We have had VoIP phone system since 2008. Our contract was ending and we were entertaining other bids. We reviewed several companies and were impressed with Teletronics products and the fact that they were a Tucson based company. [redacted], President, met with our IT Company to discuss the technical aspects. We decided to go with Teletronics in July 2014. This is what we learned.
⢠Schedule a skeleton crew the day of the switch over. We were told that the phones would be off-line for no longer than 2 hours on the first day. Phones and Computers were down for over 14 hours over a three day period. Teletronics needed to bring in a consultant. The phones were not operating and we did not have access to the internet.
⢠Plan to be your own project manager. Even though, [redacted] of Teletronics met our IT folks, he stated it was not his responsibility to coordinate with our IT team. As a result, the IT crew needed to make an emergency site visit to assist in the programming and setting up of the system. Make sure your IT folks are there for the switch over.
⢠Plan to do your own troubleshooting. Once the system is installed, you can expect to do all the troubleshooting. I was on the phone with the phone equipment supplier, Grandstream to get the programming changes we needed. I needed to contact both our internet provider, Cox, and our VOIP access service, Clearfly, multiple times.
⢠Teletronics is done when they are not when you are satisfied. We had a short punch list of items including training and programming. After several email exchanges with [redacted], none of the requested actions occurred. We scheduled the meeting and presented the punch list. It took a second round of meetings to get [redacted] to attend.
⢠Teletronics will tell you what you need even if it is wrong. Teletronics will set operating hours even if they are wrong. Teletronics will program your phones for you. Without any input from us, [redacted] did the greetings. The hours that the phone was set up to operate were not the hours we were open even though hours are listed outside the front door. I also wanted the phone number for the caller to come up on my cell phone when transferred. A valuable benefit that is not offered with Grandstream. [redacted] didn't know why we need the phone number of the caller.
⢠Emergency line response time is more than 4 hours. If you have a problem feel free to leave a message, they will eventually get back to you.
I wanted to share our experience so that others can make an informed decision. Our phones would shut off without warning several times a week and calls would be dropped daily. Teletronics provided numerous reasons why the system didn't work. They told us to spend an additional $1,000 in equipment and internet services. After a year, the reason for the problem was eventually discovered and not by Teletronics. The problem was a duplicate IP address. Our IT team had no record of Teletronics requesting an IP address and Teletronics had no record of who gave them the address. Teletronics stated it was our IT folks that caused the problem. Possibly so, but if Teletronics are VoIP experts, it would not have taken a year to fix. If Teletronics had coordinated with our IT folks, it would not have happened. We are getting a new phone system; one that forwards the caller's phone number to cell phones and a phone system supplier; one that wants to be a partner.
Beware of Teletronics
We have had VoIP phone system since 2008. Our contract was ending and we were entertaining other bids. We reviewed several companies and were impressed with Teletronics products and the fact that they were a Tucson based company. [redacted], President, met with our IT Company to discuss the technical aspects. We decided to go with Teletronics in July 2014. This is what we learned.
⢠Schedule a skeleton crew the day of the switch over. We were told that the phones would be off-line for no longer than 2 hours on the first day. Phones and Computers were down for over 14 hours over a three day period. Teletronics needed to bring in a consultant. The phones were not operating and we did not have access to the internet.
⢠Plan to be your own project manager. Even though, [redacted] of Teletronics met our IT folks, he stated it was not his responsibility to coordinate with our IT team. As a result, the IT crew needed to make an emergency site visit to assist in the programming and setting up of the system. Make sure your IT folks are there for the switch over.
⢠Plan to do your own troubleshooting. Once the system is installed, you can expect to do all the troubleshooting. I was on the phone with the phone equipment supplier, Grandstream to get the programming changes we needed. I needed to contact both our internet provider, Cox, and our VOIP access service, Clearfly, multiple times.
⢠Teletronics is done when they are not when you are satisfied. We had a short punch list of items including training and programming. After several email exchanges with [redacted], none of the requested actions occurred. We scheduled the meeting and presented the punch list. It took a second round of meetings to get [redacted] to attend.
⢠Teletronics will tell you what you need even if it is wrong. Teletronics will set operating hours even if they are wrong. Teletronics will program your phones for you. Without any input from us, [redacted] did the greetings. The hours that the phone was set up to operate were not the hours we were open even though hours are listed outside the front door. I also wanted the phone number for the caller to come up on my cell phone when transferred. A valuable benefit that is not offered with Grandstream. [redacted] didn't know why we need the phone number of the caller.
⢠Emergency line response time is more than 4 hours. If you have a problem feel free to leave a message, they will eventually get back to you.
I wanted to share our experience so that others can make an informed decision. Our phones would shut off without warning several times a week and calls would be dropped daily. Teletronics provided numerous reasons why the system didn't work. They told us to spend an additional $1,000 in equipment and internet services. After a year, the reason for the problem was eventually discovered and not by Teletronics. The problem was a duplicate IP address. Our IT team had no record of Teletronics requesting an IP address and Teletronics had no record of who gave them the address. Teletronics stated it was our IT folks that caused the problem. Possibly so, but if Teletronics are VoIP experts, it would not have taken a year to fix. If Teletronics had coordinated with our IT folks, it would not have happened. We are getting a new phone system; one that forwards the caller's phone number to cell phones and a phone system supplier; one that wants to be a partner.