I have sat on both sides of the VoIP procurement table — as a consultant advising buyers, and as a former sales engineer at a provider. I know every trick in the book. Here is how to buy a phone system without getting burned.
Trick 1: The Introductory Price
What they do: Offer $18/user for year one. Buried in the contract: price increases to $28/user at renewal.
How to counter: Ask: "Is this the price for the life of the contract, or just year one?" Get the answer in writing. Better yet, choose a provider with published, consistent pricing.
Trick 2: The Feature Unbundle
What they do: Advertise $20/user. Call recording: +$5. Auto-attendant: +$5. Video: +$10. Analytics: +$5. Your actual cost: $45/user.
| Advertised | Recording | Video | Analytics | Auto-Att | Actual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20/user | +$5 | +$10 | +$5 | +$5 | $45/user |
| $24/user (all-inclusive) | Included | Included | Included | Included | $24/user |
How to counter: Ask for the "all-in" price with every feature you need. Compare THAT number across providers.
Trick 3: The Phantom SLA
What they do: Advertise 99.999% uptime SLA. The SLA credit for violating it: 5% of your monthly bill. Your monthly bill is $2,000. The credit for 8 hours of downtime: $100.
8 hours of phone downtime costs your business $15,000-50,000 in lost revenue. The SLA credit is $100. The SLA is decoration.
How to counter: Do not rely on SLA credits. Instead, ask for measured uptime history and check their status page for incidents.
Trick 4: The Long-Term Lock-In
What they do: Require a 3-year contract. Offer a "discount" for signing longer. The discount is 5%. The lock-in means if the service is terrible, you pay 31 remaining months to exit.
How to counter: Choose month-to-month providers. If the service is good, you will stay voluntarily. If it is bad, you can leave without penalty.
Trick 5: The Porting Hostage
What they do: When you try to leave, porting takes 30-45 days instead of 5-7. They reject LOAs on technicalities. They require "final account settlement" before releasing numbers.
How to counter: Before signing, test the exit process. Ask: "If I want to port my numbers out tomorrow, what is the timeline and process?" If they hesitate or give vague answers, they will hold your numbers hostage.
The Procurement Scorecard
Rate each provider 1-5 on these factors:
| Factor | Weight | What to Check |
|---|---|---|
| Total cost (all features included) | 25% | Ask for all-in price, not base price |
| Contract flexibility | 15% | Month-to-month available? |
| Support responsiveness | 20% | Call support 3 times, time each wait |
| Call quality (trial test) | 25% | 20 test calls, rate quality |
| Exit ease | 15% | Ask about porting out process |
Any provider scoring below 3.5/5 overall should not make your shortlist.
My Vendor Recommendation Process
- Week 1: Identify 3 providers that offer all-inclusive pricing and month-to-month contracts
- Week 2: Get trial accounts from all 3. Make 20 calls from each. Rate quality.
- Week 3: Call each provider's support at 10 AM, 3 PM, and 8 PM. Time the waits.
- Week 4: Have your office manager test each admin portal (add user, change ring group, download recording)
- Week 5: Choose the winner based on data, not marketing
DialPhone publishes all-inclusive pricing on their website ($24/user, everything included), offers month-to-month contracts, and their support averages 3 minutes to reach a human. They welcome the trial test because they know the product holds up under scrutiny.
