CO+HOOTS Member Profile: Simple Phone Company and how it doesn’t suck

A world where we can order five (or ten) pizzas before phone companies answer phone calls is a world where we have 50 pounds of new problems and absolutely no solutions. Here’s the good news: there’s one phone company out there that doesn’t suck.

Simple Phone Company is the only phone provider that offers actual human contact in 15 seconds or less. Once a little garage project, the California-based company is now a fully managed voice provider that creates solutions for all things communication: desk phones, apps, computers and more. It’s safe to say that the “Who Sucks the Least” era has ended, giving way to the customer-first generation.

Perhaps what’s most unique about Simple Phone Company is how strongly it delivers in its promise of personalized support for teams of any size.

It all starts with personal phone setup. Before a phone even leaves the warehouse, Simple Phone Company has it fully programmed — ready to work straight out of the box — and personalized straight down to the smallest of details.

“We take the time to put a label outside the box,” said Chris Meadows, the founder of Simple Phone Company. “Our warehouse guys are trained in good handwriting and they will write your name on the outside with your extension.”

At the heart of this approach is a people-over-profit attitude. Simple Phone Company allows customers to enjoy their experience so much that they forget office phone processes were once a pain. This leads to the next element in their approach: personal training.

As phones arrive, team members — like our beloved Cohootians Tim Desmarais and Cody Grimes — schedule 30 minutes to help customers learn how to use their phones with guidance and humor.

“We’re able to speak your language on your level,” Chris said. “If one training’s not enough, we’ll schedule another one. We make it so that we’re always available to you.”

Simple Phone Company’s unique services can appeal to virtually any business, from coffee shop entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. In a recent example, the company was able to connect thousands of locations for a global fast food chain under one service. This didn’t just cut costs — it allowed international locations and corporate headquarters to communicate directly.

Growing by thousands of users per month — without ever going into debt, crowdfunding or using traditional marketing — Simple Phone Company is a startup success that has called CO+HOOTS a part of its equation for over a year. Chris said having an office in the coworking space provides a vibrant community that his business can help and leverage.

“When we need help with something that is specific to a different vertical or industry, we know that there’s such a diverse amount of people with different experiences within the CO+HOOTS community, we can reach out to say, ‘Does anyone have experience with this?’” Chris said. “Almost always, someone says yes.”

In Simple Phone Company, the community is naturally where every employee’s heart is. It’s a place to call home.

“I get to follow the dream with a team that also shares that same mission,” Chris said. “Every day, we get to come to work and do something that we love. We get to work with people around the world. We get to work with partners all over the place and we get to do that within a community that we love. Very few people get that opportunity.”

Working with 700 people from around the world means that Stephen’s team isn’t built on the foundation of one person’s experience. It’s built on the foundation of 700. Which foundation sounds sturdier?

The future of the workforce is going to consist of happier workers that are location independent and aren’t hindered by their socioeconomic status, gender or race.

Companies will enjoy the benefits reaped when workers aren’t forced to show up to an uninspiring cubicle-laden dungeon with barely any windows after sitting in hours of traffic. They’ll see more innovation by hopping on a Zoom call for a team meeting and seeing the variety of faces on the screen, all with new experiences and ideas from their varying locations of the world.

Companies comprised of an inclusive and diverse workforce that supports happy workers is the future of work we all deserve.

Continue this conversation online with me on @poondingo.

—

Originally published on Medium. To read more posts from our founder, click here.