I’ve been looking into support chat software for a client of mine and I thought it would be best if I test the programs out on TheBestTollFree.com. You’ll notice on the main site I’ve added the “I’m online” buttons. If you have a question for me, please consider using the chat software so I can test it out. Also, if you use support chat software yourself for your business let me know which company you use and what you think of it.
Thanks!
Fred
Thanks so much for your in-depth analysis and reviews of the leading virtual pbx systems. My search has lead me to RingCentral and Virtual PBX. I thought I was finally at a point to make a decision when I came across some rather disconcerting reviews of RingCentral. The reviewers’ claims were related to RingCentral’s reliability.
Specifically, the reviewers on PCMag.com stated they experienced:- inbound calls going straight to voicemail
- long outages (8+ hours) nearly twice a month for maintenance
- slow and untrained customer service with long hold times
- poor VoIP sound quality (this isn’t an issue for me as I will retain my current VoIP through Time Warner Cable)The reviews I’m referring to range in date from Nov 2008 to Apr 2009.
It seems as though you’ve had a great deal of experience with RingCentral, so I wanted to ask if you’ve had instances of these issues.My biggest concern is reliability. In your opinion, would I be better suited going with VirtualPBX for the sake of reliability (assuming both services would satisfy my needs)?
Thank you so much for being willing to take emails!
Sincerely,
Matt M.
Hi Matt,
If it’s the same reviews I’ve read I believe they are referring to their voip technology only and not their virtual pbx technology. I haven’t used their voip as I prefer the piece of mind of using a landline and cell phone so I can’t speak to the quality of their voip product. Here is the link to the article I’ve read:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2246090,00.asp
However, I have used their pbx system extensively and have been extremely pleased. I have never experienced any outages, dropped calls, lost vm, or problems with customer service. Additionally, I haven’t heard from any users that have had any problems with RingCentral’s virtual pbx system.
What I can tell you is that I believe both RingCentral and Virtual PBX are quality companies with robust features. With the exception of a few minor differences in features I highly recommend both companies. You should feel confident that either company will serve you well.
Let me know what you decide and please let me know how your experience has been with the company you choose.
Thanks for the question!
Fred
Hello Fred,
Your site is VERY helpful, Thank You!
One basic question for you: my assistant was researching the various companies and they led her to believe that Virtual PBX (non-VoIP) requires high-speed internet constant connection of a computer at our location to make this happen.
We will be moving to an area which may not have high-speed internet available to us (yes there are still a few of these locations in the world!), although we do have Verizon internet cards, or will have satellite if high-speed cable is not available. It appears there is a dashboard in each VirtualPBX system which of course would require a descent internet speed. But, the companies led her to believe that it would be our computer that controls the actions of the call (which sounds like hosted PBX to me) and that for this system to work, high speed internet is required.
Could you set us straight? Would we need a computer at our main location at all?
And if we do, what does “our” computer do?
Any help you can offer is GREATLY appreciated.
All my best,
Thyra
Hi Thyra,
The only time you would need a high-speed connection is if you are using voip technology instead of a landline or cell phone to talk to someone. While VirtualPBX offers a package that provides voip, it is not required AND most people do not use it.
You will need a computer to configure the account, view reports, etc. but some people rarely use the online account once it’s set up. Me for example – I set my RingCentral account up and now I rarely need to go on the website for anything. I might access the website once every two months. The only downside to having a dialup connection is if you have voicemail messages sent to your email. If there is a large recorded file it may take a while to download to your machine, but it will still work.
The only thing you would need a computer on a daily basis would be if you are going to use ACD queuing. VirtualPBX has intelligent queuing which requires “operators” to log in and update their status to “available”; however, you can do that without a high speed connection.
Hope that helps!
Fred
