What makes you different from other firms? How do we know that we can trust you and that you're not biased?
Experience. Objectivity. Accountability.
We represent hundreds of years of telecommunications experience, ranging from local, long distance, data, wireless, and international service providers to competitive local exchange carriers and equipment manufacturers. We thoroughly understand the telecommunications market and service providers, and all of the confusing billing terminology and tariff language you may encounter (as a matter of fact, our staff has written and reviewed thousands of pages of telecommunications tariffs during their careers). We are completely objective with no ties to specific service providers. TOPs only makes money if, and when, we save you money.

Our network and phone service is working just fine. Why rock the boat?
The audit, inventory and recovery processes have no impact on your systems at all. However, “working just fine” does not necessarily mean working efficiently. Once we’ve completed our analysis, you will be presented with our findings for any refunds that you are due and recommendations for service enhancements which will optimize the costs of your services. You will then have the choice of implementing those recommendations or not.

How far back can you go?
For telephone services charges, some carriers allow us to recover up to 6 years worth of errors. In general, though, the recovery period is determined by your contract with your carrier, their tarriffs, and state and federal law. We will pursue the recovery of your money to the fullest extent possible.

How does Telecom Optimization Partners make money? Will we recoup our investment?
We assume all of the risk, you assume none.
Our relationship with you is like a “partnership”, only better (for you). You contribute your organization's phone, wireless, and Internet bills and contracts. We contribute our ability to decipher them as well as the time and energy necessary to uncover refunds and potential savings. Whatever amounts we recover from past billing errors, the "partnership" will split them 50/50. We'll also split any documented savings generated by us for the first 24 months. After that, you keep 100% of the savings. It's a win-win situation. Remember, the worst position that your organization can be in after engaging Telecom Optimization Partners is that, at no cost to you, a team of highly skilled and experienced professionals has certified that your current setup is perfect. If it's not, and changes need to be made, we only invoice you when your organization has benefited. You will always come out ahead and will never at any point be net out-of-pocket.

What happens if you find errors?
In the event that your carrier has overcharged you, we will diligently pursue your refund or credit on your behalf. We will document and explain the error to your service provider and open a billing ticket. If we do not hear back from them within a reasonable amount of time, we will follow up with another phone call, once again waiting on hold for as long as it takes to get through to a human being. If the issue remains unresolved, we will then escalate it to the appropriate level in your carrier's corporate hierarchy. Since we speak to phone company representatives regularly, we know how to push their buttons to get results without ever acting unprofessionally. Best of all, you won't need to spend any of your organization's time pursuing these refunds or credits.

How much can we expect to recover and save?
It is not uncommon for our efforts to produce savings of 25%, 30%, even 40% or more for many of our customers. For larger enterprises that spend at least $50,000 each month, we can often identify recoveries the equivalent of at least one month's charges for regional and long distance calls, and that's before we do any major analysis.

What if we're not looking to change service providers?
Often, we're able to reduce your organization's bill without changing your carrier. Our primary goal is to secure the absolute lowest pricing possible from your existing carrier. If, during our examination of your bills, we determine that another carrier offers significantly lower rates, we'll inform you of it, but you'll be under no obligation to change. And we won't bill you for recommendations that you choose not to implement. You are always in control.

What if we want you to monitor our bills on an ongoing basis?
As part of our standard 24 month service agreement, we will continue to monitor your bills for accuracy and make sure your telecommunications services are optimized every month!

Do you offer any other services?
Absolutely! If you're currently negotiating on your own with one or more carriers, we'll analyze their offers for you so that you can compare "apples-to-apples". Alternatively, we can take over the negotiations and secure very attractive rates for you, ones that may not currently be offered to you because you may not know the ins and outs of these types of negotiations. Depending on the project, an hourly or fixed rate will apply.

What do you require of your clients?
First and foremost, responsiveness. We understand that you are a busy professional and can't necessarily return phone calls or emails immediately. Therefore we ask that you commit to getting back to us within 1 or 2 business days. In general, it is best for us to have one central point of contact, although in larger organizations, more may be appropriate (i.e. one person for financial issues and another for implementation of upgrades and enhancements). The contact person should either be a decision maker or someone with ready access to a decision maker. In order for us to effectively interact with your carriers, we require a signed Letter Of Authorization (“LOA”) on your organization's letterhead and we ask that you provide us with access to your electronic invoices. This will allow us access to your billing information and obtain refunds or credits on your behalf without you taking time out of your busy day. We will provide you with the specific language for the LOA.