Questions & Answers
Can anyone own a payphone?
How much can I expect to make?
What is the best type of payphone for my location?
Do I need a Special phone Line for the payphone to work?
What is a Smartboard?
How important are the warranties for the smartboard and other components?
How does a smart payphone work?
What about long distance calls?
Can my customers access the internet?
Can I make money on credit card and collect calls?
Does that smart payphone have a fraud protection features?
How about installations and servicing?
What if I need a part for my smart payphone?
Should I buy a new or remanufactured?
What is the quality of remanufactured payphone equipment?
Can I install the payphone myself?
What about installing a counter-top coin phone.
 Can anyone own a payphone?
 Yes, it is now legal in all states for anyone to purchase and derive the
revenues from their own payphone.
How much can I expect to make?
Small bars and pubs can average about $125 to $175 a month, bigger-clubs
can do $150 to $300 monthly. Good outdoor locations are in the $200 to
$400 a month range. Convenience stores can average about $150 to $300
cash and $30 to $75 on charge calls per phone. Restaurants can do $125
to $250 a month per phone, sometimes a lot better. *
Note: You also make money because you save
money on your phone bill.
What is the best type of payphone for my location?
Our experience is that most people know intuitively what will work best
for their place of business. There are basically 4 types of payphones:
Wall-mount smart payphone,
Counter top payphone,
Wall mount budget coin phone,
Charge a call payphone.
The commercial wall-mount smart payphone is the kind of phone
that we are all used to using. We see it in most public areas and can
be installed inside or outdoors. Provided it is a good brand of phone
these type of phones are quite rugged and have many advantages. It allows
your customer to make any type of calls including calling card, long distance,
and coin calls. The smart payphone also gives you the ability to restrict
or limit certain types of calls via programming options. This equipment
offers a significantly longer life span due to the heavy duty, vandal
proof design.
Counter top coin phone:
These phones are constructed of a heavy duty plastic and typically are
used in low to mid volume, well supervised locations. There advantages
include low cost and convenience to customers because they can be placed
right on a bar or counter. They are popular with business owners who have
a problem with people wanting to use the business phone and not reimbursing
the business owner for the call.This coin phone can prevent the phone
bill from getting out of hand.Typically used in small bars, restaurants,salons
, waiting room areas.
Budget wall phones (model CT-816) These coin phones are essentially
the same as the counter top phones except their design allow for wall
mounting in supervised areas only.
Charge a call pay phones. These payphones are quite popular at
campgrounds , truckstops, and wherever a lot of calling card and collect
calls take place. They allow the business owner to provide reliable phone
service including 911 and can be located indoors or outside and can be
mounted to the wall or counter top type placement.Free calls can also
be programmed into the phone as well as call length and other restrictions.They
do not require supervised areas as they are quite rugged.
Do I need a special phone line for the payphone to
work?
All of these phones described above can plug into a standard phone jack.
Many business owners tend to run the countertop phones off there existing
phone line as an extension phone (check with your local telco for any
rules and regulations). Some business owners also choose to run their
wall mount smart payphones off their line as an extension payphone. However,
for fraud protection, it is best to run the payphone on a dedicated payphone
line . If you have questions on what is best for your location and for
protection against any fraudulent calling, you can talk to a customer
representative at our company. We also recommend that you check with your
local telephone company to find out any applicable rules they may have.
What is a Smartboard?
The smarboard is the brain and therefore the most important component
of a payphone. Smartboards are sometimes also referred to as chasis or
circuit board. It is essentially a motherboard (like in a computer). This
computer board once programmed emulates the functions of the telephone
company's operator or central office equipment.
How important are the
warranties for the smartboard and other components?
Because the smartboard is the main control unit and the most important
(and most expensive!) component of any payphone, check for smart board
warranties with any company from which you may buy a smart payphone.
Other payphone components ie. handset, coin mechanism, etc. although important
are significantly less costly. Please compare Midwest Telephone
Supply warranties with other companies. MTS leads the industry with our
extended warranty programs for both smarboards, housing, and mechanical
components (both Reman and New).
How does a smart Payphone
work?
