Google Hangouts (Classic) vs. Google Voice vs. Lingo

Had I completed this review a couple years ago, I would have given a rating of 9 or 10 as Hangouts (Classic) is an excellent product. However, now that Google Chat has succeeded Hangouts, I would not recommend that any new users begin using it where other more modern options are available. Android users who want an internet based instant messaging that also supports calling and video calling could benefit from using Hangouts (Classic) as Google Chat requires the user to also have Google Meet installed to make video calls and there is no voice only calling option.

Incentivized

I do think Google Voice works well for organizations that do not have a support team meant to provide regular telephone support, and instead do so on an ad hoc basis. I would not recommend it for high-volume call activities, such as SDR motions.

Incentivized

Lingo is great for small to mid sized company working with big box retailers that want to manage EDI in a cost effective but also time efficient manner. If you are looking for complete automation and integration, or a highly developed interface this is not the EDI platofrm for you

Incentivized

• Google Hangouts (Classic) is embedded within Gmail's scheduler, so setting up the link is as quick as a click of the button. It's a one-step process.
• Google Hangouts (Classic) is user-friendly and [has] features to share screens easily.
• Google Hangouts (Classic) is much easier to use than its competitors.
• Google Hangouts (Classic) have [a] good connection time and there are few glitches.

Incentivized

• Google Voice has been great for setting up additional phone lines and numbers.
• The voicemail inbox is a great feature and you can see when messages come in online and listen to the messages from your computer.
• Google Voice allows us to have multiple phone numbers and lines for specific business purposes.

Incentivized

• User friendly, easy to see what needs to be done for each retail partner and completing all required documents
• Its price is competitive compared to other options
• Nice that they don't send a million update and confirmation emails like some platforms

Incentivized

• I would like to see improved video support, so that saved videos can be sent back and forth via Hangouts more easily, without having to start a separate meet chat
• More pronounced notifications of messages would be helpful; pop up notifications are good, but once there is one, additional messages do not pop up
• Custom muting times would be great, so that if I am in a 90 minute Zoom meeting, I can set it for that time; right now, it is 1 hour or 2 hours. Easy to forget.

Incentivized

• There has not been much innovation since the initial release.
• It doesn't handle SMS well.
• It does not natively integrate with CRM without legacy complication
• It is not supported by Google as it once was
• Call Recording is non-existent
• Call-Tree or Virtual Auto-Attendant needs are not available

Incentivized

• Cost setup for each retail partner is steep. In this digital age, it seems like a rip off to have to pay for this service
• ERP/Warehouse integration - it does not have the ability to integrate with our ERP setup currently.
• Sometimes there are just one too many steps to submit documents - wish it automatically prompted to the next submission step to remember to get through all steps more easily and not get lost in submitting documents

Incentivized

Google Voice has been invaluable for us in our effort to provide exceptional customer service. With Google Voice, we have been able to increase our customer interactions while reducing the wait time to reach a live person on our team. We couldn't be more pleased with the way things have worked out since implementing Google Voice.

Incentivized

The tool is almost self-implemented. It is likely to be available in every pc or mobile device a user or potential user might have, and all you need to do is adding the company's account and you are done. Once you are setted up, you have almost all actual communication methods available in one tool

Incentivized

I think it works really well in the arena it operates in, but not so well in areas where an enterprise system would be more appropriate. It's great for quick solutions that just work, but not so much for more complex call management tasks.

Incentivized

Google Hangouts works great and does not require a lot of work to troubleshoot. Everything is simple and easy to use. Google provides all of the tools that one requires to utilize Google Hangouts and any information can be found in the built-in help tools. There is also a forum for users to report issues and typically, Google responds well and will try to work out any issues.

Incentivized

They do not offer support unless you have the Business account for Google Voice under G Suite. This is tough, because Google doesn't really have a customer support team for this service, so when it gets shut down for a few hours, we have no choice but to wait it out. But this doesn't happen that often, which is great.

Incentivized

It is a pretty seamless program to transfer to, even for people who either have little experience with these programs or people who were stuck on Skype

Incentivized

Google is the white cotton socks of the conferencing world. It’s a great ad-hoc tool, but not too much more. If you are not looking to spend money or operate completely on WiFi (without data charges), it’s a great free option as well. The benefit of being free and open is also the liability. It doesn’t have a great integration story with other corporate tools, but [it doesn’t have to] if you aren’t looking for that. All in all, it’s as helpful and ubiquitous as a public payphone…without the pay…and with a video capability.

Incentivized

The integrations of Google Voice with all our devices are flawless, Android, iOS, Windows, Linux and Mac. Also, the call performance is far superior on wifi as well as on mobile data. With Skype, we had several problems with personal accounts, performance issues, and in general, it felt awkward to use it.

Incentivized

We used SPS for a brief time because our warehouse had the capability to integrate with this program. It was very expensive and the interface for manually processing was not user friendly or easy to navigate. The integration was going to be an additional large cost. Lingo, while it does not have the integration capabilities, was the lower cost and easier to use option. We could get things done quickly for a lower cost and easily teach our third party warehouse to help in the process.

Incentivized

Google Voice should be also be use to those who have difficulty in speaking English. So the contract term will need to be a little strict as Google Voice is used in navigations as the part of GPRS navigation is personal. The private data need to be in control much more securely and safely.

It help to connect with the products that we use as a part. We need to get in touch with our professional world. It is like a tool that helps us to get in touch with everything from A to Z in our professional careers. So we need to be in touch with everything as linearly as the jpb can be done.

• I believe it was part of the google suite that was purchased. It was worth the cost as it was cheaper. I believe it is now free, but also becoming deprecated. It is much better to use Teams, Discord, Telegram, etc. Google does not provide enough support or features to make using hangouts worth it these days.

Incentivized

• Cost for Google Voice is stellar, starting at $10/mo per user.
• While it doesn't offer a new Audio/Video conferencing solution it does integrate with GSuite so it makes use of Google Calendar and Hangouts/ Google Meet.
• Gets the employee's to use their company phone numbers more as texting is easy and deployment is simple.
• The cell phone app is reliable and easy to deploy.

Incentivized

• It helps us save money on EDI processing
• It was user friendly so we could have our warehouse take over helping us process ASNs and take over steps on processing EDI orders for no additional cost- this has saved our admin time needed for these orders
• We were able to add all our retailer partners with specific requirements without issue. It helps us stream the processing and save time/money on these orders where the margins are not always great and the rules complicated

Incentivized