Key System Comparisons 2

[BernieHunt]

Can anyone point me to any on-line comparisons of key systems? My wife's office needs a new key system. I'm an ACD/Call Center guy and have no idea, but I'm expected to know something, hahahaha.

Any suggestions?

Features desired;
4 trunks with expansion room
8 digital stations
3 analog stations
speakerphone on the desk phones
hands free answer back on all phones
voice mail to take message on unanswered station
voice mail to be switched on for overnight answering machine.

Application - Doctor's office

Thanks,
Bernie

 

[Sphoneman]

That is a very loaded question.

Reliable Key System
Reliable Phones
Reliable Vendor
Resonable Pricing

Let them make their own decisions- there will be no hard feelings later.

I could not find any with unbiased info. Your needs would meet most of the key systems on the market with Auto Attendant & Voicemail, depending on what the vendors would recommend (each manufacturer has it's own few bells & whistles).

I would want to make sure the equipment has a low Mean Time Failure, Minimum cabinet size of 8 lines & 24 phone capability. The phones could be used with a larger type of the Manufacturer's equipment if you outgrow yours-especially if the doctor merges with someon else down the road.

I would recommend finding telephone equipment vendors from your telephone book within 25 mile radius of their office that offer different manufacturers. With the basic info you gave- that will be able to do an apple for apple comparison. Then you can narrow to vendors of the equipment you like.

Their presentation & your checking their references , verification of their local installs & servicing satistation would be the most important. The pricing ranges from vendor to vendor & equipment(Cadillac to Kia). Some companies try to understand a business/ your needs & try to sell you with saving money upfront. Others will bang you in the ass later.

Checking with other businesses with similar sized offices in their area.

Get a demo from them. The biggest complaint is usually main users/bosses don't end up liking the way a set looks or how the buttons feel.

Good Luck.

Steve
tele-dataservices.com

 

[BernieHunt]

Steve,

Thanks for the quick reply. I agree on the let them ultimately decide. I think I'll give them the feature list and offer to review the proposals and let them pick the dealer and product.

On a seperate note; I notice your company sells both Nortel and Toshiba. Can you quickly summarize the difference between those two? I was the product manager on Toshiba's big switch many yeara ago so I have old loyalties but Norstar's feature look tempting. The application would be my office after a few more projects and billable hours, hahahaa. Looking for solid system but lots of bells and whistles, gotta be high tech you know, hahahaha.

Bernie

 

[ravnz5]

Go to

http://www.esi-estech.com.

The IVX is what you're looking for. Good Luck...

We all need a little help once in awhile. Tony the Phoneman..

 

[Sphoneman]

Bernie,

I have pretty much stayed away from installations of any equipment unless it is a Norstar for the last 15 years.

The last PBX I installed was for Northern Telecom with an SL-1 back in 1985-1987. It was the largest ACD in the nation with 3000 agents/users.

I would recommend for you to give Nortel a shot when you are ready for comparisons.

I just cutover a Nortel BCM w Call Center Professional with 3- PRI's; 3 entities= a office with 8 users, a District office with 7 users, and a Call Center with up to 30 agents.
I have been monitoring the site remotely & have seen between 900-2000 calls going through the Call Center daily.
The DM seems pleased, & even though it is not a PBX, I was able to do most of the things he was used to with a NT Option 11 PBX at another Call Center.
I had only one issue with the applications coming up after a power outage (they did not receive the UPS/BBU in time).
Other than that they only needed a few minor tweaks as they were kicking up.

Good Luck.


Steve
tele-dataservices.com

 

[orypecos]

Avaya, and I imagine the other companies, do extensive comparisons on the competetions equipment. Let the salesman fight it out for the business, and then when u are down to the decision moment, post again here with the reasons why they are chosing a particular system, and the members will say if they agree with the salespersons' claims of their product. ( It is too bad you can't get a copy of the internal comparisions, they are great comparing the features and even note what is weak on the Ayava system.)

