Good Service is the Key to Keeping a Good Product
Longevity is one of the most important considerations in every business purchase.
A phone system is an investment. Like central air, cabling or electrical infrastructure it’s not something you want to have to replace every few years. It’s better to get one that has what you need and is built to grow as new technology is introduced.
But if a system is not built with quality in mind, growth might not be an option. There is one very important questions to ask before buying a phone system from a telecommunications reseller:
How long will your company service the system?
This is the single most important question to ask a potential phone vendor. Why? Because regardless of upfront cost, if you don’t have someone working on your phone system, you will spend a lot more in the long run.
Many phone vendors will refuse to work on a system after a short period of time (say 5 years or sometimes even less!) A good phone system can last you several decades. This refusal to work on a perfectly good system with perhaps a small snag that would take only a few minutes to fix is what we call a forced upgrade.
“I’m sorry. We don’t work on that model anymore. You’ll have to buy the new one if you want service.”
Can you imagine hearing that from a car mechanic?
We no longer fix that car. You’ll have to buy a new one.
How long would you keep seeing that mechanic?
An even worse problem is when a vendor is so focused on sales, it doesn’t even have a service department. Some companies hire out subcontractors who aren’t even necessarily trained on the system. Some just let you worry about service after the fact.
At RCI, we will service our customers for as long as they choose to keep the system. That can be through a maintenance contract or as needed service calls.
We literally have 40 year old systems that are still operational. We also have a lot of clients who like to upgrade when new technology arrives. Whatever our customers choose, it is always their choice. Make sure whoever provides your business technology products has similar standards.
