Kall8: Telecom Services You Can Count On
I worked in the telecommunications industry for over 10 years, and was associated with it for far longer than that. I’ve used toll free and other business services for most of my adult life. I’ve been involved in sales, both direct and through affiliate marketing. Mostly, I wrote software for every aspect of telecom systems, integrating various technologies, building billing systems from scratch for a number of different companies and writing customer service interfaces including web portals for self service. I’ve even install telephone systems, everything from installing the PBX to pulling 500-pair cables through underground conduits in the pouring rain and terminating them onto a wall-mounted punch board.
Having said all that, I think it’s relatively safe to say that I know telecommunications.
Imagine my pleasant surprise when I went to setup a new account and get a toll free number with Kall8 last week for my business, so I could have a convenient incomig fax service for my business. Why pay eFax $16.95 a month when I can pay Kall8 $2 a month plus usage, when I only receive a couple of faxes a month at most? I already have multiple toll free numbers – some of them quite good, actually – through a previous employer that I’ve been hanging onto through that service because they weren’t charging me any monthly fees. That, however, is about to change I think.
My initial impression of the Kall8 website was one of Simplicity. This is a site that anyone can understand, and easily navigate. Whoever designed this site knew what they were doing, and they definitely knew their audience. AT&T this is NOT! The options are easy to understand, easy to navigate and you are not hit in the face with a bunch of fancy advertising for services you don’t need.
I already knew what I wanted up front, because a business associated referred me to them, so I knew exactly what to look for – I wanted to sign up for a new Toll Free number. The options were clear, as were the prices: $2 a month for a basic 888, 877 or 866 number or $5 a month for an 800 number, plus 6.9¢ a minute for usage. They have some other options for custom numbers, like vanity number searches, “repeaters” (numbers where the digits repeat), premium numbers, etc., but for a fax number I didn’t need any of that.
So I click on the “Get your own toll free number now” link, pick the $2 a month option and I’m present with a list of around 30 numbers each of 888, 877 and 866 numbers to choose from. Yes, you get a whole list of numbers to look through and choose from to find one that fits you. I had a bit of time, so I looked through the list for numbers that didn’t have a 0 or 1 in them and used the hand http://www.phonespell.org utility until I found one that actually spelled out something that worked for me, then clicked on the number to reserve it. I mean, come on – how could an Internet consulting company resist a number that ends in “83-I-Help”?
From there, it was a simple online registration process, just like so many others we use all the time. There are a few extra steps specific to the service, like choosing whether to send your calls directly to voicemail or forward them to a regular phone, but the web pages are clear and easy to understand. Less than 5 minutes later, with my Business Visa card number entered, I had been charged $4 ($2 setup and $2 first month fee) and my number was active and ready for incoming calls! That’s right – active and ready to go in 5 minutes. No waiting for someone to “review my application” or anything, no long waiting periods, just instant activation. I was even automatically setup with a $100 credit limit for usage, with a handy link available on the page to an application I could fill out and send in if I thought I would need more than that.
My welcome email arrived almost immediately with my login instructions, where I was able to go in and setup the options on my new Toll Free number. In my case, I already have a toll free number on my business phone line, so I easily turned off voicemail and turned on the fax service (included in the basic service at no extra cost!) in just a few seconds. This is the same place that you can also setup/change where your number rings to, if you don’t use the direct-to-voicemail option, set how long the phone rings before going to voicemail, set how long voicemail recordings can be, or even set a maximum length on how long phone calls can be.
Worried about paying for charges on your Toll Free number from pay phones? Kall8 offers the option to block pay phone calls – there is a one time $10 fee to setup the blocking, but once it is setup, you never have to worry about that again (since you have to pay a $0.60 fee for all pay phone calls, mandated by the FCC).
Running a small business with Customer Service? They offer Hunt Group service, too. You can define multiple destinations and the number will ring to “extensions” just like a professional call center. Setup your number for Call Recordings, so you have an audit of the calls placed to your organization (check your state laws regarding 2 party consent!), get International Numbers to expand your business, even get local numbers in new markets without having to deal with the local phone company.
Need more than a few phone numbers? Check out Kall8‘s Virtual PBX offering. Their VOIP Virtual PBX service is just like having a full scale professional PBX in your office, but without any of the headaches or capital outlay – perfect for the small business with limited resources, or businesses with multiple remote employees. Don’t worry about the quality – I use one every day and nobody will know the difference, believe me, as long as you have a relatively decent internet connection (e.g., not dialup).
This may sound somewhat like a sales pitch, and it a small way it is – I liked their service so much that I did sign CIC up to be an Affiliate for their services. However, that does not change my opinion of their quality of service or the products that they are offering. With my experience and background in the industry, I have and still do deal with a lot of companies and a lot of services – yet this is the only one I have felt the need to write my first official blog post about on my company blog. Yes, it’s that serious.
So if you need a Toll Free Number from a company that provides quality service, or if you already have toll free numbers and aren’t happy with their service or their prices, check out Kall8. I know that I will be moving my other numbers to them as soon as possible. For what I was paying eFax each month to maintain a fax-only account I can move all my toll free numbers to Kall8 and get all the additional services they offer and still save money.
Of course, if you do check them out, I would appreciate you using one of the links here to give me the referral credit. After all, you heard it here first!
