CALGARY, AB – May 10, 2011 – Tel Tech Services is truly excited to bring Jamie Bateman aboard. Jamie has a wealth of experience. He has been providing computer support for over 30 Years. Tel Tech now has a complete offering to help our clients to take advantage of the newest technologies for both voice and data communications.

“Having Jamie Bateman join the Tel Tech Team truly rounds out our offering to our clients.” said Arlen Peterson, President of Tel Tech Services. Mr. Peterson continued: “Jamie brings a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge to our team. We can now offer not only telecommunication solutions, we can take care of our customer’s computer networking requirements as well.”

Tel Tech services can now take care of not only the voice services but also their customer’s computer networks. Currently, we are seeing the complete conversion to one network for both the telephone systems and the data networks. Tel Tech Services has been keenly aware of this trend and can now deliver solutions for both.

Using the Right Communications Technology Will Help You Do Just That

CALGARY, AB – January 31, 2011 – Business Owners looking to set up the phones within their companies can’t help but be overwhelmed with complex terms like VoIP, SIP, Hosted VoIP, PBX Systems, Managed Services, and Unified Communications. In today’s world a business owner is expected to understand the significance and relevance of every single feature a Unified Communications provider offers. However, many business owners don’t receive the proper explanation as to how the feature can be applied to benefit their organization.

Call Recording

The Call Recording feature can become one of the top features a business owner should take into consideration when examining their communications needs.

A liability situation is the most obvious application for Call Recording. Professionals who deal with sensitive information should be using Call Recording at all times, as it is the easiest way to ensure compliance to procedures and reduce the risk of litigation. Call Recording is indispensable to both the Medical and Legal fields and it would be reckless for an organization to continue to run itself without implementing this technology.

Call Recording can also be used as a training tool for a sales team. When a salesperson is given the opportunity to record his or her calls, they can review their recordings to improve their skills and understand how they really sound when they are talking with prospects. This easy to use tool helps managers coach sales people in a constructive manner to improve the overall health of the company.

Customer service representatives can also take advantage of this type of function when working with customers. If a call takes a turn and needs to be recorded, Call Recording technology provides users with a way to record a conversation even after a call has been initiated. Users can send the recording in an email as an attachment and even add their own comments. This allows professionals to collaborate, create accountability and improve their businesses with a simplicity like never before.

Some companies have been shocked by what their employees are saying, how they’re saying it, and what message they’re communicating. Imagine running a sales force and giving them the ability to listen to their own recordings. This is a very valuable tool that is also practical and it has provided our organization with a much-needed competitive advantage in today’s markets.

Call recording was extremely expensive for businesses several years ago, which in many cases prevented the mass adoption of this technology. The evolution of technology has driven the cost of Call Recording down significantly over recent years. Select state-of-the-art communication systems like Samsung have embedded this solution into the product without incurring any additional cost. As a result, SMB’s of today are able to increase employee productivity and reap the rewards.

Conclusion

As the world continues to flatten more companies enter existing markets, while even more competitors are extending their reach into new markets. The added pressure of the financial crisis is pushing businesses harder than ever to find new ways to differentiate themselves. In order to stay competitive, businesses need to leverage technologies in order to stay competitive. Call Recording is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to accomplish this, so it’s only a matter of time before this becomes an industry standard. In summary, if you haven’t started using Call Recording yet… you will.

CALGARY, ALBERTA – NOVEMBER 9, 2010 – Today, Tel Tech Services signed an agreement with IPrimeline Ltd. to provide its customers with the most advanced telephone connectivity available. Tel Tech’s customers will now have access to very cost effective telephone lines, while enjoying truly significant gains in employee productivity and company profitability.

This service was only available to fortune 500 companies a few years ago.

The new service is called SIP Trunks. Some of the benefits include:

Every employee gets their own phone number. This stops the problem of "All phones ringing". Staff can now focus on their own tasks without unnecessary interruption.

Local Numbers. Tel Tech Customers can now have a local number in up to 270 locations in Canada. This means for as little as $5.00 they can have a local number in many cities, and the callers have no idea that they may be thousands of miles away. There are no long distance charges.

Time Shifting. If your company has multiple locations, you can have the east branch answer calls in the morning, and the west branch answer calls in the evening. No more overtime.

Cost Effective. In the past, it was extremely expensive to provide individual phone numbers to staff, in a smaller business. Not anymore. For each employee it only costs $2.50 to have their own phone number.

Twinning. We can have up to 5 phones ring at the same time.

