At Alto Lakes Golf & Country Club in Alto, New Mexico, the role of technology is more crucial than ever thanks to its growth and expansion in recent years. To meet these demands, the company turned to TDS for reliable internet and phone services.
Eric Simonson, technology manager at Alto Lakes, shares his insights on how TDS helps the club maintain its high standards. We asked him what he likes about the quality of services TDS provides Alto Lakes. Golf & Country Club.
Describe the technology needs at Alto Lakes Golf & Country Club.
About five years ago, we recognized the need to address the growing technology demands of our business. In addition to the increased popularity of the game of golf, we also acquired another golf course and built a new fitness and aquatic center facility.
With more employees and a higher pace of business, the demand for better, more reliable technology infrastructure became clear. We rely on dependable bandwidth for customer service, our help desk and training, our point-of sale stations throughout the property, and so much more.
Why is exceptional customer service important to Alto Lakes?
Our members expect a high level of service across the board. They are paying dues for the experience of being at a private club. We strive to provide great experiences for our members, good food, entertainment, and a relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere with a sense of community here in the mountains.
What TDS internet and phone services do you have?
We have 1 Gig dedicated fiber internet and metro ethernet (MetroE) circuits, along with our 47-station managedIP phone service.
Dedicated fiber allows us to connect all of our locations at a level sufficient for our systems to operate effectively. When I started as the technology manager five years ago, one of the things we knew we needed to upgrade was our internet connection, including the connections between all of our locations—which are spread out over roughly three miles. The MetroE connection was the perfect solution.
Due to the increase in bandwidth, we also wanted to replace our existing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system. One of the prerequisites for this was the increase in bandwidth. Our internet and phone systems have paired well together.
What are your favorite managedIP calling features?
The two features that I value the most are the ability to make changes ‘in the cloud’ and the Unified Communications (UC) app.
Management of our TDS VoIP system now versus our previous system is very different. Our previous system was fine for the most part—until we needed to make any changes. System changes required a technician to come out to our business. With TDS managedIP, our administrators and individual users can easily make changes through a web interface.
The UC app allows us to answer calls from a cell phone or personal device, just like we would at a desk. It allows us to use our work numbers to make and receive calls from just about any device, and it keeps that work number visible rather than a personal number.
What have you noticed about the reliability of your systems?
This region’s mountainous terrain presents some infrastructure challenges compared to larger metropolitan areas. Because of this, there are internet and electricity outages from time to time. With that being said, there have been surprisingly few instances of this since we switched to TDS.
What was your experience with TDS during the recent Ruidoso wildfires?
During the recent fire that directly affected us and our operations, we learned the TDS central hub burned down. TDS worked very quickly to bring in new equipment to help get customers back online. I know they were very busy splicing a lot of fiber that had been damaged. I was very impressed with updates we received throughout the process.
Why would you recommend TDS to other businesses in the area?
I would absolutely recommend TDS to other businesses in the area. Our business representative at TDS has always been very responsive. Any time we have any problem or question, I know that I will get an answer quickly.
Check out our business internet, phone, and TV solutions at tdsbusiness.com.
