Pilothouse is proud to announce the addition of Star2Star communications to their product inventory. Star2Star Communications offers a unique and efficient approach to VoIP solutions. Star2Star believes before a business grade Internet phone service is a viable solution for the small and medium sized business environment it has to exceed current VoIP solutions being offered to consumers and even surpass traditional phone service. So, in light of this belief, they have created an architecture that does exactly that.

It starts with the StarBox, a super-reliable, solid-state, fanless on-premise PBX. The StarBox 2200 phone model supports up to 500 extensions with unlimited voicemail. Whether you are using a cable, DSL, fiber, or T1 Internet connection this phone system provides powerful and unique calling features, voice menus, ring groups and call queues.

The StarBox offers hundreds of features, including many exclusive and upgraded capabilities. One of the most popular features is Star2Star’s advanced version of call forwarding with a Find-Me/Follow-Me option where your office phone can ring at branch locations while also ringing your cell phone, home phone or even a laptop softphone.

Not convinced Star2Star is right for you? Check out one of their testimonials off their website and see what one of their customers had to say about their experience.

ASI Testimonial

With the Star2Star System Dan Dubbs, President of ASI, (a company that provides accounting software to cruise ships) is now able to bring multiple locations together and create a virtual communications system for employees.

This includes cell phones and employees working abroad. This exclusive feature to Star2Star is known as Find-Me/Follow-Me and is responsible for saving thousands of dollars while improving productivity and communications for customers. With Find-Me/Follow-Me each phone user can go to an online portal site to select to have the office line ring to multiple sites, including a cell phone, home phone or computer softphone simultaneously. This can be easily configured to happen on a particular schedule or the user can select for the call to try one phone at a time, or all at once or give the option to automatically forward the call via your voicemail message. Ultimately this feature allows you to call anyone on your network, branch offices, or remote employees as a local extension.

“The powerful features of the Star2Star Phone System make a difference in our business every day since we now have the advantage of being available to our clients no matter where our employees are stationed.”

Dan Dubbs, CEO

– ASI

1. “The telephone seems to ring forever before it’s answered.”

Always try to answer the phone within 3 rings.  Any longer than that and a caller can start to feel ignored or frustrated.  Their call is important to you, so you want to make them feel that way.

2. “I wait on hold for what can sometimes feel like hours.”

Your customers’ time is as valuable as yours.  Make sure that your “hold recall timer” is set correctly so that a caller isn’t left hanging for any longer than a couple minutes.  If you know that it’s been a while, pick up for the phone and give them the option to continue to hold for someone, or you can offer voicemail.  Make them feel that even though they’re waiting, you want to cater to their needs and let them have a positive experience with your company.

3. “The line is continually busy.”

If you are getting complaints that your lines are always busy, it may mean that you are busy with more business which of course is a good thing!  Remember that when business increases, your phone lines should too, in order to accommodate new and existing clients.

4. “Someone picked up with an aggravated voice, as if my call disturbed them.”

We all have bad days, and it can be difficult to always be polite, but you need to keep in mind that your attitude is a direct reflection of your company.  Every time that you pick up the phone, you are being a representative of your company’s brand and image.

5. “They let me talk and explain my situation only to realize that they are not the person I should be talking to!”

If you know that there is someone else in the company that is better suited to handle a call, politely interrupt them and transfer them to a more appropriate person.  Be sure to pass along any information that you may have gathered during your initial conversation, so that the caller doesn’t have to repeat themselves.

They had older Toshiba Strata systems at all 7 locations, each with its own voicemail systems and receptionist.

Business Challenges:

The corporate management team needed to be able to communicate with all franchise locations personnel, but had to have voicemail boxes in all 7 systems- they wanted to be able to share voicemail messages without having 7 different mailboxes, it was a user and administrator’s nightmare.

They needed to be able to provide greater customer service to callers reaching incorrect dealership. If a call came into the Chevy dealership for Ford, they had to instruct the caller to hang up and dial another number. They wanted to be able to pass calls between dealerships seamlessly and not inconvenience the customer

They had to have 7 different receptionists sitting at 7 different locations answering calls after normal business hours during typical sales hours, after 5 pm and weekends. They wanted to be able to answer calls for multiple dealerships from one centralized location off business hours.

Our Custom Solution:

We upgraded their existing Toshiba systems to CTX670’s and CTX100’s and added VoIP networking capabilities over their existing private data network. We gave them one centralized voicemail system- messages could now be easily passed between all employees no matter which dealership they worked for.  We implemented a centralized operator and automated attendant, so that during sales only hours, there is only one receptionist who answers for all 7 locations. The distributed architecture of the Toshiba CTX  platforms results in a seamless and transparent network that links all of the dealers sites, as a result calls coming into one of the dealership’s office are easily routed to any of the other locations, significantly increasing the efficiency in handling customer calls. Many of their existing Toshiba components from the older DK systems were re-used in the CTX 670 and CTX100 systems, including existing digital telephones and circuit boards, illustrating true investment protection in this custom solution for this successful automotive group.