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

JS:
I wish you lived near me. You make alot of sense. And to answer your original question --there is as much difference in phone systems as in cars. You're in the market for a small phone system--a small car; not a sports car nor a pick-up truck. NEC, Inter-Tel & Comdial make pretty good cars, pick-ups & Semi-trucks. --but NEC & Inter-Tel are the Jaguars & Lexus and Comdial is the Chevrolet or Ford. Both Ford & Chevrolet make some good products but they aren't a Lexus. To compare the products is an unfair comparison. If you have the budget for a Lexus--don't even bother with the Ford.

The Comdial DX-80 will compare feature-wise & capacity-wise with the NEC & Inter-Tel but probably cost less; but the Comdial is not an NEC Elite IPK.

You now have 10 lines/18 phones...is it a possibility that you will double in the next five years. How much will it cost to expand your system of 10 lines 18 phones? The DX-80 can only go to 16 lines--but be quite OK(56 phones) on the station side. It will then have to be upgraded to the FXII--an unproven upgrade to be sure. The NEC & Inter-Tel have a much easier time of expanding. Not a cheap thing to do, for sure,--just easier IMHO. But find out how much to expand--how much for a phone--how much to add analog phone--how much to add a line card..etc, etc. Can the VM & phone system be programmed easily from a remote location. Can you yourself call in and change the main VM greeting--(business is closed because of a snow storm). Those are features. The Comdial can do all of that---easy. But it's not a Lexus.

The Comdial isn't a Telrad either.

JS,

DTMF and the guys have been around a long time. You don't make it in the business unless you excel at taking care of the customer. Although I am not familiar with the Telrad, other vendors and mods on the board speak highly of it. You should give them an oppurtunity to earn your business by letting them give you a proposal of a product. Most of us on this board are small companies. In order for us to compete with the big guys we have to have a good price for the product and excellent customer service. I am proud to say I know each one of my customers on a first name basis and we give them all a personlized service that lacks from other vendors. I believe you would have the same expierence with DTMF and most of the other vendors on this board.

How do I get ahold of DTMF

jspeterson you've got mail.
mark

Not looking to sell you anything!!!!!


You have to look around. Get your yellow pages out and find someone you trusted. That’s the most important thing. If you don’t have a good vendor you have nothing. Check his references, feel good about that salesman. You’re a smart guy you’ll know who’s good for your business. Then beat up on him Tell him you want 5 years service, see what happens maybe he’ll do it. Most guys will give up 2 years. They offer 1 year.

All of these systems do the same thing. Find a Phone that looks good to you, you have to like the style of the phone 1ST.

Right now is not a good time to buy a phone system. Why you might ask why. This VOIP Works good on all systems but it in it’s in the 1ST stages, now everyone will promise the world but there just trying to sell a system.

Find a dealer that has been around for a while, at least 10 years. Check his references. I would go for 20 years. Make sure they only sold that product for that long.

I’ve sold Telrad from day one. 23 years. That’s all I sell. It’s a great system. That’s what I think you should look at before you make a deal. If you need to talk about anything on this big decision please e-mail me. I Live in New York


[This message has been edited by tony3866 (edited September 09, 2004).]

I would go with Telrad too. It's one of the Best systems as far as a work horse goes. I would also go with dtmf, he can program that system in his sleep.

I agree with guys here and just wanted to pipe in again about the importance of SUPPORT for your new equipment...someone who isn't going to nickel and dime you for everything and also can provide legitimate REFERENCES...references you can call and speak with will give you a good feel about the company you are looking at going with (try to get at least 5 decent sized companies).