Choosing a contact centre platform can feel overwhelming. Instead of glossy sales pitches or big promises (riddled with false claims), you want to get a sense of what it’s really like when the system is running day after day. This isn’t an easy decision to make either, because the wrong choice can leave you with some serious downtime, wasted budget, frustrated customers, and agent turnover.
Whether you’re looking for a new restaurant to eat at or a new vacuum cleaner, it’s a known fact that reviews go a long way in any decision-making process. And deciding which Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solution would be the right fit for your business is no exception.
I’ve spent years working with SMBs who run their customer operations on Five9. I hear directly from the people buying and using it — business leaders, IT managers, and contact centre agents — about what works brilliantly and what sometimes falls short.
In this article, I’ll share exactly what they tell me: the good, the bad, and the ugly of Five9. By the end, you’ll have a clear picture of whether Five9 is the right fit for your business.
The first thing I want to say is that the feedback I receive is overwhelmingly positive – making it the perfect place to start. Five9 has built a reputation for stability amongst my customers, and they never fail to mention how impressed they are by its reliability. That’s a pretty big deal because reliability is the foundation of a good contact centre. No matter what industry you’re in, downtime can cripple your business: every hour your system is down means lost revenue, unhappy customers, and frustrated staff.
Another standout feature that customers appreciate is the fact that Five9 can grow with them. Its scalable pricing model means you’re not boxed in, but instead have the ability to start where you are today and add more capacity as your business evolves. That kind of flexibility and convenience is invaluable for SMBs who are known to scale quite quickly and therefore need to plan for the future without breaking the bank.
In order to get the most out of this solution, it needs to be implemented in the right way. Customers also value the fact that when the system is properly deployed and staff are trained, it genuinely transforms how their agents work. A correctly deployed system can alleviate staff atrophy and turnover, which significantly improves customer experience (CX).
One topic I’m particularly passionate about is agent turnover. Too often, leaders chalk this up as purely a “people problem.” But technology plays a huge role. The bottom line is that a reliable, user-friendly system makes life easier for your team. It reduces frustration, it keeps morale up, and it helps them focus on delivering great customer experiences instead of fighting with the tech.
Now, don’t get me wrong, no technology is perfect. So, there are some issues which are usually specific to that business. These generally have to do with individual users or unusual configurations that result in occasional audio quality or integration issues with some existing systems. This raises two points: the need to deploy the solution correctly, and being mindful of how your current setup works.
Support is everything for SMBs who don’t have huge IT teams waiting in the wings. You need the assurance that help will be there when you need it. And when things do go wrong, the quality of support can make or break the CX.
You’d be glad to know that it’s so infrequent to hear generalised cases of poor quality on the Five9 service. Furthermore, when there have been issues, I’ve seen the Five9 support teams bend over backwards to resolve them in record time because they understand just how critical uptime is.
One question I get asked a lot is about hidden costs, because let’s face it, nobody likes nasty surprises – especially when budgets are tight. The good news is, with Five9, unexpected charges are rare. The only time I see extra costs arise is when the scope changes — most commonly around reporting.
But the general feeling from my customers is that Five9 delivers value. They see a strong return on investment, and they feel confident about budgeting because of the scalable pricing model.
I can’t stress this enough: deployment matters (which is why I’m bringing it up again). If it’s poorly deployed, any technology, including Five9, can be toxic in the wrong place. If you roll out Five9 without proper training or without tailoring it to how your team actually works, it can feel like a burden. This will result in a domino effect of unhappy customers and frustrated agents who will eventually get fed up and leave.
On the other hand, when deployment is done right, the transformation is remarkable. The staff are trained and empowered to maximise the platform, which does wonders for their job satisfaction and productivity.
Finally, let’s talk about how you should approach reviews (including the ones you’ve just read in this article). They’re incredibly valuable — but only if you put them in the right context.
Look beyond the star ratings, and ask yourself: Does this reviewer’s business look like mine? Do they have similar goals and challenges? That context matters far more than whether the review is glowing or critical.
If there’s one thing you should walk away with, it’s this: Five9 has earned its reputation for reliability, scalability, and strong support. For many SMBs, that means peace of mind, knowing their contact centre will keep running when it matters most.
But again, no platform is perfect. Five9 still comes with potential frustrations: occasional audio or integration issues, reporting limitations, and the risk of poor deployment. These challenges can make or break your experience, especially if you’re a small business with limited IT resources.
I’ve spent years helping SMBs deploy and optimise Five9, and I’ve seen both the wins and the struggles firsthand. My role is to cut through the noise and give you the unfiltered truth so you can make the best decision for your business.
So if you’re weighing up Five9, take the time to contextualise the reviews and compare them to your business’s goals and current challenges. Then, make sure you have the right partner in place to design, deploy, and support your system.
If you're thinking about which contact centre is best for you, let's talk and we can see whether Five9 is the right fit for your business.