MTS programs the smartboard with the proper rates for local and long distance
calls. This programming also gives your customers access to use the calling
cards of their choice. For all coin type calls, the phone will give voice
instruction, telling the caller how much to deposit for the length of
the call. Additionally the calling party will receive a voice prompt towards
the end of the call, instructing the caller to deposit more money (if
you don’t deposit more money, the phone will disconnect at the end of
the time limit). Also, any other information such as time limits and free
calls can be programmed into the smartboard by MTS according to your specific
requirements.
What about long distance calls?
Pay phone rates are programmed into this phone by MTS. For example., a
three minute long distance call will require the caller to deposit about
$ 2.35. Your actual long distance charge for the three minutes will be
approximately 45 cents so your profit is $1.95. (Charges and rates will
vary according to the distance of the call and the length of time of the
call). Note: The caller cannot continue talking without depositing money.
Can my customers access the internet?
Midwest Telephone Supply offers the SuperLINK data port that enables your
customers to access e-mail and internet services through their laptop
computer. If you order this optional feature through Midwest telephone
supply, you may select the SuperLINK dataport as a separate stand alone
unit which installs on the phone line. You may also select to have the
dataport built right into payphone housing so that it is protected from
vandalism and the elements. This feature also enables business owners
to offer to their customers internet access 24 hours a day.
Can I make money on credit card and collect calls?
When you own your own phone, there are three ways you make revenue: local
calls, long distance calls, and charge calls. Your customers can use ATT
Bell, MCI, Sprint, Visa, and MasterCard and pre-paid calling cards. These
additional charge call revenues can earn you an extra $200 to $1,400 every
year.
Does the smart payphone have fraud protection features?
The smart payphones offered by Mid Telephone Supply offer state of the
art fraud protection.These features are quite effective at clamping down
on potential fraudulent callers.
How about installation and servicing?
A simple Installation Guide is included with your payphone,but this is
not always enough. For this reason it is vital that you purchase your
equipment from a company that employs technicians and offers a full comprehensive
tech support center.
IMPORTANT: Manufacturers of smart phones are not like consumer electronics
firms. They do not expect or appreciate calls from a lay person needing
help on how to fix their phone. Consequently they will refer you back
to where you purchased your payphone for repair information and guidance.
Midwest Telephone Supply provides knowledgeable technical support and
a complete parts inventory for TSG, Protel, and all major brands
of payphone equipment. Call us toll-free 1-800-767-8440. We do not
send you to other companies for technical support.
Our techs will be glad to diagnose the problem
and send you a part if required. Our technicians will then walk you through
putting in the replacement part if necessary. This approach to technical
support has enabled thousands of payphone owners to maintain their payphones
at a minimal cost. On-site technicians may also be available should a
situation require this at an additional cost.
What if I need a part for my smart payphone?
MTS maintains a huge inventory of pay phone parts.Currently mts inventories
over six thousand, new, reman or unused smart payphone parts, sub assemblies,components,
and accessories.
Should I buy a new or remanufactured?
MTS offers a complete selection of new and remanufactured payphone equipment.
We offer the indusrty leading warranties for both new and refmanufactured
payphones ...more.
What is the quality
of remanufactured payphone equipment?
The quality level of remanufactured payphone equipment will vary according
to the company who did the refurbishing or remanufacturing. Many companies
advertise on the internet their "refurb deal of the day" payphone.
There is much more to the refurbishing process than spraying a little
paint on the phone and snapping on a new face plate. Upon evaluation you
may be disappointed with the quality of some refurb pay phones. Midwest
Telephone Supply has a separate remanufacturing division. This department
follows strict quality control measures to ensure that our remanufactured
equipment is of the highest standard. Our guarantee to you is that if
they don't look and operate like new you may send it back for a refund!
Can I install the payphone myself?
Most of our customers choose to install the phone themselves and find
in most cases, that it is a straightforward procedure. The payphone is
shipped pre - programmed so you are required to bring the line over to
the phone, attach the backplate to the wall and then mount the payphone
on the backplate .( We include the hardware to mount the payphone to the
backplate) Unless you request otherwise , the phone line coming out of
the phone is shipped ready to plug into a standard phone jack (RJ11) .
Midwest telephone Supply maintains a complete tech support center if you
should have any questions after reading the Simple Installation Guide
which is include free with your pay phone.
What about installing
a counter-top coin phone?
There is usually no installation required for the counter-top coin
phone. Just plug it into the phone jack, set it on the counter and you
are ready to go.
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