Keeping a network of franchises supplied with work requires a hard-working call centre that doesn't drop the ball. By upgrading to Trixbox, Hometech have acquired a business advantage that sets the stage for growth.

 

Background

Hometech is a New Zealand-wide franchise group that sells healthy home solutions, such as heat pumps, condensation control systems, natural lighting solutions, heating and cooling systems, roof windows and attic stairs. The group includes a network of 20 franchisees in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Hometech has held the Housing New Zealand ventilation contract since 2003 and is involved with the Future Proof Building scheme, a private sector initiative that is educating homeowners and builders about how to build better homes.

 

At the core of Hometech's business model is a national call centre, located in Wellington. Call centre operators receive 0800 enquiries that need to be directed to the most appropriate franchisee. Linda Hall, Hometech's national administration manager, said that the incumbent telephone system wasn't able to provide all the functionality required by a national call centre. Hometech were simply 'making do' with what they had. While they weren't actively looking for a new telephony system when Hitech Solutions knocked on their door, Hometech quickly recognised that Trixbox was the way of the future.

 

"I have to say we had an awful lot of people telling us we were making a huge mistake and that the call quality would be inferior", said Linda. "However, while I did feel somewhat nervous about it, we were impressed by Hitech Solutions - their professionalism, their guarantee and, ultimately, by the savings that were going to be made."

 

Implementation

In response to Hometech's need for a fully-functional national call centre with blast groups and easy inter-office communications, Hitech Solutions recommended the call centre edition of Trixbox Pro. Installation and deployment of the new system was scheduled to fit in with Hometech's move to a new location in Wellington. Linda Hall reported that the implementation was seamless and Hometech's people adapted to the new system easily.

 

Before the implementation went ahead, Hitech Solutions addressed Linda's anxiety by providing a written guarantee that Trixbox would work. "If it didn't work, Hitech said they would pull it out and buy it back off us", she said.

 

User Experience

Linda is happy to report that Trixbox is living up to the highest expectations. "My major concern at the beginning was call quality.  The 'knockers' - basically old fashioned phone people - were advising us that the call quality would be poor. Even the Telecom man was very anti it!  However within a week of having Trixbox installed, any call quality issues were sorted and it's absolutely brilliant!" Linda said that with the previous system, they didn't have the option of automated messages to let callers know that an operator would be with them soon - a problem that resulted in many abandoned calls. With Trixbox, incoming calls can be quickly and easily directed to the appropriate person in the appropriate place.

 

Hometech are also pleased with the lifetime license that comes with Trixbox, because it means they'll always have the latest technology without having to pay more for it. The level of customer service provided by Hitech Solutions has really impressed Hometech. The move to a new office location and a new telephony system all at once came with some challenges. "We had a lot of issues related to our new premises.  The problem was finally identified as the Telecom side of things - the NTUs (network terminating units) coming into the building.  The problem was not easy to identify but the Hitech guys sorted it out - they were so good to deal with", said Linda.

 

Hometech have a dedicated Hitech Solutions technician looking after their support. They know exactly who to call when they need additions, changes or adjustments to their phone system. After six months of service, Linda reported cost savings of 10%. This figure is expected to increase over the next year

 

Highlights:

• Advanced call centre functionality, including advanced caller display, auto attendant, unlimited queues, skills-based routing, real-time queue statistics, graphical reports, web-based recording access and more.
• Excellent call quality, in spite of what the 'non-believers' were predicting when Hometech decided to go with Trixbox.
• Easy moves/adds and changes. Requests are nearly always actioned within a day.
• Updates are automatic and free of charge. Trixbox comes with lifetime licensing, so new features can be downloaded and implemented without any cost concerns. Spratt Financial Services will always have the benefit of the latest Trixbox enhancements and upgrades.
• Consistent relationship with one key support person, who knows Hometech's setup and people.