 

[RafaB]

I am guessing that you are Stateside so this may not be relevant. However in the UK you probably can't find a doctors surgery that isn't investing in Voice Recording, which I believe is now becoming mandatory or strongly advised. If it protects surgeries over here, think of the legal bills saved over there by being able to prove that a doctor gave a piece of advice over the phone that the patient did not follow.

Therefore perhaps add Voice Recording to your desired feature list.

 

[BernieHunt]

Its interesting that you mentioned that. I've been seeing more and more situations where call recording would be handy. I'm going to have to look around a bit to see what kind of solutions are available for a very small office like this.

Bernie

 

[Sphoneman]

That is a good point about recording.

The Norstar's Call Pilot AA/VM can do recording. I always set it up for customers on a button- even just to deter crank callers.

Steve
tele-dataservices.com

 

[RafaB]

Avaya IP Office can do it with the Voice Mail Pro add-on. It records either globally across all calls, across any numbers directed to a particular telephone number / hunt group or 'on demand'. I'm sure others do too but for the price IP Office is a very reasonable solution.

You are correct in that more and more situations require recording. Whilst not necessarily applicable in the doctors sector note-taking is one reason I use it. Far too often I find myself concentrating that much on making notes during a call I'm not always listening to what people say. That must be down to the fact I've now got a role that involves some sales ;-)

 

[jlshelton]

Avaya Partner system is popular in doctor's offices. Recent versions allow recording of calls. Plenty of features, reasonable price, good track record, and giant used market (making it easy to get parts later.) One nice feature is the backlit display, seen on very few other systems. Professional installation is recommended, but can be done by any smart, motivated person. Note that Partner is also discussed in a Tek-Tips forum, so you can get lots of good advice easily.

 

[Trotski]

Virtulally all of the higher end systems will have a model that will do what you need, you should look to "future proofing" by buying a system that is easily upgradable and expandable

 

[NX01]

BernieHunt, I had the same question when I first had to install a system for my remote office. We had been using a centrex system with the local LEC. I found this forum and saw a lot of these questions. What made me choose the vendor was the support...they all really do the same thing...but when I had a question or needed a part...who was going to be the most reliable.

In the future everything will work...

 

[paul144]

There are many systems that will fit the bill. Get an installation company that seems to actually care and want the business. While Avaya or Norstar may be nice, all too often the dealers of these systems seem to ignore the smaller customers. I love the features of the ESI (we use an Executone Medley, made by ESI). The ease of programming and the long term warranty make their small systems hard to resist.
My advice would be to find a small and hungry independent.

 

[Sphoneman]

Bernie,

You know I am only trying to give you an unbiased info for your wife's setup(& to keep the homelife rolling).

Please look at any of the manufactures servicing vendors in the sites location area that can service the equipment you choose. If there is only 1, what do you do if you are not satisfied with them or they go out of business.

The Mfg might have another vendor, but what will they charge you for an out of warranty service call.

Good Luck again (you need it).

Steve
tele-dataservices.com

 

[JOHNYREB]

One thing I would add is to be real careful about recording calls, especially in the Medical field. Check into the HIPPA regulations and make sure whatever option you chose falls within those guidelines.

 

[BernieHunt]

Johnyreb,

The HIPAA issue I actually have an answer for, hahahaha. The recording is considered priviledged information they same as written or spoke records, and must be protected the same. HIPAA wise as long as you keep the recordings protected, you are OK.

The other issue is notification on recording, ie wether your in a one party or two party state. This is a pretty good link on that subject;

http://www.callcorder.com/phone-recording-law-america.htm

(I spent a lot of years in the recording industry.)

Bernie

 

[Sphoneman]

Very interesting info.

Thanks Bernie

Steve
tele-dataservices.com

 

[dcphoneguy]

Check out the NEC DS1000/2000 or the NEC Aspire S, very nice systems and a price that is very competive, especially with voicemail