In 14 years of telecom, I’ve never heard of a carrier flat out loosing a customer’s telecom number. Until last month.
One of my clients called to report that three of its 250 DIDs stopped working. I called the carrier to find out why. Turns out the carrier gave them to another customer by mistake.
I’m afraid this is a sign of the times. All of the consolidations, acquisitions and billing platform migrations occurring within the telecom carrier realm right now mean that mistakes are happening. Even with the best of carriers.
In the case of my client, there was a problem between the carrier’s billing database and the switching database. It appeared that those numbers were unassigned, so the carrier’s provisioner assigned them to someone else. What a mess!
Mistake Proof Your Business Telecom Services: 3 Easy Steps
1. Crosscheck Completed DID Orders
Turns out that the carrier lost my client’s DIDs 18 months ago. That’s when my client moved office locations. To uncover this fact I had to go back and review a service order tech sheet from that time. I noticed that the DIDs weren’t on the sheet. In other words, the mistake could have been identified 18 months ago if the technical service sheet DID list had been cross-referenced with the DID database inside the PBX.
You can do this by downloading your Customer Service Record (CSR) and verifying that the new DIDs have been assigned to your account. It’s free to download a CSR from the carrier’s customer portal website. Or call the carrier’s customer service department and they will email it to you.
2. Perform CSR Audits
CSRs should be periodically audited. This will check that your services match your bill, and that the services you are paying for still meet your needs. Caisson can do this for you. Give us a call.
3. Update Your Telecom Map
A telecom map is a valuable management tool. It lists important information about your configuration, including all DIDs. It should be periodically crosschecked with the carrier’s information. Don’t have a telecom map? We can put that together for you. Contact us today.
Was this article helpful? What are your other telecom concerns. We'd love to hear from you in the comments below.
At Caisson, we strike the word "worry" from your telecom buying and management vocabulary. Learn more.