Technology Trends in 2016: VoIP

VoIP is the optimal way for businesses to communicate with their employees, clients, and other associated businesses. With the already wide variety of features and benefits, VoIP is still ever-growing and there are a few trends that are currently making it even better!

Back-end Analytics

Using a VoIP phone has never been easier, but now you can learn from the calls you make. With back-end analytics, you can use your online interface to see all of the statistics based on your phone calls. This feature is immensely useful for companies who rely on telephone marketing and making sales over the phone.

Using Your Mobile Phone

While many businesses and offices will utilize VoIP specific telephones during office hours, calls can now be redirected to a user’s mobile device. For those who travel often, work from home, or tend to work after they leave the office, you’ll never miss a call. When you’re on business in Seattle and your office gets a call in New York, expect your cellphone to start ringing with the call!

Price Drop

Switching from a normal telephone package to VoIP will save your business tremendous amounts of money.Choosing to utilize cloud services will lower your costs even more since there will be no need for the purchase of in-house servers. Businesses are always looking for ways to cut costs and switching to VoIP is a way to cut down on a large monthly bill.

VoIP has evolved constantly over the last few years and it doesn’t look like the advancements are going to stop anytime soon. When your business is ready to cut the wire and switch to VoIP, contact Reliable Voice & Data Systems. To learn more, or to schedule a free estimate, give us a call at (877) 385-6657.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!

Why Your Business Needs USB Phones

If your business isn’t utilizing a VoIP phone system, you’re seriously missing out on a world of benefits. One of the many things that makes VoIP systems so great are the advanced USB phones that blend perfectly with the service. Here’s why your business needs USB phones now!

What is a USB Phone?

USB phones are advanced telephones that connect to your computer (PC and Mac) via the USB port. They are recommended for those who utilize a VoIP telephony system because they work with many different types of softphone applications. After plugging in the phone, the computer will register the phone as audio, thus allowing the user to make and receive VoIP phone calls.

USB Phone Benefits

• Phone conversations via the computer are kept private instead of being directed through the speakers.
• Audio quality is improved and echo is virtually non-existent.
• Wherever your computer goes, your phone can follow. This is ideal for those who travel often on business trips or for those who work from home.
• Recording and playback of calls are now possible.

The Switch to VoIP

A normal telephone system only allows you to make and receive regular phone calls. VoIP telephone systems, along with USB phones, allow users a wide variety of features & benefits that will make communication more fluid, thus making their jobs a whole ‘lot easier. Get more and pay less by introducing a VoIP phone system to your business.

Whether you have a large or small business, the addition of a VoIP phone system with USB phones will be nothing but beneficial. When it’s time to make the switch to VoIP, contact the experts at Reliable Voice & Data Systems. To learn more, or to schedule a free estimate, give us a call at (877) 385-6657.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!

How VoIP Can Help Your Customer Service

A business is only as good as its customer service. You can offer the best products and services available, but if you don’t have excellent customer service to match, your reputation and business transactions could see a huge drop. To help improve your company’s customer service, consider adopting VoIP as your phone system.

Customized Attendant

Having someone answer the phones at all hours of the day isn’t a luxury many businesses can afford to have. With many VoIP systems, you can create an easy and organized menu system that can direct callers to specific departments. You can even set up a friendly greeting, create a section with answers for frequently asked questions, and have it list off current promotions.

Customized Hold

Putting customers on hold when they’re calling your business is not ideal, but sometimes it is necessary when trying to connect them with the right person. Fortunately, many VoIP systems allow you to customize what the caller hears whilst they are on hold. Rather than playing boring music, have your latest products and sales be advertised. Or even offer tidbits of information about the company to stand apart from all of your competitors.

Click-to-Call

Being able to click and call a phone number on your business’s website will increase the amount of calls you receive. Giving a potential customer the option to call with just one click can be the difference between a sale and a missed sale. Appeasing to the short attention span will keep the consumer locked in, rather than having them write down the number so they can dial it later.

VoIP isn’t just an affordable phone system solution, it’s one that comes with an endless amount of features that will benefit your business. When it’s time to switch over to VoIP, contact the experts at Reliable Voice & Data Systems. To learn more, or to schedule a free estimate, give us a call at (877) 385-6657.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!

Why Start-Ups Should Consider VoIP

Starting a business can be one of the most difficult things any person can attempt. With over 90 percent of startups failing (according to Forbes), a person will need to do everything perfectly to succeed. Looking for a step in the right direction? Choose VoIP as your communication service.

Seamless System

When using VoIP you can chose to talk via telephone, fax, email, messages, or video conferencing. Using the software and technology associated with VoIP, you can easily communicate with anyone using whichever method you prefer. All of these forms of communication are integrated into one system that makes life a whole lot easier for you.

User-Friendly

A majority of VoIP setup is done through software rather than hardware, so correcting problems is a lot simpler. In many cases, the only hardware needing connection is a simple phone that needs to be plugged into your computer. All other aspects are controlled through software that can be set up and troubleshooted by your service provider.

Money Saver

Choosing a cloud-based telephone system cuts down on your monthly phone bills by a large margin. This service eliminates high priced landlines and having on-site equipment. The only thing that needs to be purchased is the low cost service itself and the VoIP phones you will be using. VoIP telephony is also extremely flexible by allowing you to add more phones as your business expands.

When you tackle the challenge of creating a startup, ease your communication worries with a VoIP system. If you think VoIP is right for your business, large or small, contact Reliable Voice & Data Systems. To learn more, or to schedule a free estimate, give us a call at (877) 385-6657.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!

