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Selkowitz Technology | Seattle’s small business network and telecom consultant

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Cell phones are a handy and ubiquitous part of life - some small businesses are even using cell phones instead of office phones. But there’s a number of downsides to cell phones when compared to a modern phone system with telecommuter support.

5) Cost - an unlimited minutes cell phone costs $100 or more per month, so if you have ten employees that need phones you’re spending $1000/month on cell phones. One office phone line can usually be shared by 2-3 staff so an office of 10 needs 3-5 lines. We have a carrier where 5 lines with unlimited long distance is just $175 - a difference of nearly $10k per year.

4) Portability - sure, cell phones are portable, but how useful is that portability? If you’re with clients in the field, you probably aren’t going to pick up every call that comes in. If you’re driving some states restrict cell use - even if not it is hard to lookup client records or schedule appointments when driving. Really cell phones are best when stopped for coffee, at your home office, etc. In most spots when you can actually usefully take calls, you could instead use an IP phone tied into your office. IP phones don’t have monthly fees - they just let you make and receive calls just like you’re at your office desk.

3) Lack of unity - when your business runs on all cell phones, everyone has a separate number. Its a lot of work for your customers to keep track of your number, your assistant, support, etc. In most cases customers will learn one number and call that regardless of need - so if you’re sales and they need support, they still call sales because its the number they know.

2) Keeping numbers - what happens when a salesperson leaves? Was it their cell phone or the company’s? If it was a personal cell, they end up taking your customers with them. If its the company’s then someone now has to carry around more phones to ensure calls are answered. If you’re downsizing, you can either give up the number and lose calls or keep paying for an unneeded line just to keep the number.

1) Health concerns - its still not clear if cell phones cause harm to their users, but should that link be proven, companies who issued cell phones to staff could be held liable for the effects. It sounds farfetched, but if you can sue because hot coffee can scald…

Cell phones are a useful tool so on call staff can be reached in an emergency situation, but for the majority of uses a phone system with telecommuter support is far more effective.

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