It seems too good to be true! You get a phone call or receive a flyer in the mail from your internet or local internet company offering you all sorts of goodies if in you’ll just get your office phone service and phones through them! Not only that but you’ll just get one bill and they’ll take care of everything!
Sounds simply and sensible right?
What it should sound like to you is trouble waiting to happen!
My mama once told me that if something seems too good to be true.., that it’s just a matter time until “the other shoe drops“ and you wind up paying for it!
Here’s why:
- If once you don’t like your phone service, internet service and.or the actual phones.. too bad – you are stuck with what you have!! If you want to change any of these.., you can’t! Why?
— Because the phones usually won’t work with any other carrier and most times they tie you up with a 24 or 36 month contract! - Thier phone lines will cost you more! When you get passed all of the “so called discounts” you are still often paying TWICE as much as many alternative phone carriers.
- You will also pay more in taxes: Since in most cases the internet carriers phone lines get taxed at a higher rate than many if not most alternative carriers.
- Need to order additional phone equipment… open your wallet wide! Because with just about every plan we’ve seen there are NO preset guaranteed prices for additional phones or equipment — which means you’ll purchase that equipment at whatever prices or expensive monthly fees they want to charge you!
- What happens if you discover there are features or capabilities that you would like but they don’t offer? Too bad! You’re stuck with what you have for the same reasons noted in item #1
- Expecting internet service provider tech to know anything about telephones? Not likely!Most people think they are both the same but in fact they are very different disciplines! It take a good 5 years of training exclusively on phone technology for a tech to be good at servicing phones … Most if not all internet service techs do not comes close have this type of training!
- Upon closer examination the $$ parts of these deals aren’t really that great either ! We see phone line prices dropping sometimes monthly but you won’t be paying those lower per line costs!!Why?
Because you’re locked into a multi-year contract for your service and your phones! - If you lose internet or power your phones won’t work: Count on it! However with alternative carriers your phones will work and your incoming calls will be answered.
Why then does it in any make sense for a business to pay monthly for service and phones that are that cost more and aren’t as reliable?? Especially since the alternatives are so much better?
Bottom line. Next time you are exposed to some slick promotion by phone or email about switching all of your phone lines, internet and phone equipment to one company… Immediately take a pass!
One big problem with the concept of having “that other shoe drop”… is that when that shoe does fall, it may indeed be dropping on your head!