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Shopping Dilemma - How Simple Is It?

I was unhappy with my present cellular provider, so I decided to shop around for something better. So I went to the Verizon, AT&T, Cingular, and T-Mobile stores. What phone? What plan? Who has the most coverage? Who is rated best? Etc….

I learned that they all do the same thing-allow me to make and receive calls. They even use the same phones, with different technology, sometimes too much technology. Their coverage areas and pricing plans are similar, and each has a few unique features - and each says they are the best!

So how do I decide? It occurred to me that I would only use their many features effectively if they are simple to learn and use. I have learned that if it doesn't have a good user interface, I won't use most of the features available.

It occurred to me that this is the same experience people have when shopping for a call accounting system. Basically, they all systems take the same call records and produce reports. Each one does it differently and each one says they are the best!

Selection of a call accounting system should be done the same way - which one is the easiest to learn and use. If it is not easy to use, it won't be used effectively, if at all! (The longer the learning curve, the shorter the use curve) Then a valuable expense management tool becomes a waste of company resources!

Since the fundamental thing a call accounting system does is produce reports, spend your time evaluating the user interface for the following:

• How easy is it to produce and distribute reports?
• How accessible is the report data to department managers?
• Do the reports give you the information you want?
• Can they be easily customized so you only see the data that is important to you?

Other considerations are:

• The "under-the-hood" technology and credibility of the vendor you are dealing with?
• How many references will they give you similar to your company?
• Willingness of vendor to provide a guarantee of satisfaction?

Good luck with your shopping - and remember - make sure it is simple to use!

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