Tired businessman in his office. He needs a rest.

Why use a Telecom Consultant for your business? I’ve been asked this question many times over. Here is one story about the benefits of using a telecom consultant.

Office Manager/Operations Manager:

This story is an example from the perspective of the office manager or operations manager that is not an expert in telecom. It’s very common for office managers or operations managers to multi task and possibly be overwhelmed trying to help run different facets of a business. Hence the saying, jack of all trades, an expert in none. Unless a person deals with telecom on a consistent basis, the little nuances of telecom and its technologies can be tricky to understand and navigate the complexities in dealing with telephone jargon and unknowledgeable and/or an unscrupulous salesperson that try to oversell and make quota.

“The Honest Kitchen” (THK) based out of San Diego, California is a good example of the benefits of the Operations Manager working with Green Telecom Group.  THK wanted to add 10 more phone numbers to their existing phone system for their expanding business and employees.  Seems simple enough or so the Operations Manger thought. THK called their service provider, Cox Communication, to add 10 additional phone numbers to their existing voice T1 service. For non-technical people, a voice T1 (PRI) consist of 23 call paths (which means 23 people can be on the phone at the same time).  Their Cox Communication salesperson gave them a quote to add a 2nd voice T1 (PRI).  The 2nd voice T1 would have increased their Cox bill by an additional $300 monthly. As consultants, we like to include taxes, surcharges and usage, so the true cost is closer to $400 monthly. Over a 36-month term that would be $400 x 36 = $14,400 in additional charges.

THK was about to order the 2nd voice T1 from Cox Communication but their IT vendor suggested they contact Green Telecom Group before ordering, just to get a second opinion.  The client signed our engagement letter and the process began. For starters, Green Telecom Group reviews customers current contracts and phone bills to ensure accurate billing. If there is a mistake, we are able to claw back and get customers a credit for over billing. In this situation, Cox billing was accurate. Now on to reviewing Cox’s proposal to add 10 new phone numbers. Remember, the Cox salesperson suggested adding a 2nd voice T1. We analyzed the utilization of the existing Cox voice T1 (23 call paths) and found THK was only using 10 call paths.  This means THK has 13 call paths not being used. So adding a 2nd T1, as Cox recommended, would have been overkill. Who needs an additional 23 call paths, bringing the total to 46 call paths, when only 10 call paths are being used?  Answer, nobody.  Our solution was not to get a 2nd voice T1, but rather to just order 10 new Direct Inward Dial (DIDs) numbers ( DIDs = phone numbers).  The cost for 10 DIDs? only an $8.00 monthly. Because THK called Green Telecom Group, they saved $14,112!!

So what is the take away for Office managers or Operation Managers?  Unless you work in telecom on a regular basis and understand the technology, it’s better to work a Telecom Consultant that understand the technology, the lingo and puts your interest first. The cost is minimal to work with an experienced Telecom Consultant but the results can be HUGE!!