By: Todd Lokken

I recently replaced my business phone system to accommodate an increase in the volume of calls I was receiving. I own a car rental franchise and needed to have new lines and new phones installed to go along with the new customer service representative I needed to hire. By taking care of my customers and keeping my vehicles clean and available, I was able to build my business and force the closure of one of my two nearby competitors. The resulting influx of customers meant I needed to act fast in order to capitalize on my good fortune. Like most people would, I gave little thought to my phone system and just decided to go with the cheapest solution I could find.

I purchased a new system that I was told would handle my volume. At first, I was more than satisfied as everything was working great and I had no problems. Shortly after I put the new phone system in place, I reduced our rental rates in order to try and get as many customers to switch over to my company from my now defunct competition instead of to my one remaining competitor. Even though I was operating at a loss for two months, my strategy was successful and my business increased yet again. The problem was that the phone system I purchased was designed to only handle a small amount of lines, and I was already at full capacity. While it was an improvement over my first system, it had limitations that I hadn't considered. I ended up having to replace it all over again, but this time I had the sense to go with a system that could grow with my business. Luckily, I was able to get some credit for returning the second phone system, which went toward the newest system.

Still, I lost money, and had I only been less concerned with the bottom line and more concerned with getting what I really needed, I would have been better off. When buying a phone system for your company, make sure you purchase one that you won't outgrow if business starts booming. I wish someone had told me that before I made the mistake of trying to save a few bucks.