Item: Grasshopper
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Grasshopper is used across the organization (and by our sister company). Our employees are scattered and mobile, so we needed a simple way to address internal connectivity between one another as well as a seamless interface for our customers akin to the sorts of telephone systems with which they're used to interacting. With Grasshopper we can call from one "extension" to another as if we were down the hall from one another and, similarly, when a customer calls, they enter an "extension" and get connected to the person with whom they wish to speak.

Pros and Cons

Every "extension" forwards to personal numbers: employees can be stationed anywhere.
Extensions are changeable on the fly: numbers can be changed dynamically as needed.
When someone's not available, the voice mail system catches the call: everything looks conventional, but the VMs are forwarded to e-mail inboxes for easy review.

The only issue about which I am aware of is the speed at which calls are redirected to an employee's cell phone. In many cases the cell phone isn't located very quickly at all, so callers get sent to voice mail.

Return on Investment

I'm sure that Grasshopper's impact on our bottom line is a positive impact, although I'm not able to quantify it in terms of dollars. When a call comes in, our appearance is always professional and top-notch. If we used personal cell phones for our remote and mobile staff, it doesn't present a cohesive look to our customers. Further, if an employee leaves or retires, we need only redirect the extension, so our customers aren't inconvenienced. The monthly fee we pay is small compared to the convenience and flexibility it affords.

Alternatives Considered

In all candor, we only considered an in-house solution and Grasshopper. We have all of the technical wherewithal to implement our own Grasshopper-like system. The deciding factor for us was maintenance. Had we done it ourselves, there would need to be at least two people (a primary and a backup) able to support the system in the event of a breakdown. That's not a full-time job by any stretch, but it's a distraction for those two people. And not the best use of their time, especially if there's an after-hours issue. The value we get from not needing to maintain the system ourselves is well worth it.

Support Rating

Having used Grasshopper for as long as we have, we have a fair amount of history and I need no fingers to count the number of times that there have been any availability issues or disruptions on their end. Our experience has been 100% uptime, so the support is obviously stellar.

Key Insights

Do you think Grasshopper delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Grasshopper's feature set?

Yes

Did Grasshopper live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Grasshopper go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Grasshopper again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

Grasshopper is well-suited for pretty much any environment, but excels in those situations where a portion of the work force is mobile or remote. When a company has a PBX-based phone system, calls to the toll-free Grasshopper-based system can be pointed to the PBX or to the individual employee's phone. Maximum flexibility. And, if you use the same extensions for the PBX and the Grasshopper system, when a call comes in, the caller is unaffected by the call's termination point. Whether it's the PBX or the Grasshopper system that answers, when the caller enters the extension, they're connected no matter which system answered or the called person's physical location. So, even if your work force is in the same location, Grasshopper is a simple way to add toll-free service if you mirror your conventional system's extension numbers in your Grasshopper setup.

Jumps Over The Competition!

Overall Satisfaction with Grasshopper