Offering non-conventional leasing options to small and mid-size businesses requires a lot of creativity and insight. “I look into a client’s business and life and see what ingredients exist to create a leasing recipe that works just for them,” Larry LaChance explains of his business, Bankers Capital. “There is no one else doing what I do.”

But the business does come with its challenges. “Sometimes, a client might use problems with leased equipment as a justification for defaulting on the lease payment. Sometimes, clients aren’t as cooperative as they should be, and we might have trouble tracking them down if they only call us from cell phones or from home.” LaChance believes that Atlantic Telephone helps Bankers Capital on both of those counts – and much more.

LaChance’s 17-year relationship with Atlantic Telephone was not the only reason he chose to upgrade to a leading-edge IP phone sytem from Mitel Networks. “About three dozen of our clients lease Mitel Networks phone systems,” he explains. “I’ve never had a complaint – and if there were any problems with leased Mitel Networks equipment, we’d know it.” Quite simply, LaChance says, “We don’t have problems with customers leasing Mitel Networks equipment because the systems work.”

LaChance felt it was time for his business to upgrade to a “more efficient, more feature-rich system. Because we live on the phone day in, day out, it has to be user-friendly and accommodate the volume of conference calls that we do. Communication is everything, and we wanted new features to do more than what we had.”

With the Mitel Networks 3100 Integrated Communications Platform, LaChance saw the opportunity to improve employee efficiency and save money at the same time. “What I paid for this entire new Mitel Networks solution is less that what I had paid for our previous third-party voice mail service alone. And this system comes with voice mail included!”

With “not one minute of downtime” during the switch between systems, Bankers Capital is enjoying new efficiencies and convenience thanks to Atlantic Telephone. LaChance cites one such example: “We have a lean, mean operation here with no receptionist. With this system, anybody in the office can answer the phone – you don’t need a special reception unit. Two of our employees answer the phones as part of their job descriptions, but if they aren’t available, any one of us can answer right from our desk. At night, the auto-attendant makes sure that callers get to the right voice mail box.”

LaChance and his staff make frequent use of the system’s built-in audio conferencing capability, and he makes special note of the “Dial from Outlook” capability, which allows staff to dial a phone number simply by clicking on the contact in Microsoft Outlook. Another benefit of the system is its space-saving footprint. “It’s so much more compact – there is no comparison to the space and efficiency of this solution.”

Despite all these capabilities, it’s the ability to see who is calling – by name, number or both – that gives Bankers Capital the edge. “Caller ID is very important to us,” LaChance explains. The Mitel Networks IP Phones display caller information, which “gives us the ability to get home phone numbers and cell phone numbers without the customer necessarily knowing.” And in the leasing business, knowing how to get hold of a client is critical. In addition, LaChance plans to soon take advantage of Atlantic Telephone's revolutionary new Teleworker Solution, which can be added easily and cost-effectively to any Mitel Networks IP phone system. The Teleworker Solution will allow LaChance to quickly set up and train remotely located employees – simply by plugging in a phone at the remote location.