Video. We can help your branches do video conferencing

Disaster Recovery. If you business is down, we can divert calls.

Presence. Who is available, who is not.

Conclusion

This is a small summary of the benefits Tel Tech can provide for its customers through its agreement with IPrimeline. SIP trunking is a major game changer that Tel Tech’s customers need to know about. It will become the new standard in telephone services.

About IPrimeline

IPrimeline is a leading provider of next generation voice services for Small to Medium sized business. IPrimeline offers a full range services that include: IP Telephone lines, Web/Audio Conferencing, and applications that help reduce overall telecom expenditures. Their well-trained employees include IT and telecom specialists.

This is a three part series on keeping your Telecom expenditures at reasonable levels.

As we were writing this, we realized how big an article this would be if we exposed all the tools used by the telephone companies to maximize their profits. They have been raising telephone rates, and fees, very quietly over the last few years.  As competition has declined in Canada, the telephone companies have been bringing back old fees, and introduced some new ones. They realize that companies rarely audit their phone bills, so they can get away with it. Then they give you a “courtesy call” to bring down your rates by getting you to sign an excessively long contract. Usually this is 3 years or even longer.

According to Gartner Research www.gartner.com 80% of phone bills are incorrect. Large companies actually have full time audit staff to watch their telecom bills, but the small business owner doesn’t have the time to keep up with this. Also, telephone bills are typically so hard to read, most business people give up trying to understand what they are being charged for.

What to look for

Monthly billing rates have increased. Typical monthly rates have gone from the low $40.00’s to over $50.00 for multiline service.  This can be brought down to under $40.00 (Calgary, Alberta rates)

Wrong service. Some companies we look at have Centrex service terminated to their telephone equipment.  In the past this made sense.  Not anymore.  The fees charged for this kind of telephone service are significantly higher than necessary.

Long distance access fees. Long distance used to be a service that you paid for as you used it. Many companies have now added a minimum fee of $6.95 plus usage.

Excessive long distance rates.  We are still seeing rates in excess of 50 cents a minute in North America.  That’s 1000% over priced! Typically long distance rates for business are 4 cents a minute or less.

Long distance per minute billing. Business long distance use to have a 30 second minimum billing and then 6 second increments after that.  The change to 1 minute minimum and 1 minute increments is often done without the customer’s knowledge.  Although this may not seem like a lot, it can increase a long distance bill by 30%.

Over capacity. The majority of the bills we review, companies have too many telephone lines. Why?  They fear their customers might get a busy signal.  Many businesses compensate by having too much capacity.  Phone companies are only too happy to provide you with more lines than you need.  More lines, more revenue for them.

They don't tell you that usage can be measured to make sure your business does not have too many phone lines.

Lines that have been asked to be disconnected – aren’t.  We will be polite here. We have found companies paying for telephone lines that they thought had been disconnected years ago. People disconnect services, and then forget to check to make sure they really have been terminated.  These can include old phone lines that used to be for modems,  POS machines that have moved over to the internet, old fax lines, ect.

Additional, unnecessary fees we come across: Rental of telephone jacks, Mileage charges, FX lines, in house cable rental.

What can you do about it?

There are several things you can do but you have to be diligent. Here is what you can do:

1. Have a phone bill audit done.  Either do it yourself, or have us do it.
2. Don’t sign a contract without doing a competitive review.  All too often we find customers “stuck” for 3 years with expensive, inflexible contracts. Our recommendation is to never sign a contract for more than one year. Especially for smaller businesses.
3. Do an annual review. Rates are constantly changing; you need to make sure you are paying proper rates.
4. Have a traffic study done.  Make sure your company has the right number of telephone lines.
5. Keep educated on emerging technologies.  There are a variety of new technologies that are bringing a new wave of lower costs and higher efficiency to the market.  You can only take advantage of them if you have the flexibility to make changes as needed.

Conclusion

Almost every telephone bill we review has errors on it, and it usually involves some sort of overcharge to the customer. These overcharges are making the telephone companies millions of dollars in excess fees. It’s up to all of us to make sure we are billed properly….Audit your Phone Bill !

Part 2 of this series will be about Cell phone expenditures. Canada has amongst the highest cell phone rates in the world. There are ways to bring down those bills. We will discuss those next time.

P.S. If you would like an audit of your services, please contact us. There is no charge for this service, and you are under no obligation to make changes you don't believe are worthwhile for your business.

