Jerry Jones - The Cowboys - METRO-TEL

I was reading that Jerry Jones is enjoying his 25th anniversary of the purchase of the Cowboys.  This got me thinking as I was looking at our warehouse inventory today, how telephone systems have changed in the past 25 years. At METRO-TEL we have kept a lot of our older parts and manuals from legacy systems that are no longer sold or supported.  In fact, we even added to our older parts inventory by buying from vendors that stopped supporting older systems.  This allows us to support a number of telephone systems that are still functioning well, but may have a need for a part replacement or upgrade.

This is not to say that we have lost ourselves in the past, as we install and support a great new TOSHIBA line and other leading edge telephone systems and features. But it does point out how not everyone needs to upgrade or buy a new system. A good example is Microsoft Windows 8.  As you recall, it was to be an improvement over Windows 7.  And in some cases I guess it was. But not everyone needed, or wanted, the new bells and whistles. What made it harder was the fact that if you wanted to buy a new PC they only came with Windows 8, unless you’re ordered from the manufacturer at an additional cost. Who has the time for that when you need another PC?

Although new telephone system technologies often have benefits, there are times when those benefits do not outweigh the benefits of staying with older telephone technology. Cost has a lot to do with it. When we started building our older parts inventory, we knew that there would be a time when our clients would compare old technology vs. new technology. We have learned that selecting products because of the latest technology is not always the best solution.

Today our clients rely on us for there “Legacy” phone systems support and we have an impressive list of new clients that started with us when needing a part for a systems that was no longer supported.

Telephone Systems Planned Obsolescence

I was thinking about a conversation I had with a new client this week about aging business telephone systems. It was clear that in his case his equipment is still doing its job and operating well, but he was going to have to replace. Only because it was not being supported by the manufacturer anymore. This is what I call a gotcha” is that either the manufacturer is out of business or you have become a victim of “planned obsolescence”.

Planned Obsolescence is a marketing strategy whereby the manufacturer will build a business phone system that by design will become difficult to technically support and/or the phone system's expansion,
replacement or repair equipment becomes unavailable after "x" amount of years (usually 2 -  5 years).
The manufacturer will usually send you a "Dear John" letter or email saying something like this; "Dear customer, We regret to inform you that we can will no longer offer technical support or replacement parts for your business telephone system and Auto Attendant Voice-mail System as of "x" date. However, we will certainly be happy to sell you a new Business Telephone System that we can support for you. We appreciated you past business and encourage you to call our sales department for a supportable replacement".

Boy, that is cold!

And so if you are at the end of your phone system's obsolescence cycle you may find yourself needing to relocate, reprogram, expand, train or repair your business telephone system / voice-mail system.
This ends up forcing you to buy a new business phone system that puts you right back into the same "planned obsolescence" cycle.

This occurs time and time again with end users even though their phone system is working perfectly fine! It doesn't seem fair does it?

The good news is that a number of forward thinking organizations, such as Metro-tel, recognizes the need to support customers that have older phone systems ("legacy") and so have accumulated a vast library of Repair Programming Manuals along with a vast inventory of spare replacement parts and elements.

So before you "trash" a system that has been working well for you, think about contacting us in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, or your local supplier.

Ready for the Hall of Fame?

I was just looking at the calendar yesterday and I realized that Baseball is just around the corner. Time goes by so fast. I was just getting over the last Super Bowl game and here we are dusting off third base.

Have you ever notice the similarity between a sports team and your “business team”? Hall of Famers are certainly measured by heart or grit, but they’re mostly measured by numbers and awards, and hardware. Such as 305 wins, two Cy Youngs, and a World Series championship. You guessed it, Tom Glavine, according to the Boston Globe. He had durability — only once on the disabled list, and that came at age 42 in his second stint with the Braves. For his 22-year career, Glavine averaged 15-10 with a 3.54 ERA. He also made 10 All-Star teams, made 30-plus starts 17 times, and pitched 200-plus innings 14 times. He won 20 or more games five times.

You know your team has heart and grit, you've seen it a number of times when a customer thanks you for meeting their expectations, or getting that delivery on time. But do they have the right “hardware”? By that I mean do they have the right tools to do the job, or are they working with outdated tools and technology?

If there was a Hall of Fame for telephone systems I am sure that TOSHIBA would be a contender. Last year alone TOSHIBA won to technology awards, the “2014 Internet Telephony”  Product of the Year and the TMC Customer 2014 Product of the Year Award. And 2013 was no exception:
VIPedge™
2013 Cloud Computing Excellence Award
Internet Telephony Magazine
IPMobility
2013 Excellence Award
TMCnet Customer Magazine
Call Manager for IP
edge
2013 CRM Excellence Award

Tom Glavine was once quoted by the Boston Globe…..“I’m not even sure I’d be drafted nowadays if I were a kid coming out of high school,” Glavine said. “We’re so into power pitchers now….” This got me thinking of organizations that have telephone technology that is not keeping up with today’s industry standards. I think a common thread that all Hall of Famers have is drive for continuous improvements. Always looking at where the competition is, and always looking for the edge over the competition.  Your organization could rank in the Hall of Fame with the a little heart and grit, and the right equipment.