[VoiceOps] Explaining router/NAT problems to customers

[Alex Balashov]

I've always just explained it to them more or less literally, but I'm an 
engineer.

What I've seen good salespeople / account reps do, when met 
noncomprehension of such issues: suggest that the customer bought 
"cheap" and "consumer-grade" routers that do not support "premium" 
"voice-grade" services and that they should upgrade to something more 
"industrial-strength."  If the service provider in question happened to 
resell hardware, it was usually a good upsell opportunity.

I could never do that because I'm not hardcore. It takes serious 
gumption to turn an angry customer's conviction that your product is 
inadequate and deflect it back toward them and convince them that it is 
their purchasing decisions and ignorance that are, in fact, the essence 
of what is inadequate here.

On 01/28/2010 02:44 PM, Carlos Alvarez wrote:

> For those of you who do VoIP services with bring your own internet, I
> wonder if you have some tips on how to explain to customers that it's
> their network/router that is causing phones to randomly unregister? I
> know that from their perspective it's the phone that is broken and we
> need to fix it. Particularly the less technical ones that really don't
> even get the fact that these "phones" are just internet devices.
>
> Yes, I understand this is why we "shouldn't" offer BYOI, but we do, and
> will continue to do so for small customers.
>


-- 
Alex Balashov - Principal
Evariste Systems LLC

Tel    : +1 678-954-0670
Direct : +1 678-954-0671
Web    : http://www.evaristesys.com/