Research Findings: How You (and Millions of Other Small Businesses and Individuals) Can Save $485 or More on Phone Costs Each Year

Summary We created The Cost Savings Guy, for our increasingly difficult economy, as a for-profit initiative designed to identify high quality money saving products and services for consumers, small businesses and home offices. High quality phone service for $25 a month (including all taxes and surcharges), with unlimited local and long distance calls, no contract, a 30 day absolute satisfaction guarantee, and no hassle install is now available with Nextiva inTalk to anyone with high speed (DSL or cable) Internet service. We strongly recommend that you order and this service. Nextiva Nextiva inTalk is a high quality, low-cost service that meets the needs of residential, business, and home office users. For many families and small businesses, the potential savings are often in excess of $500 per year; there is no hassle involved; and the total risk is potentially a few dollars associated with returning the phones or adapter if you cancel the service. This is truly an example where its appropriate to ask: What have you got to lose?

Fast Facts:

We recently completed an extensive research effort, and concluded that millions of consumers and small businesses could be saving as much as $500 or more per year by shifting their regular phones (also called landlines) from traditional phone companies (such as Verizon) to Internet based VOIP phones.

As part of this research we found that a number of myths, surrounding quality and difficulty in shifting services, have prevented businesses and consumers from trying VOIP service. Our research actually found:

• In blind nationwide tests, we the sound quality offered by the right VOIP phone service with the right low-cost adapter ($55) ranged from very good to excellent.
• Our top choice VOIP service provides excellent unlimited local and long distance service, with no contract for $25 per month (including all taxes and surcharges) and offers a no questions asked absolute 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you are unhappy you simply cancel the service, and return the phone or adapter.
• The install of the service involves no hassle, and can be as simple as adding the adapter to your existing Internet connection.
• After you order, the adapter or phone arrives by mail so there is no “waiting around” for service technicians to visit your home or office.
• You can order the service with a phone number provided by Nextiva, our recommended provider, and see how you like it. Then, when you decide you want to keep the service, you can shift your existing phone number to Nextiva by simply calling customer service. It’s easy to try the service without any hassles associated with moving your current phone number back and forth.

More Detail: The Seven Critical Factors

There were seven aspects of the Nextiva service that we considered meaningful. We did not find this combination of customer oriented services anywhere else. Nonetheless, any other company with these same features would be equally attractive.

In general we found that these seven factors, combined with numerous hypothetical situations we put to the company, showed a company that (unfortunately) increasingly rare in America: A service that is built on building and maintaining a customer base through superb service and happy customers as opposed to “gotcha capitalism.”

Specifically, here’s what we like about Nextiva inTalk:

1. It is a “bring your own phone” company. VOIP service requires that users either employ a special dedicated phone or use an adapter for use with their current phone. While the company does provide Internet phones as a service to customers, it’s not central to their business. This is important as we discovered economical and cordless Internet-dedicated phones that were not typically offered by VOIP services but often provided the best quality and price combination for particular types of customers. It also means that users have the ability to purchase the same phones offered by the company at a better price if one is offered elsewhwere.
2. As demonstrated by our nationwide blind tests, the sound quality for this service and reliability, in combination with the right phone equipment was excellent. For businesses, VOIP is now ready for prime time.
3. It offers straightforward, high value, no gimmick pricing. With no monthly contract, the price for unlimited local and long-distance calling (including all surcharges and state taxes) is about $25 per month with inTalk for each phone line. Although the service is advertised as a business product, it is a valuable residential service offering as well. No long term contracts, activation, installation or other hidden surcharges exist. At the same time, single business lines, after surcharges and taxes with no contract and fewer features, can cost $90 per year, which would be a difference of $900 per year for a struggling small business.
4. It offers a 30 day no risk, no questions asked, unconditional money-back guarantee. So if you are not happy with the service there’s never any charge and no cancellation, activation or installation charges exist. This guarantee extends to any equipment you purchase through the service as well.
5. It’s US based support customer team is simply among the best we have seen anywhere. Since phone service is such an important tool for business, and essential to consumers, good customer service is particularly important in this arena. We tested several providers with invented customer service problems, and the company always handled them efficiently and easily. In addition, after ordering the service, we received multiple contacts from the company to ensure everything was in order. In responding to these contacts, the customer service agent was ready and able to assist with any issues we encountered. Sadly, this dedication to customer satisfaction is often missing from many businesses today.
6. One way traditional phone companies typically increase monthly bills is by charging extra for individual services. In contrast, the flat rate of $25 a month for this service automatically includes over 25 high value features, such as voice-mail, follow me/find me settings, voice mail to email, access to low international call rates, and a host of other services that make it easier to manage your personal or business life.
7. It is possible to order, easily install, and test the service — with no hassle in a few minutes. (Although users do need to wait for the adapter or phone they order to arrive in the mail). If users are not happy with the service, they can simply cancel the service and send back the phone. As compared to the potential savings, this is a minimal risk and a very good use of time.