Tel Tech Services joins Samsung as newest Calgary Dealer for SMB Telephony Solutions. The agreement provides affordable enterprise-level functionality to Calgary area SMB's

CALGARY, ALBERTA, JULY 2010
TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNICAL SERVICES announced today that it has joined the Samsung BCS dealer network as its newest dealer member. The agreement will offer Calgary's small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) flexible business telephony solutions that place enterprise-level functionality affordably in the hands of SMBs.

The initiative will combine the Samsung OFFICEServ 7000 Series of telephony systems with Tel Tech Services complete range of services to offer area SMBs a winning combination of technology and service. Services will include design assistance, configuration and installation, on-site moves, additions/changes, and annual support agreements. The Samsung OFFICEServ 7000 Series provides an affordable converged communications platform that combines data and voice connectivity for digital, analog, and IP phone sets.

"Tel Tech Services has always strived to provide its customers with long-term value on their telephone systems choice,”

”Tel Tech Services has always strived to provide its customers with long-term value on their telephone systems choice,” said Arlen Peterson, President of Tel Tech Services.

“With the recent instability in the business telecommunications industry, we needed a colleague that could provide not only the right technology at the right price, but also offer the stability and ongoing support of a global leader. With Samsung BCS, we found that and much, much more."

"We are excited to welcome Tel Tech Services as our newest dealer."

"We are excited to welcome Tel Tech Services as our newest dealer." said Doug Wonson, Vice President and General Manager, Samsung BCS. "Their commitment to service and knowledgeable staff will help Calgary’s small to medium sized businesses unlock the true potential of the Samsung OFFICEServ systems."

About Telecommunications Technical Services

Telecommunications Technical Services (Tel Tech Services) was incorporated in 1993 by Arlen Peterson. Our highly trained staff are fully Manufacture certified on all products we service. We offer a range of services for voice and data communications. Our vision at Tel Tech Services is to be the leaders in advanced technology, and give our customers access to the newest technologies that will improve their profitability and give them a competitive advantage.

About Samsung Business Communication Systems

Samsung Business Communication Systems (BCS), a Dallas-based division of Samsung Telecommunications America (STA), is the distribution arm for the company’s line of business communications solutions. Targeting small- to medium-sized businesses, Samsung BCS offers an elite line of telephony-based customer premise equipment (CPE) with dynamic architecture that can accommodate tremendous growth at low incremental costs to meet a variety of communications needs. As an innovator in convergence technology, Samsung’s business communications systems combine traditional voice and data capabilities with wireline and wireless technologies providing fully integrated, converged communications platforms and applications. In addition to CPE, Samsung BCS also offers a comprehensive line of voice processing equipment, CTI applications and wireless solutions.

Tel Tech Services provides a real advantage by removing the guesswork from selecting a communications company and telephone system. Receiving comprehensive information in advance enables you to make an informed decision based on an understanding of system performance, pricing, and service. As a national account installer for several manufacturers Tel Tech Services has been recognized for our strategic direction and dedication to quality technology implementation. We are proud to serve as advisory council members for manufacturers and the provincial apprenticeship board creating an important conduit for customer input with key business partners.

Our goal of establishing a long-term relationship with our clients begins with the first contact between Tel Tech Services and the prospective client. Our job is to listen to customer needs and provide a consultative approach to achieve their goals. By evaluating the expected outcome with the client, we help them to recognize the steps they need to take to achieve that outcome, and the sequence in which those steps should be taken.
Tel Tech Services can coordinate and implement projects starting with the ordering of telephone lines and digital circuits and ending with a complete communications solution.

The Tel Tech Services team takes great pride in successful project management. Our vast knowledge and experience allows us to implement solutions for a wide range of projects including simple upgrades to current telephone and client/server systems to complete voice, data, and video solutions, for start-up companies or companies that are moving/expanding.

The origins of our success in project and account management stem from our dedication to successful business relationships. Tel Tech Services understands the mission-critical nature your LAN, WAN, and communications hardware play in the smooth operation of your business. We provide the proper education and guidance to our clients from the beginning stages of their project. It is critical that we help our clients to understand system performance and functionality, hardware, pricing, and operations from day one of the project. Our emphasis on pre-planning helps to minimize confusion before and after the day of installation.

When a project is successfully completed, we maintain a partnership with our clients. We believe it is vital to develop a communications strategy and long-term technology plan based on company organizational structure, operations, department functions, business practices, and competitive approach. With client input, this working plan is designed to provide optimum return on voice, data, and video systems.

All of this adds up to a real advantage for your company.