What You Don't Know About Shoplifting

Shoplifting is a crime that happens all too often. For those who own small businesses, just a few shoplifters per month can put a serious dent in the amount of profits they take home. It’s important to brush up on your knowledge of shoplifting so you can better prevent it.

1. Eyes on the Prize - Every store should have a dedicated loss prevention employee and a set of security cameras. The person in question for shoplifting must be seen by this employee for them to be stopped. Even if someone else tips off the employee about the shoplifter, nothing can be done until they are seen stealing by this employee.
2. Bathroom/Fitting Room - A common shoplifting practice is to take items into the bathroom or fitting rooms and conceal them there. Unfortunately, an employee can not stop this person because they did not see them steal with their own eyes. You can guess that they have the items on their person, but there is no visual proof.
3. Do Not Chase - Let’s say you watch a shoplifter conceal an item and walk past the point of purchase to the outside of the store -- now what? Yes, you can confront them, but do not chase the suspect if they decide to run. If any harm is done to the shoplifter it is possible for them to sue and for the store to be liable for any harm done to them. Watch how they leave, where they go, and then call the police.
4. Underage/Overage - A store should not stop any shoplifter that is younger than 5 and older than 70. A kid under the age of 5 has no responsibility for their actions and should not be embarrassed. On the other end of the spectrum, a person over 70 should not be stopped due to liability reasons. The last thing a business needs is for an elder person to have some type of health episode while in the store.
5. Taking a Risk - There are a lot of rules that loss prevention employees must follow. However, a lot of them will take risks in order to prevent shoplifting from occurring. Have these employees know which rules are guidelines and which are laws that should not be broken. A few pieces of stolen merchandise is not worth the hassle of a lawsuit.

Shoplifting is a crime that many businesses are trying to prevent from happening too often. A good way to cut down on shoplifting and potential lawsuits is to install security cameras throughout your place of business. To learn more, or to schedule a free estimate, contact the pros at Reliable Voice & Data Systems by calling (877) 385-6657.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!

5 Rules for Traveling With Employees

Traveling with employees on business trips is extremely common in certain industries. These trips allow the company to keep expanding as well as allowing the employees to bond for a better work experience. When you travel with employees, a few rules should be followed.

Established Law

Having a game plan before the trip starts is extremely important. Assign roles for each person, like who is in charge of booking the transportation, arranging the lodging, and who is presenting what during meetings. Knowing who has what responsibilities will allow for a smooth trip with no speed bumps.

Pave the Way

Younger employees might not know the rules of business trips. As the senior person on the trip you should be leading by example. Set the tone by doing the things you want your employees to mimic. If you want them to work on the plane, bust out your laptop and start crunching those numbers!

Don’t Be Too Literal

The company will cover expenses such as transportation, lodging, and meals. Rather than telling each person what their limits are, tell them to be smart with their spending. Studies show employees will spend a lot less if they don’t know what their actual limit is to avoid any trouble.

Work Comes First

Yes, you and your employees are far away from home, but you’re still at work representing the company. It’s okay to grab some food and drinks with your fellow coworkers, but in moderation. There’s no need to have one too many drinks and cause a scene; this can make for an awkward work relationship.

Ask For Advice

Business trips, while still are considered work, are a break away from the office and allows you to bond with employees. Managers and higher ups should use this relaxed setting to ask employees for advice and suggestions. You’re more likely to get honest answers over dinner after a meeting than you are in a boardroom.

Traveling with employees can be a smooth or rough experience, it all depends on if you follow these rules or not. When traveling make sure you are always connected to your business and clients by having your mobile device linked to your VoIP service. Looking to set up a VoIP telephone system for your business? Contact Reliable Voice & Data Systems for a free estimate by calling (877) 385-6657.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!

5 Rules to Follow to Prevent Shoplifting

When you own a business, especially a retail store, shoplifting is something you constantly have to worry about. To protect your investment you should hire or take on the role of a loss prevention officer. This employee should follow five specific rules to help cut down on store theft.

Rule #1: Eyes on the Prize

When you or an employee suspects that a person is stealing, you should not stop them unless you see them put an item in their bag. This person must clearly be seen taking an item off of the rack and hiding it on their person. Be careful not to confuse this with someone trying to compare a previously purchased shirt to something in your store.

Rule #2: Item in Hiding

The person in question needs to be seen hiding an item on their person. Whether they stuff the item in a bag or underneath their clothing, it needs to be seen. An employee at the store has to be able to say “the woman has placed a dress shirt from the rack into her bag.”

Rule #3: Never Lose Sight

Shoplifters can oftentimes get nervous about their stealing habits and may remove any stolen merchandise from their person. If you observe someone stealing and then wait for them by the exit, you might not find anything on them by the time they leave. This can get you in serious trouble so make sure to keep a constant eye on the subject.

Rule #4: The Point of No Return

Never stop a suspected shoplifter until they are past the point of purchase. Any shoplifter can easily say that they’re not done shopping yet when confronted. Make sure this person is beyond the cash registers and is making their way towards the exit.

Rule #5: Keep It Outside

When you confront a shoplifter, make sure to do it outside of the store away from other customers. These confrontations can turn ugly quick and you do not want to expose your customers to this type of situation. When speaking with the shoplifter, have another employee contact the police so they can be properly apprehended.

Preventing shoplifting is necessary in order to protect your investment and make the most amount of money possible. In order to watch your shoppers more carefully, make sure you have an up to date surveillance system. To learn more about security cameras, or to schedule a free estimate with Reliable Voice & Data Systems, give us a call at (877) 385-6657.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!