Telecom Savings Tip: Stop Writing Blank Checks

Some telecom services are like blank checks for your employees. 411 directory assistance, for example, can cost as much as $2.50 per call. Most commonly abused is Long Distance, both domestic and international. Employee use and abuse of these services can really add up. If you don’t have some controls in place, you may as well hand out blank checks each month.

Controlling such costs is actually easy. Simply block the services or monitor their use. Your carriers can block 411 and other such per-use services. Similarly, LD usage can be blocked altogether, or just block what you don’t need. If you do interstate but no overseas business, have your carrier block all international LD and leave domestic LD open. Or if you want employees to be able to make LD calls but know it’s monitored, have your carrier set up Authorization Codes for each employee (or by department). These codes are like passwords your employees enter each time they make an LD call. Your carrier can then provide a detailed report of each employees (or departments) LD usage. Even if you never look at the reports, you will reduce usage simply because employees know their usage is being monitored.

Use of LD blocks and Authorization Codes can also protect you from “toll fraud”, where crooks gain access to your phone system and relay LD calls through it. In a short time, they can rack up $thousands on your bill and you will not be entitled to a refund from your carrier.

Most of these controls, by the way, can also be done through your phone system (rather than the carrier). I generally go the carrier route because they typically implement at no cost and they also will take more responsibility for the cost of any usage that slips through.


Mark

PS: Checkout 800-goog-411 for free 411 calls. Short video: www.google.com/goog411