If you’ve ever called 811 to determine the location of underground gas and communications lines, your request likely involved Utiliquest. The company provides location services on behalf of major energy and telecom firms (e.g., Comcast, Verizon, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric et al.) to ensure that consumers and businesses can dig safely. Utiliquest has regional offices around the country.
Emil Gasparian is the IT support engineer at Utiliquest’s main California office in Monterey Park, Calif. Not long after joining the company in 2006, he was charged with upgrading his office’s phone system. The office’s old PBX was going out sporadically, and it was so old that it could no longer be serviced. To say an upgrade was sorely needed would be something of an understatement, Emil tells us.
Upon investigating his options, Emil learned that bringing in a cable technician to set up a new PBX would cost more than $1,500. Plus, each PBX desk phone would come with a price tag of $500. That was much more than Utiliquest wanted to spend.
“Just wiring up our office for a new PBX system would have cost at least $1,500,” Emil notes.
It was around this time that RingCentral came into consideration. Emil, who had heard of RingCentral through a colleague in Atlanta, realized that it would provide all the functionality that Utiliquest’s Monterey Park office needed. RingCentral would also greatly modernize how Utiliquest’s employees used the phone. The company’s executives in Monterey Park were using their cell phones to hold conference calls – an unprofessional and unsustainable solution.
In addition, RingCentral would cost substantially less than Utiliquest’s old PBX. After careful deliberation, Emil decided to make the switch – and he hasn’t looked back.
Now, Emil and his coworkers can hold conference calls from their desks. They can send and receive faxes online. And managing their entire phone system is as simple as making a few mouse clicks – no pricey technicians required.
RingCentral has cut the Monterey Park office’s phone bill by more than 30 percent. An added benefit is that Emil locked in a low rate with a contract, so there are no surprises awaiting him when his bill arrives.
Utiliquest manages client requests with an electronic ticketing system, but when technicians call in with a last-minute question, Utiliquest’s office staff must be able to respond. A well-designed phone system is, therefore, crucial for the company – and RingCentral delivers what it needs.
“RingCentral sounds clear, lets us place conference calls and costs less than our old phone system,” Emil says. “All those reasons add up to why we switched.”
Originally published Nov 29, 2012, updated Aug 07, 2020
