill and the IT company bills for the constant maintenance and repairs the cost was getting ridiculous. She started researching options and found a VoIP company on line who promised her the world and then sent her a box of phones. That was it. They had problems from day one with calls dropping and bad audio. She said it sounded like Max Headroom when you were talking to customer on the phone. After a month of non-stop problems they replaced the awesome new technology with the old phone system they had just taken down. She said her biggest relief was that they hadn’t found anyone to take the old phones yet and things could go back to the way they were.

Fast forward a year later when Monica and I meet at a networking function. I introduce myself and tell her what we do. Her first words were “I would never use VoIP for my business!”. When I asked why she told me her story. I couldn’t blame her really, but unfortunately I hear this all the time. It took a lot of work and convincing to win Monica back to the future and onto our VoIP network. We were able to show her the right solutions for her company’s needs. Instead of just shipping her some boxes everything was professionally configured and installed. Because she is on a hosted VoIP network there is no need for her to call the IT company to fix anything. There’s no need for a big phone room or costly equipment any more.  That was a year and a half ago. Since then Electric Tuna has opened 3 more offices in the US and with Resound Voice at her finger tips, all she had to do was call us. We got the right internet provider and equipment provisioned and sent out technicians to install and she was ready to go.

Because she chose Resound Voice she was able to get the right solution and the right service.

Needless to say you need an expert who’s not there just to send you a bill and some boxes. You need a provider you can trust will make sure you have the right equipment for your needs and configured the right way. You need a provider who’s support and service is easy to access. You need Resound Voice.

Call Scott today to find out why Resound Voice is the right company to partner with for your businesses telecom and data needs.

Email: [email protected] or 865-293-0350