Like any product or service, not all VoIP providers were created equal. Some products and services are easy to tell good from bad, like food. You probably have a preference for where you go for a cup of coffee in the morning, but with technology solutions like VoIP, it’s a little different. Since you’re not searching for VoIP providers all the time and you’re not extremely familiar with the industry it can be hard to tell a good VoIP provider from a not-so-good VoIP provider.
What makes a good VoIP provider?
A good VoIP provider should be stable and knowledgeable. You should never have to worry that your service might go down if the VoIP provider’s single data center goes down (which is why Versature has 3 data centers across Canada) and that the company won’t be declaring bankruptcy and shutting down any time soon.
Your VoIP provider should also know what they’re doing. Many IT providers list VoIP on their list of products & services just because they can, but they don’t actually know all that much about VoIP or how to support it fully. Not only that, but you shouldn’t be ‘nickel and dimed’ for every additional feature your business wants or additional users your business wants to add.
What do some of the bad VoIP providers do that a good VoIP provider would never do?
The biggest thing that comes to mind here is that a bad VoIP provider will point fingers. If your phone service goes down and you (understandably) call in to ask what’s going on, the VoIP provider shouldn’t be blaming your internet provider and pointing fingers at some other part of your IT solution. At Versature, we’re completely transparent as to our uptime, and you can check how we’re doing even if you’re not a customer at trust.versature.com. Our Technical Support team will also call your other IT providers on your behalf to sort out issues you might be having so you don’t have to try to explain technical information to multiple people.
A bad VoIP provider will also put all of their eggs in one basket. Their backend system will only be connected to the PSTN network through one traditional telephone carrier, and they will only have one data center. This means that if that single carrier is having issues, or there’s an incident involving the data center, all of their clients’ phone systems are down.
Mediocre VoIP providers will also not be very knowledgeable or reachable. When you call into their office, are you put on hold for half an hour before you can reach anyone? Can the first person you talk to answer your questions, or are you transferred to three or four people before your problem can be solved? A good VoIP provider will hire and train their employees so that they understand how their product works and will be not only able to help you but available.
You should also be getting standard features like caller ID and call transferring, and know how to use them. Many times when a prospective client calls into Versature and I tell them the included features, they’re surprised because they currently don’t have standard features, or have them and have no idea how to set them up!
What can I do if I’m with a bad VoIP phone provider?
The best thing that you can do if you’re thinking of looking for a new VoIP phone provider is to do your research. Look online at multiple providers, research using a platform like GoneVoIP. Get Free Quotes from various providers. Talk to product experts at each company to get information specific to your company’s needs.
Secondly, don’t just focus on price. There will always be a ridiculously cheap option but most of the time it’s too good to be true. When looking at the costs of different providers, think of what you’re getting as part of the price. Does this include unlimited support? Integrations with other SaaS tools that your company probably already uses, like Salesforce and Slack? What about easy moves, adds, and changes (MACs)? Do you have to pay for every single time your employees call your VoIP provider’s Tech Support or are all included?
Even if you’re not sure if you can switch VoIP phone providers, it could be beneficial to book a demo with one of our Product Experts here at Versature. There are no strings attached, and we’re here as a point of contact in case you have any questions further down the line.
During our call, we’ll show you our solution and give you case studies relevant to your needs and industry, as well as direct you to other informative blog posts.
– – Written by Bryan Vaughan, Senior Product Expert at Versature – –