During ski season, the United States is fortunate to have an abundance of wonderful ski resorts from sea to shining sea! One of those resorts is Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort, located in the majestic Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico.
The resort has a storied history, and OnSIP is excited to be a (small) part of it! We interviewed Chris Dohmen, the IT Manager there, who oversaw the switch to our hosted VoIP service back in 2021. Let’s learn more about the resort and how they use OnSIP in their day-to-day operations.
Skiing and Hiking Among the Scenic New Mexico Rockies
Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort was founded in 1952 by Lloyd and Olive Bolander. It’s located roughly two hours north of Albuquerque in the small mountain town of Vadito, NM. “It was the first lift-served ski area in New Mexico, and it is the state’s longest running lift ski resort,” Chris notes.
Situated among the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Carson National Forest, Sipapu has 40+ trails and three distinct terrains that welcome skiers and snowboarders of all ages and levels. The resort is noted to be one of the fastest growing ski resorts in the state and prides itself on its affordability and family-friendly atmosphere. Also located on the property are lodges, ski shops, and restaurants.
And the fun doesn’t stop when the snow melts! The resort stays open for outdoor enthusiasts through the summer season, offering hiking, fishing, off-roading, and disc golfing activities.
Wanted: A Phone Provider with Reliable Telephone Service
Chris tells us that before OnSIP, Sipapu was using a well-known phone system to power the vacation destination’s phones. However, the phone system’s service was unreliable, with downtimes lasting unacceptable amounts of time. “When I started here, the phone system was down frequently, for days or even weeks,” she says.
She began the search for a new phone service for Sipapu. It needed to unite dispersed buildings on Sipapu’s property that are required to have telephone connectivity, as well as connect a remote worker who answers inbound calls to the rest of the phone system.
She started with an online search of VoIP services, which is how she discovered OnSIP. From there, she went and reviewed customer testimonials of our service. Working with a team that included her dedicated sales rep and a sales engineer, she was guided through the setup process and created a trial account where she was able to configure VoIP features and make test calls. She selected OnSIP for Sipapu’s phone service at the end of 2021.
Equipping the Resort with OnSIP’s Dependable and Proven VoIP Features
Taking advantage of our free onboarding services, Chris configured all of the VoIP features that the resort needed in our web-based admin portal. She is able to quickly log in and make moves, adds, and changes to user preferences and phone features–All in real time and without waiting on an OnSIP rep to initiate it.
For the last 3+ years, OnSIP’s reliability has been the backbone of Sipapu’s phone system. Chris explains that “As long as our internet is up, our phones are working–Always. The call quality is much better than our past provider’s was, and the ability to pull reports and analyze the data have been a huge plus. OnSIP is also much cheaper than our previous provider.”
Among the many OnSIP features that they use, Chris specifically points out the OnSIP app, our softphone that’s available in a web browser, as a downloadable desktop application, and as a mobile app for smartphones. “Our remote staff member is using the app exclusively for her work and it works great,” she states.
Using the app, the remote worker can make and take calls, transfer callers to other users or phones on Sipapu’s account, play and delete voicemail messages, and set call preferences. And with the app located in a separate browser tab or window, she can easily access her business phone alongside the other software that she uses on a day-to-day basis.
Chris also tells us that the call detail reports (CDRs) available in our web admin portal are extremely useful and helpful. Like a phone bill, these CDRs provide a monthly breakdown on inbound and outbound calls on Sipapu’s account, including call data and metadata. She explains how downloading and analyzing the data on those reports help her and her team make fact-based business decisions. Most carriers don’t make CDRs available to their customers; OnSIP does, however, and that highlights our uniqueness amongst our competitors and our customer-focused service.
She utilizes OnSIP’s online Knowledgebase to assist her in feature setup and maintenance. But she knows that she can engage with our customer support team whenever needed to answer questions and troubleshoot issues. When asked about her experience interacting with the support staff, she replies, “Excellent! They are all very knowledgeable and helpful.”