Tel Tech Services enhances every aspect of your operation and performance through effective management of your voice and network services. Together, we select the products and services that match your business requirements.

Tel Tech Services analyzes your needs and builds a customized solution designed to improve your competitive advantage and increase your profitability. Tel Tech Services works with several carriers to provide a competitive and unbiased market evaluation. Tel Tech Services becomes the central contact between your organization and the vendors you select. This enterprise system approach gives you the most effective diagnostic and problem resolution interface available, a single point of contact for all communication issues.

LOCAL TRUNKING AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Tel Tech Services will engineer proper trunking facilities and coordinate the installation of all voice, data, and video applications, thereby ensuring the integrity of the application.

LONG DISTANCE, LOCAL, AND WIRELESS RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION

Tel Tech Services provides ongoing negotiation with carriers on your behalf. Goals include increased savings, enhanced billing, and efficient and proactive service. Tel Tech Services coordinates all billing and service implementation, ensuring vendors perform to contractual obligations.

CUSTOMER SERVICE CONTACT

Tel Tech Services is the central point of contact for your communication needs including service interruptions, diagnostic testing, billing information, and general information.

HARDWARE EVALUATION

We assist in developing strategies to lower the cost of your existing computer and telephone equipment.

SOFTWARE IMPROVEMENTS

We analyze the effectiveness of your software and assist in capturing additional benefits through expanded integration and better efficiencies.

Founded in 1993, Tel Tech Services is committed to establishing lasting business relationships with our clients. Tel Tech Services is responsible for developing and improving voice and network client solutions. Extensive technology and service experience allows our team to develop a comprehensive understanding of your unique communication needs, and respond to those needs quickly and efficiently.

Tel Tech Services recognizes the critical need for a communications company that combines leading technology with top quality service and support. Our position as an industry leader is based on these principles, and on our commitment to lead a rapidly changing industry. We enable each system to migrate with our customer’s changing needs, working to eliminating “forklift” upgrades and protecting your investment.

In practicing long-term communications management, we build successful business relationships. We continue to assist clients in creating competitive advantage through implementing working technology plans. These plans are continuously evaluated and revised to accommodate an ever-changing industry. Tel Tech Services recognizes the importance of building technology around people, not people around technology.
Multi-location applications are our specialty. Our unique understanding of SMB companies enable Tel Tech Services to institute a standardization process that many multi-location companies desire. As an industry leader, Tel Tech Services has cemented lasting partnerships with all of the manufacturers we represent. Technology implementation is only successful if it works for you and achieves greater profitability.

Converging voice, data, and video on a regional, national, and international basis facilitates your internal and external communication needs. Tel Tech Services can provide an all-in-one solution, acting as a single point of contact for all of your communication needs. Our enterprise technology structure enables us to provide multi-service solutions including voice, data, and video.

Tel Tech Services has built a team of voice, data and video specialists committed to your satisfaction. Our technical staff undergoes rigorous factory training along with on-premise weekly training, and is kept current with the latest product and service innovations. Installation and training personnel maximize system performance. We work with you to achieve optimum user convenience and operational efficiency. Our goal is to provide the best mix of product, service, and support that is realistically available in the marketplace.

When you examine the organizations that realize the greatest gains from technology, you find that it is never just one solution that helps them achieve their competitive advantage. More often than not, they have figured out a way to effectively integrate a variety of solutions into a unified communications platform that directly supports their business processes. Today, productive and effective business communications is a multimedia experience.

START WITH WHERE YOU ARE

Before Tel Tech Services can recommend a solution, we need to understand the fundamentals of your business — what you do, how you do it, and how you stack up against your competition. Are you competing on the basis of price or value? Are your team members centrally located or spread across the country? How are you presently communicating with customers, employees, and vendors? If a vendor doesn’t take the time to get to know you, how in the world can they recommend the right solution for your business? Our initial discussions with a client are always aimed at building an understanding of their core business. We then have a common foundation and can move forward as partners.

LOOK AT WHERE YOU’RE GOING

Tel Tech Services not only needs to understand where you are, but where you are going as well. How will your industry or company need to evolve in the next five years to remain competitive? What will you need to do to become or remain an industry leader and outpace the competition?

LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO GET THERE

Every industry in America has embraced communications technology in one form or fashion to help them reach the “next level”, but what technology is right for you? How can it be integrated to enable a greater return on investment than similar stand-alone solutions? Let Tel Tech Services get to know you and your business, and we can help answer these questions.