Outstanding customer service

Joe Caddell explains, “As we operate both an inbound and outbound contact centre operation, the telephone system is critical to our business success, therefore the decision on what product to implement was not taken lightly. We formed a project team representing the key areas of our business including; the customer service operations manager, Kim Valentine, the business system development manager, Val Kirby, I.T specialist Nigel Taylor, Helen Rose who would be responsible for staff training and myself. We then drafted a comprehensive ‘Statement of Requirements’ (SOR) that set out exactly what we needed from a new system. At this stage we were not concerned at all with the technology itself, the critical factor was how the proposed solution would address and match our business requirements.”

The project team sent the SOR to 12 potential suppliers, from which a short list of three was selected. Joe describes the selection process, “We acknowledged that VoIP (Voice over IP) was the emerging dominant technology and this was reflected in the response we received from the 12 suppliers. However, we didn’t necessarily want a system that was ‘bleeding edge’ but was simply advanced enough to deliver our business requirements and provide a high degree of proven reliability and future-proofing.”

Joe continues, “Short-listing the final three was not easy as the proposals from all the vendors had merit. However, based on our criteria we initially selected three competent, but very similar hybrid solutions based on up-dated TDM technology. I say initially because once this decision was made there was a nagging doubt within the team that we had somehow missed an opportunity to fully embrace IP technology and the real business benefits it would bring in favour of staying within the safety of our existing comfort zone. We decided therefore, to introduce a fourth contender (at the expense of one of the hybrids), a ‘pure’ IP PBX from Swyx, supplied by Swyx reseller GP Telecoms. Although the Swyx solution was originally considered too risky, a step too far if you like, once we had carried out our research we realised that it was more of a risk not to consider it. Unlike the others, it was not reliant on any proprietary hardware therefore growth would not be restricted by physical limitations, it could integrate seamlessly into our existing data network environment and it was incredibly simple to configure and use.”

The company then conducted an extensive evaluation of the three finalists, that included an on-site demonstration, a small pilot operation and an exhaustive review of reference sites and testimonials. The results, according to Joe, surprised everyone,

The Swyx solution was implemented in two phases, firstly the call centre and then two weeks later the back-office was also moved onto the new telephony platform. As a precaution the old system was initially left in place, just in case of any serious problems, but in the end it was not needed.

PA Helen Rose, responsible for training the staff explains how the new technology was initially received, “At first I think everyone was excited, but also a bit wary of the new system. As a member of the project team I had seen at first hand how simple, yet powerful the new system was compared with the old one. My challenge however, was to communicate this enthusiasm to our users. To do this we set up a training room equipped with PCs, telephones and a large flat screen TV and, with the help of GP Telecom, arranged a number of training days, whereby the staff could get practical ‘hands-on’ experience of the new product”

Customer Services Operations Manager, Kim Valentine adds, “The staff had no problem adopting the new technology and this has been further endorsed by the level of control they now have on their own personal telephony configuration.”