Posted on Thu, May 02, 2013 @ 05:06 PM
Xtelesis Rated “World Class” in Customer Satisfaction by Independent Source
Burlingame, CA - May 1, 2013 – Xtelesis Corporation today announced it has earned ShoreTel’s Partner Customer Excellence Award. ShoreTel® (NASDAQ: SHOR), the leading provider of brilliantly simple unified communications platforms including business phone systems, applications and mobile UC solutions, announced award recipients for the first half of the Partner Year (October 2012 through March 2013), and Xtelesis Corporation was honored as a customer satisfaction achiever in its Champion Channel partner program.
“Our relationship with ShoreTel has grown steadily since we first started selling their communications system in 2002. As a ShoreTel Gold Champion Partner we’ve continued our commitment to customer satisfaction. We are honored to have received this recognition.” said Scott Strochak, President and CEO of Xtelesis.
ShoreTel’s highly qualified partners include value added resellers (VARs) and system integrators that help customers navigate a world of voice over IP (VoIP) options, including LAN, WAN, call center, voice and data application integration, technology deployment, as well as training and support. The Partner Customer Excellence Award is presented to ShoreTel’s channel partners that have achieved world-class customer satisfaction scores of 55+ as measured by an independent third party.
“We’re pleased to acknowledge Xtelesis Corporation and this achievement in customer satisfaction,” said Charles Krogman, vice president worldwide channel management. “Xtelesis Corporation exemplifies the best in delivering our innovative products and leading business solutions to our ShoreTel customers”.
About ShoreTel, Inc.
ShoreTel, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOR) is a provider of business communication solutions whose brilliantly simple unified communications platforms, applications and mobile UC solutions promise a new rhythm of workforce engagement and collaboration. With costly complexity eliminated by design from its award-winning, all-in-one IP phone system, UC and contact center solution and its industry-leading hosted phone system, workers enjoy a freedom and self-reliance that other providers can’t match. Users have full control to engage and collaborate, no matter the time, place or device, for the lowest cost and demand on IT resources in the industry. ShoreTel is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and has regional offices and partners worldwide. For more information, visit www.shoretel.com or www.shoretelsky.com.
ShoreTel and the ShoreTel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ShoreTel, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
Posted on Thu, May 12, 2011 @ 09:00 AM
Your potential integrator is walking slowly through his presentation. He shows a slide with logos of his clients. He flips to another page that lists capabilities. Finally, he flashes you the awards.
It’s tempting to ignore those medals that boast excellence. After all, can’t any integrator find a way to win some kind of award from a friendly association or desperate equipment manufacturer?
That may be so. But in some cases, awards really do matter.
Consider this example from our industry. Among small and mid-sized businesses, ShoreTel is a vendor of choice that manufactures unified communications solutions. ShoreTel does not sell these systems directly, instead relying on a network of integrators to install them for customers.
Each year, ShoreTel presents 10 of its integrators with the Circle of Excellence Award. These partners are chosen based on two factors:
- Revenue success, meaning that the integrator is installing a significant number of ShoreTel systems
- Customer satisfaction of 90 percent or better, as measured by an independent third party
This provides a prime example of when an award is an excellent indicator of vendor quality. First, ShoreTel ensures that these vendors are working at a high volume, demonstrating they have extensive experience installing its solutions. Then, it uses an objective organization to determine customer satisfaction levels.
In fact, ShoreTel’s customer satisfaction scores are particularly challenging to keep at an elevated level. Customers rate their happiness on a scale of 1 to 4. While a rating of 4 is 100 percent, a 3 is only 75 percent. It takes only one or two mostly satisfied customers who rate the integrator with a 3 to quickly bring their rating down to a number under the required 90 percent threshold.
In addition to awards, vendor certifications are an often-ignored sales point that can be a good indicator of integrator success. For example, we ensure that our technicians and engineers earn the highest certifications offered by our key partners. Rather than relying on team members with general telecommunications experience, we provide our customers with ShoreTel Certified Installers and ShoreTel Certified Engineers.
How can you decide whether awards and certifications matter? In short, awards and certifications are important when they affect how your implementation and ongoing support will be performed. To help you choose a high-quality integrator, ask these questions when you are shopping around:
- Have you earned any recognition or awards from this UC manufacturer (ShoreTel, Avaya, Cisco, etc.)?
- What specific qualifications does the manufacturer use when handing out these awards? Is it based on revenue alone, or does service quality come into play as well?
- What is your customer satisfaction number, and how did you arrive at that number? Was it determined by an independent third party?
- Does your team have certifications for this manufacturer’s products, or just general industry experience?