atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Recommendation for Phone System

I agree with Bill Flippen (and others). As the technician installing your equipment, it is more important to me that EVERYTHING works as you were promised.

There are some salespeople who will promise you anything to get the "comission"*

Most technicians know more than any salesman will ever dream of knowing. (again *)


*This does not include those salesman who actually bother to learn what they are selling...I have actually known a few...

So true!

Never hurts to have the tech who's installing the system be there at the "sale" meeting to make sure it's gonna suit your needs..

Having sold and installed tons of Vodavi systems since 1983, I have to say that it wasn't the Vodavi system you weren't satisfied with. Their systems are so flexible that I can only believe it was the incompetent vendor who went out of business who didn't know how to set it up for you and provide proper training. I can't tell you how many times we have picked up service accounts from failed vendors and find that we wow the customer with the ability to customize the system beyond their wildest dreams. I happen to also sell NEC and depending on my customer's needs, sometimes that system is or is not more appropriate for them. The vendor really needs to determine your requirements and go from there.

Oh, the people were not people that the company referred us to, they were people that we know through other people and just called to ask how they liked their phone systems. But that is certainly something to keep in mind since we've been given a couple of names from the company we're considering working with.

Heh, you guys have pretty well convinced me that it was the company and not the hardware. This is going to take a lot longer than we had hoped so we've got all the phones forwarded and have a bit more time to research and decide.

The company we have spoken to so far has not convinced me the are the right choice. One of the customers they referred us to speak to had only had the phone system installed for two days. Even worse, that customer had bought their last phone system only four years ago from the same company and the previous phone system no longer worked. We are aiming for a lot longer than 4 years...is that normal? How long should we expect a phone system to last? The person we spoke to did say that when they bought the system it was...well, she implied it was not a very good system to begin with. We'll be calling some other places tomorrow.

Would this be a name for the NEC system? UNIVERGE Desktop IP and Digital Terminals

And really, what we would love is a phone that has a big "Caller ID" button on it so it is easy to check caller ID. We don't need fancy, and we hate pressing extra buttons. The salesmen seemed so impressed with all the options...that you had to get to by pressing a series of buttons while looking at that tiny little screen that is hard for some people to read. We prefer lots of clearly labeled buttons to going through a bunch of menus just to page someone the next room over. We might as well yell if we have to press that many. They had one larger color touchscreen that probably would be easier, but they didn't have it set up to actually work so we couldn't see how many buttons would have to be pressed to get to caller ID.

By the way, you all are great. Thanks so much for all the info!

Okay, you have computers more than 4 years old?
If it says "IP" anyplace it is based on a computer and you lose what you are used to...dependability and ease of use. You gain a nice looking paper weight and the need to buy licenses every year. Is it worth it?

Do you really want to be on the "bleeding edge" of technology? Are you willing to be the training site for this company?

How long should a telephone system last? Well, if it is properly installed and maintained, anywhere upwards of 15-20 years is not unusual here in the area of the Midwest I'm in. For the techno-nerds....5 to 7 on an average.

As the others have said, talk to the tech...not the salesman. Do a little on line research...you have mentioned NEC...try their DSX series. It should cover all your needs of no button CID, caller logging, on-and-on-and-on options. When you look at their website, check their dealer locator for your area.

Good luck!

Here is a thought. Look at the different categories on this forum:

"3 Com to Other"

Observe which ones haven't had a post for 30 days or longer. Of those within 30 days, which posts are about systems that are no longer available (Sprint) et cetera.

The most common systems are Avaya, NEC, Panasonic, Toshiba*.

[*I am thinking of cost effective systems within your guidelines]

My bias would be to the Nortel Norstar MICS, single pair system, all digital, customer can easily program buttons as needed, basic ksu give up to 8 lines and 32 stations.
But that's just me.

Sounds like they are proposing an NEC SV8100.

Very good reliable system.

D

dhw1949, why would anyone buy a system that is being discontinued and the manufacturer no longer exists? Especially as they want one that will last for years?