Hi, I'm Fred Grant and you can find more about me and why I've created this site on the 
VirtualPBX Review
- #1 Choice for The Best Call Center Plans
- #1 Choice for The Best Medium and Large Company Plans
- #3 Choice for The Best SOHO and Small Office Plans
- Rated one of the Best Value Plans
- Offers a Free Trial
Believed to be the first of the hosted PBX companies, VirtualPBX knows how to to do Virtual PBX right - they even have the trademark on the phrase "Virtual PBX".
VirtualPBX has recently (I'm updating this on 12/4/2008) changed their pricing structure and have made their plans even MORE competitive. They have also removed all of the setup fees!
In a word, they are RELIABLE. So reliable that companies contract with them for a seamless backup option for when their on-site PBX system fails. It begs the question why you wouldn't go with them in the first place and forego the expense of a true PBX system.
For those companies who need ACD Queuing, you will not find a better company than VirtualPBX. Full featured and flexible to meet the needs of any sized company. VirtualPBX offers the highest quality product, extensive features and solid support. If you're looking for peace of mind, it is worth the additional expense to go with the best.
| Level | Included Minutes | Price/ |
Add'l Min |
Mailboxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOHO/Startup | 100 | $9.99 | 6.5¢ | 5 |
| Small Business 10 | 500 | $24.99 | 5.8¢ | 10 |
| Small Business 20 | 1,000 | $44.99 | 4.7¢ | 20 |
| Corporate | 2,000 | $94.99 | 4.4¢ | 50 |
VirtualPBX Positives
- Industry leaders and first to market - their experience can't be beat
- Excellent ACD Queuing system
- Excellent features - best in the industry
- 1 leg billing
- Setup fees have been removed
VirtualPBX Negatives
- System can only receive faxes, sending not currently available
- Setup fees
- No monthly toll-free minutes included
Things to be aware of with VirtualPBX
- Special pricing is available for annual payments vs. monthly payments.
- Wait times when calling the sales department at VirtualPBX can be longer than expected.
VirtualPBX Special Features
- Direct Inward Dial (DID) - VirtualPBX is the only company I know of that offers this feature. It allows callers to reach you directly without having to go through the Auto Attendant. There is an additional monthly fee for each DID number that you have.
- Multi-Stage Dialing - VirtualPBX can integrate seamlessly with true PBX systems.
- GeoRoute - Want all calls from a particular region of the country to go to one person? GeoRoute will route all calls to any individual based on the region of the country they are calling from!
- SelectRoute - Callers can be routed to a person or department based on a code that the caller dials into the system. Completely customizable and very powerful.
- PBX Parachute - Available to companies with current in-house PBX systems. Used as a backup system for those companies that need 100% uptime for their phone system. PBX Parachute works remotely and becomes "active" if the in-house PBX stops functioning.
VirtualPBX Contract Length
- Month to Month – no charges to cancel
ACD Queuing
UPDATED 8/6/2008 I recently had a conversation with the COO of VirtualPBX and had the opportunity to learn some new information about the company and the industry as a whole. What I've learned has drastically changed my understanding of VirtualPBX and the services that they offer.
I am moving VirtualPBX into my #1 recommendation for the Best Call Center Plans and the main reason is their ACD Queuing technology is intelligent!
ACD Queuing is the air traffic controlling for your incoming calls. If you've called any major company you know the process:
- The call comes in and you press a number to speak to someone
- You are placed on hold to wait for a representative
- After a period of time (hopefully only a minute or two) you are connected to a representative.
Depending on the toll-free company you use to process your calls, the queuing experience for your staff AND your clients can vary greatly.
ACD Queuing - Typical
Queuing for most virtual toll-free companies is a glorified hunt group:
- A call comes in and the caller goes to the queue
- The software starts calling the list of agents in a predetermined fashion until it finds someone to take the call.
- If no one is available to take the call, the person waits on line until the call can be answered.
While this method does get the job done, it can take a loooong time to connect to a representative ultimately upsetting your valuable customer.
Intelligent ACD Queuing
VirtualPBX takes a different approach:
- VirtualPBX monitors all agents and knows who is in a call, or away from their phone
- A call comes in and the caller goes into the queue
- The system automatically routes the call to the next available agent based on the criteria you have predetermined.
The key here is that VirtualPBX system is "aware" of what's going on through its phone system. No, they're not listening in, but it can tell if an agent is currently in a call or not.
VirtualPBX also gives YOU the power to determine how the incoming calls should be distributed. When setting up your queue system you can route calls based on:
- A random pattern - just send the call randomly to an available agent
- Least received calls - send the call to the agent who has received the least amount of calls
- Weighted Scale - send calls to agents based on a scaling system
- Expertise Scale- send calls to the next available agent who is most proficient in the area being called about.
Summary
If you need a call center plan and you need it done right - make sure it's intelligent!
