If you’re a small business owner and looking for an affordable office phone system, you need look no further than the XBlue Networks X16 Phone System. Larry Steinmetz, the President of XBlue has created great telecom products specifically geared for small-to-medium sized businesses. When we decided to upgrade our phone system, we began to research systems that would accommodate our daily business needs. Of course there are plenty of phone systems available, but some were too costly and others were equipped with much more than what was needed for our purposes. When we discovered the XBlue X16, system, we thought it was just what the doctor ordered.
In addition to coming in five stylish colors, the features seemed to be endless for such an inexpensive phone system. You can connect up to 6 phone lines, expand up to 16 digital phones, it has an Automated Receptionist, Voicemail for every phone, Caller ID display, Memo record, Message Waiting indication, Music-On-Hold, Name, Time and Date Display and that’s just naming a few.
Not only was it within our budget, but we were referred to an XBlue Networks phone system expert who was more than happy to install and set up our new phone system in our brand new offices. Bracha Sarah Meyerowitcz, an Independent Contractor who specializes in XBlue systems, has been working with the company over 15 years. She, along with her new assistant-in-training Talia Beckerman, are as knowledgeable as they come. “I started selling XBlue phone systems way, way back when the XBlue 924 system first came out about fifteen years ago. It was an electronic system that was extremely reliable, but much more costly and complicated than the current XBlue system,” Bracha said. “The X16 is ideal for houses and small businesses with limited wiring to each room and it is the least costly landline phone system with voicemail in the country. It has its limitations of six dial tones and sixteen extensions but, that is sufficient for approximately eighty percent of the businesses in America.”
How often do you find the perfect product for your needs, and are fortunate enough to get an expert along with it? We were so impressed with Bracha’s knowledge and expertise of the XBlue X16, that we wanted to know more about her and why she became a specialist of these wonderful systems.
There are Time Warner and AT&T technicians and then there are specialists like you. How do customers benefit from going to a specialist?
Cable companies such as Time Warner train their technicians to do bandwidth connections, they have very little to do with the actual phone connections. AT&T trains their technicians to connect dial tones and specialized circuits. The old AT&T that sold phone systems and had technicians install and program has been sold several times and now AT&T equipment is sold under the Avaya name and installed by private firms. Most new phone systems are VOIP, Voice Over Internet Protocol, where the phones take internet bandwidth to make and receive phone calls. You can’t move an ordinary phone system anywhere you go but you can take a VOIP phone anywhere there is internet.
Bracha Sarah Meyerowitcz and Talia Beckerman
As phone systems have gotten more sophisticated and sales have gone to VOIP systems that are programed remotely, more and more technicians have found other jobs to make a living. I’m 71 and still hanging in there doing anything that comes along because people always want things fixed. I’ve been working on phone systems since 1984 so I have seen just about everything that could go wrong with a phone system in thirty two years and usually figure out how to fix it. In some jobs you don’t have to be the smartest person, just the one that has seen all the problems and knows how to fix them.
With technology evolving, where do you see the future of landline phone systems?
There is a continual reduction of land based, copper line phone systems. Some people just like traditional phone systems and they will buy what they want. I have a dentist in Irvine who is so far from the central office where dial tone is generated that they have only low speed DSL possible for internet and copper phone lines. There is no fiber to the building or cable company coax so they can’t use a VOIP phone system, only land based pairs of wire for dial tones. There are expensive solutions such as fixed wireless to bring in internet bandwidth but for small offices it is not economical. The dial tone carriers such as AT&T and Verizon have been mandated to provide service even though it is their lowest profit item. More and more areas across the country are being relieved of the burden to provide landline based phone service and that will only increase as VOIP systems become the majority of phone systems in use.
What is it about being a technician and expert in phone lines that interests you?
I was trained to be a communications intelligence analyst, always figuring out something or the other so with all the complications that can come with installing and troubleshooting phones, it seems like I am still at my old job only without the life and death possibilities, don’t miss that at all. Once I found out I had a knack for figuring out phone problems jobs seemed to just fall in my direction. I’ve been able to volunteer on a bulletin board that helps technicians figure out things they don’t know and help them solve problems for their customers. It’s a good feeling and I certainly consult the board when I need help.
How long have you been in the industry and tell us about your training?
Back in 1984, there was a telephone technician living in Topanga and we became friends. One day he called and said that no one was going to show up to help that day and could I lend a hand. I spent four hours helping to pull cable to different locations and he handed me $125 for my time. I realized that there was some real money in the phone business and he urged me to go to ITT Technical Training to become a phone technician. Judge Green had just ordered AT&T to allow other companies to hook up their phone network and my first jobs were to exchange similar equipment the customer purchased to replace the rental equipment from AT&T and GTE, now Verizon.
I completed the ITT course six weeks early and was hired to sell and install phone systems, but before I could start work, the company folded. After being hired by another firm I took the Dale Carnegie Sales Class and in a short time I was doing sixty percent of the sales turned in between the three of us who mostly did selling.
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Bracha and Talia are committed to providing the best possible service and installation to customers of the XBlue Phone Systems. We are so pleased with our XBlue X16 Phone System, that we recommend both the system and their Specialist Bracha for anyone looking for a cost effective, user-friendly phone system, which will last for years to come.
For more info on XBlue visit: https://xblue.com/
To schedule an appointment with Bracha, call: 951-281-2010
