The Shocking Truth About My $2,600 Phone Bill And How I Fixed It
Reading Time: 4 Minutes
You know, running a business comes with all sorts of expenses, and sometimes, you don’t even realize how much money you’re sinking into things that aren’t giving you the best value. That was me, up until recently, with my business phone system. Let me take you back to 2009 when I first started with RingCentral. Now, I don’t want to say anything bad about RingCentral (they’ve come a long way since then), but back in the day, it was like trying to navigate through a maze blindfolded. Clunky, complicated, and not the friendliest of interfaces.
Fast forward a few years, and I decided to make the switch to Dialpad. Dialpad had some great selling points—it connected to my CRM, allowed for texting, call transferring, forwarding, and more. But I felt like I was constantly being nickel-and-dimed. Every cool feature seemed to require a higher plan or an additional fee, either per line or per user. I mean, the AI features, texting integration, and AI recording were impressive… when they worked. But they didn’t always.
Take call recordings, for example. Theoretically, I should’ve been able to monitor my staff’s calls or replay conversations to figure out what exactly a client said or meant. But wouldn’t you know it? Whenever it was truly crucial, the call hadn’t been recorded. Why? Because it depended on whether it was a Wi-Fi call or a carrier call, or if the permissions were set up correctly for each individual user, not global. It was unnecessarily complicated and, frankly, frustrating.
Enter OpenPhone.
This is where my business life changed for the better. Switching to OpenPhone was like stepping out of a fog. For the first time, I had a phone system that actually worked with me instead of against me. The setup process was simple—seriously, I had several phone numbers ported over in just about 10 days.
Every single issue I had with Dialpad has so far been resolved, and then some. For starters, all calls are auto-recorded, and the AI summary is built-in—no extra fees, no jumping through hoops. The call flow is a dream to set up. It took me about 10 minutes, tops. And get this: I created an AI voice recording using Murf.ai, uploaded it, and boom—new phone system, up and running.
OpenPhone’s menu is intuitive and flexible. Callers can use either voice commands or just press a key. Every voicemail and call is transcribed, and an AI-generated summary pops up within seconds. How cool is that?
And My Favorite Part: The Texting Auto-Replies.
Picture this: It’s business hours, you’re already on a call, and another one comes in that you miss. Normally, you’d lose that lead or annoy a client by not getting back quickly. But with OpenPhone, you can program an automatic text reply that immediately lets the caller know you’ll get back to them. It’s like having a little mini phone assistant working for you around the clock.
Even better, I’ve connected my OpenPhone system with my Táve system. Now, whenever I’m finishing up a quote, I can shoot off an email and automatically send a confirmation text, all without adding any steps to my workflow. It’s seamless, and it's efficient. If you want to know how to set up this integration, I’ve got a tutorial you can purchase here. Trust me, it’s a game-changer.
Since making the switch, I’ve noticed something incredible: I’m closing bookings faster, and my sales process is no longer this disruptive force in my daily workflow. It just flows. My business phone bill went from $2,600 a year to just $200. That's money I can now spend on things that matter more—like skincare.
Stay tuned next week when I talk about my latest obsession: air fryers.
Learn how to seamlessly connect Táve to OpenPhone using Zapier to automate client communications and streamline your workflow effortlessly! 🚀
