atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Phone systems

Our company is looking for a new phone system. We have 19 phone stations. So far we have bids from Toshiba, Avaya, Cisco and Comdial. Any suggestions on which company is better to deal with?

The question you need to ask yourself is what local vendor do I trust and can help me. All of the systems you are getting bids on are reputable systems.

Mike

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| Business Telephones | Telephone Systems

Those are all nice products, but the quality of the phone system depends as much on the installation, maintenance and programming. You should check the reputation of your vendors and ask for references then compare.

BCHC:

Let's save you some time. Everyone and his brother has a preference as to a particular brand. By this time tomorrow, you will have received responses to your post in the double-digits.

All professionals in this industry become comfortable and thus "recommend" the product that they know best. Unfortunately, not every brand is available in every geograpical market. For this reason, you will need to focus on the brands that are readily-available in your area.

Obviously, you should pick a brand being sold by an authorized dealer with a good reputation. This should not be a reputation for being the cheapest, the largest or the fastest. It should be a verifiable reputation for quality installations, prompt service and post-sale support, like training.

Let's face it; your office may experience a complete employee turnover in a few years and you need to know that you can pick up the phone and request or purchase a subsequent training class. The company you want is the one that will be willing to do this, or better yet help you over the phone. Even if you have to pay a little something for end-user issues, find someone who will do this.

The "company" that is cheapest may be busy making a sale to someone else when your system crashes on a Monday morning. He won't be able to answer his cell phone and if that's the case, you need to be prepared.

Go with a licensed (not just a business license; check with your local jurisdiction for contractor's licensing). I can register my dog for a business license with a check and a signature. Also, verify that the seller is a factory-authorized dealer for the product they are selling. That way, you have the manufacturer's support if all-else fails.

Don't be shy about asking for license or insurance information. Anyone who has it will be happy to give it to you, in fact this information should be a part of the proposal. If anyone doesn't volunteer it, then there's your sign; you shouldn't have to ask. If you are told that contractor's licensing isn't required in your area, that's still something you should double-check with local authorities. Call three times, you will probably get different answers each time you call. The third call will be the tie breaker.

Even in a small-town jurisdiction where you reach the same person three times, they will appreciate your confirming this information. It's worth it.

Regardless, contractor's liability insurance is ALWAYS required. Your company shouldn't have to worry about someone being hurt on the job during your installation or damage being done during the process. You are entitled to require the potential bidders to provide you with a certificate of insurance.

If possible, buy a brand that is sold (or at least supported) by three vendors in your area.

If it's only available through one dealer and they go under, you could be in trouble down the road.

If there are only two dealers in your area, they may go out of their way to make each other look bad and possibly leave you with the same problem.

If there are three or more dealers, you stand to find some truly legitimate competition that will probably know and respect each other. That situation is your best shot, but not very common in a lot of markets.

Insurance, licensing and references are really what it's all going to boil down to. In this day and age, most manufacturers' systems have more features than anyone could ever use. If it's a brand you are not familiar with, again, check references or even try Google for further information. Actually, look here at the brands on this forum. I learn a lot about our competitors' products here myself!

I think you really need to focus on local dealers, their reputations and their references' opinions, not necessarily the big brand names. If you keep it local and with a legitimate licensed and insured authorized dealer (boy, that's a mouthfull), I think you will be happy with your choice.

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Ed
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How come there's always enough time to go back and fix it a second time?

[This message has been edited by ev607797 (edited September 12, 2005).]

As always Ed offers great advise.
I think the only thing I would add to it is to suggest that you make a list of the key features and functions that are imprtant to you!

YES, it's true that all of these systems can do pretty much everything and pretty much the same things, BUT among equals some are more equal than others when it comes to certain features.

Consider the issue with Cisco and multi call handling (search forum) or look at Avaya fax routing issues in the Avaya forum. While it is very important to go with a good dealer. The best dealer in the world can not solve a feature issue in the system if the feature isn't there.

I find that often new buyers take for granted the feaures they cherrish. They've been using xyz for so many years that they just assume that what ever new system they pick will do that.

Make a short clear list of the features you use now and how you use them.
Then ask yourself - Why are we looking at buying a new phone system? What features functions do we need that the current system can not meet AND what features functions we want to keep that the old system can do?

I think that today with networking it is less of an issue to have a certain number of local dealers. I carry 3 systems which I can completely monitor, diagnose and to some extent repair remotely. I just installed one of these in Brasil and no SADLY the customer would not spring for the airfare (of course this is provided that all wiring issues are addressed locally)
Yes, unlike most of the folks here I am firm believer in the furure of voip and if you are seriously considering CISCO, we need to talk! I have a system that is IMHO far better, easier to use and NO endless licensing and upgrade fees.
So, yes a vendor IS important, Licenses and Insurance ARE important. But you will probalby live with the phone system for at least the next decade! In a perfect world you will be able to pick up the phone 5 years from now and get the same co and guy who installed your system to show up in an hour. But really - in todays economy?

just my 2c