It is hard to say without looking at your bills, but it is very likely there are overcharges and errors that you are now paying for.

How long will the project take?

The time it takes to complete the audit depends on how large your phone system is and how quickly the telephone company responds to our requests. Two to four months is a typical time allowance for Hanks Associates to complete an audit.

Will we get big refunds?

Possibly. It depends on if the responsibility for the errors and overbillings belong to the vendor. If so, a refund should be given dating from the time of inception to the present.

Will you take much of our time or space?

All the work is done in our own offices. We require as little time as possible from your staff. Once we have what we need to get started, we will only require limited time from designated staff to answer any questions we may have.

What do you need to get started?

1. Signed contract
   
2. Letter of agency on your letterhead
3. Copy of contracts with local phone company vendors
4. Copy of last month's bills
5. Internal telephone directory
6. Name of designated contact person

What are typical savings?

Savings for our clients range from 5% to 30% on their telecom expenses. Each account is different. We can't estimate what the savings will be until we have looked over the billings. We have never had a client yet that hasn't benefited from our services.

We have our accounts payable person look over our phone bills. Why do we need your company?

It's very unlikely your accounts payable person reads Universal Service Order Code, the language in which the billing information provided by the telephone company is written. Once the bills are "decoded", only a telecommunications professional can determine if you have all you pay for and need all you pay for.

We employ an inhouse telecommunications expert. Shouldn't this person be auditing for billing errors and keeping costs down?

Telecommunications staff typically deal with day to day operations of the firm's voice systems. They very rarely possess both the time and the rates-and-tariffs expertise needed to do the in-depth analysis that we perform, and your growing telecommunications expenses prove it.

But I'm not sure I'll like your cost savings program...

Our cost reducing changes are guaranteed by contract to be transparent to you. Our contract implementation is based strictly on common sense: it's only natural for you to want actions taken that have absolutely no noticeable affect on your staff or your normal way of doing business except to lower your monthly bills.

What is the meaning of this term "transparent"?

The clearest way to understand our Transparent Savings Implementation Plan is this: the day after we make these changes, neither you, your staff, nor your clients or customers will be able to tell in any way whatsoever that they were made! The telephones work exactly as before, look exactly as before. In fact, the entire Savings Implementation Plan for your firm will be totally imperceptible until you receive your reduced bills next month. Remember, by contract, we only perform guaranteed transparent changes.

What kinds of changes are you referring to?

Changes in the type of trunks now bringing dial tone to your location. Removal of telephone lines that never carry a single call but that you pay for each month. Discontinuation of electronic calling features on your lines that you never ordered and don't want or need, the charges for which are `buried' in your basic monthly charges...features which in some instances may actually cause harm to operations. One very common example of this is call waiting and even call forwarding on fax lines, both of which can cause real problems.

How do I know if I want to spend the money to make changes?

If we asked you to spend money to accomplish your savings, then it would no longer be transparent. We sometimes may present optional advice as part of our final audit documentation which would entail an expenditure if you chose to follow it. But there is never any cost for our transparent Savings Implementation Plan. And remember, our fee is always on contingency: we share in your documented cost reductions only after they begin.

I don't want to change long distance companies. Why should we change from XYZ Long Distance Company when we're happy with them?

You shouldn't! Just exclude consideration of long distance from our contract entirely by writing it in on the exclusions line. Or, you may specify that you want information on changing programs within the same company you now use if they offer a more cost effective program, but you do not chose to change companies.

Our long distance company (or local telephone company, or telephone equipment vendor) says it will consult and advise us at no charge. Why should I pay you to do this?

Because we are truly consultants. We have no loyalty or affiliation with any telecommunications vendor. Our only interest (and our only profit) is in real documented cost-reducing measures, so we can be completely objective. Obviously, no salesperson can ever be truly objective.