Likelihood to Recommend 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.
Read full review We have had great service with Nextiva Business Phone Service and it is reliable and reasonably priced for the offered features. User Friendly and minimal issues. We are able to control most of the set up for new users and or new phones when needed. Only would like to see the app - Nextiva One be enhanced with more features than it currently has.
Read full review Pros 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. Read full review Up-time, We've never had any sort of extended downtime because of Nextiva Business Phone Service, there services just work Provisioning of supported devices is very easy to do and is almost automatic, this makes new device roll out especially smooth The call flow functionality is especially smooth and intuitive to setup. Their customer service is very effective and I've never waited more than 2 days for a solution, that's for more complicated issues too. Read full review Cons 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. Read full review The use of two apps when you're a supervisor. We have to use Unity and the Nextiva app instead of one app. It can be cumbersome. Better integration with CRM's. We use Zendesk and it works ok as it does pull up customer records if we have their phone number on file. But it would be better if we could have more functionality from one place and have it write to the CRM directly. Accept higher quality audio for greeting recordings. We had to trim the file size down several times losing a lot of audio quality in the process. Mono is fine since callers will only need to hear the one channel. But the Hz limit and file size limit were rough. Read full review Likelihood to Renew Its user friendly, easy to use and has been very reliable. We have nothing but good things to say about our service with Nextiva Business Phone Service. When needed their support team has always resolved any and all issues one way or another. They have been helpful, knowledgeable and very friendly. The features vs the cost is wonderful compared to other service providers.
Read full review Usability 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
Read full review Nextiva Business Phone Service system is very usable. We have desk phones, that were included at no cost. The function just as one would expect from an office phone system. I can also answer my calls from my PC and even on my cell phone if I have to leave the office.
Read full review Reliability and Availability We have not yet experienced any issues the Nextiva Business Phone Service availability. It has always worked as needed.
Read full review Performance Nextiva Business Phone Service performance is great. The call quality is much better than our old analog land lines at a fraction of the cost.
Read full review Support Rating 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.
Read full review Support is great. We usually get someone on the phone; they answer our questions and help us with our issues. They are responsive when we call, and there is also a wealth of information on their online help center, which will typically answer our question or send us in the right direction.
Read full review Online Training The training we received from Nextiva Business Phone Service was thorough, and detailed. It also did not take very long.
Read full review Implementation Rating No was done by Agency Owner and was done with the help of Nextiva Support and Sales team. Went very well and has been working great since then. Was originally only two phones and then we continue to add to that. We did not have any reported issues and was a great experience for our Agency and Small Business.
Read full review Alternatives Considered 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.
Chris Carpenter Danaher Business System Leader (DBSL), Awesomizer, Fixer, Maker, Collaboration Enabler
Read full review We switched for better uptime, ease of use, and better tech support and got all that from Nextiva. We were constantly losing connection with our previous provider, a package service for internet and phone. The web portal is much easier to use, and the call center offers many more features.
Read full review Scalability We have not yet needed top scale up our phone system yet, but I can tell that it will be very quick and effortless to do so when the need arises.
Read full review Return on Investment 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. Read full review ROI - we are saving money, a lot of money, and we have a MUCH better phone system Consolidation - we migrated 6 different phone systems in 6 different counties into one, and it's been wonderful! Management - managing this system is so much better than Mitel, Panasonic, and any other system I have used. We are able to assign rights to certain staff to also make changes, and it's user friendly and almost fool proof. Read full review ScreenShots