sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Which Brand?

here here, well put!

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www.tgcommunications.net

Paul.......email me your home address, I am personally gonna send you 2 nice cigars.....

"You are the man".............

And to you CW, you will find by reading throughout this board.......Humor is my main goal in life when dealing with Telephony....you need it considering what this industry is going through......

The fact that you have choosen the NEC Aspire was a smart choice, I sell only NEC but not authorized on the Aspire.....If you do purchase this system.......BE AWARE..that ONLY CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS can work on this system...

Believe me when I tell you the qualifications to becoming certified are painstaken (is that a real word)...

Anyway, I think the DS system is just as good for you and finding SERVICE & SUPPORT would not be a problem, but more of a problem with the Aspire although I shouldnt think in NYC you would have a problem.......

Yeah, the responses I needed. I am definitely checking out the quality of techs. No doubt your services are the most important. I found the internet allowed me to become educated and get in contact with numerous vendors. It was the starting point but not the end of the process. So thanks to all you harding working apt techs out there-don't get too discouraged, I am aware of the need for quality service.

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CWB

My 2 cents.
Panasonic Digital. You can just pick up the phone and compare the construction to most others. They are expensive but worth it, look good but not Buck Rogers. Unified messaging with basic voice mail. Use all 24 btnn phones w pertinant features on button and use is easy as pie.
The NEC is hard to beat on price points. I think the phone is kind of flimsy but have had no durability issues yet. IntraMail is loaded w/ features and easy to use w/ display prompts.
One nice feature is you won't need to spend $250 - $500 for message on hold because its built in to the voice mail. End users can change the most wanted items on thier phone via user program-- line ring, delay ring, no ring- Name of extension - Etc.

[This message has been edited by brokeda (edited August 25, 2005).]

Paul, well said.

CW, you mention the NEC, but no other brands. What are you comparing them too? A few things I would advise anyone looking for a phone system to take into account:

1. Overall reputation of a Brand
2. If you buy on the internet, you risk paying alot more in fees to company's who might have to fix it, vs. buying the package from a local vendor who can install it correctly and warranty it correctly. Many times we have had to charge people to correct or repair programming issues on a system they bought "pre-programmed" online. In the end, they paid more for the system than if they would have bought it from us.
3. Check the references of any local vendor you deal with.
4. Make sure there is more than one company that has the ability to service your product. many times customers buy a product only to have issues with the vendor and then to find out that they are the only vendor in town for that product. I normally deal in Avaya and Nortel, the two most popular brands, which means a lot of competition for me, but as long as I take care of my customer, I should have no worries.
5. Always, and I mean ALWAYS! purchase a system that is capable of expanding at least 50% of your current needs, if not more. Don't get stuck buying a system to handle your 4 lines, only to find you need to add another one to handle calls and that your current system can't support it and you have to add or change to more expensive equipment.
6. make sure everything is spelled out in writing and that you are paying for a turn-key solution or a complete solution. Don't spend thousands on a system only to find out that most of the features you were quoted were actually "optional" and will cost additionally to add them. Beware of the slick suit who promises you the world in the morning. Chances are, they won't be around then because they got there cut or they got cut.

Just a few tips of advice. Anyone care to add more?

Great advice. I think I have been doing most of this. Buyerzone.com connected me to all local vendors. I am not actually buying off the internet-I am buying from vendors near me. Two vendors from NEC are competing for my business. I received a quote from Toshiba for over $4000 and the system did not look any better than NEC. I have quotes in writing at this point and I know what is not included. The quote contains all that we need and I have checked out the MAC charges for both companies. I ruled out Altigen because it is PC based and I don't think the technology is advanced enough to prevent total system failure if there is a computer crash. I called a local Panasonic dealer who told me it would cost $200 just to talk with him! No thanks. A quote from Avaya was $4500 and again the equipment seemed compatible to NEC. Of course I realize that the response from everybody is then what about the service? Well, I really like the service that is being offered by NEC vendors. So if for some reason the NEC brand is poor or has a reputation of malfunction I would like to be redirected. The phone itself was okay-the receiver seems a bit big to me but not enough to sway me away. Oh, and it is expandable to double what we need now (4 lines now, up to 8 lines later, 6 phones now, up to 12 (or more) later. Thanks again.




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CWB

Final note

Look at the phone do you like the phone and is it easy to understald

find a good vendor it is the difference between at good phone system and a bad one.

Good luck keep us updated please

As far as I know, the NEC is a decent system. I would consider it to be a point in favor of the NEC that you have 2 local NEC vendors. Someone wrote above about having options if you have trouble with your vendor and that is very sound advice. Are both vendors certified NEC dealers?
If so, you would seem to be in the driver's seat here.
Good Luck to you!

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Business Telephone Repair

I wish we were so busy we could quote $200.00 just to talk to customers!!! Wow!
Panasonic must be "smokin" in your area.
Or maybe the dealer is smokin some ganga weed?