So, you think you want free conference call services? Think again! Like most things in life, nothing really comes for free. And before you risk your reputation and business you will want to understand what free conference call services are all about.
When the first free conference call service was introduced everyone in the conference call industry kind of shrugged and figured everyone would understand the deficiencies with the service and steer clear of them. Well, free conference call services have survived because everyone likes something “free” so its attraction can not be underestimated. But, is it truly free? And what is the difference between free conference call services and paid conference call services? Here are the details behind free conference call services.
- Free Doesn’t mean No Cost- True, after the conference call is over you may not owe the free conference call service provider anything, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t cost you anything. That is because all free conference call service providers give you a local number to access your conference call. That “local” number is usually not local for anyone on the conference call which means you and you participants have to make a long distance call to connect to your conference. Do you want your customer or prospect to get long distance charges on their phone bill for attending your conference call?
- Will it be available when you dial in – The way a free conference call service company makes money is by getting the termination fee for having you call into a location where long distance providers pay the local telephone company to terminate the call. The amount they are paid is very small so they can’t afford the best conference call equipment and have a limitation on capacity. There is no guarantee that when you call in for your conference call that the capacity will be there for you. Do you want to chance having the conference call available?
- Toll Free at a Price – You can usually get a toll free access number for your conference call, but you will pay for it. And if you find that if you shopped around the competition you could find a better toll free conference call rate from a company with better features and more reliable conference call equipment.
- Support is Not Free – And if you need any support, how much support do you expect if the service is free?
So, if you want to make sure your conference call is there when you need and not get hit with hidden charges you may want to examine what it means to be a free conference call service.