Having Expectations That Go Beyond Reality

It happens every day. You tell a member of a carrier’s sales staff that you need a dedicated circuit installed in the back hills of Alabama, with an inter-active Web site allowing you to view the total calls being processed, the average call duration, connection time, and the ability to reprogram your circuit to hunt in a different sequence depending on your call volume. You need this perfect system in five days.

You hear in response, “Of course! No problem!” Salespeople are out of touch with reality. The sad part about this person’s dementia is the fact that the salesperson is trying to take you along with for the ride. You will abruptly arrive at the off ramp to reality 10 days after you sign the contract, when you are told by the provisioner that the carrier doesn’t offer interactive Web sites, that the projected installation date is in 45 to 60 days, and that the reporting you want isn’t available.

 Remember  If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.