Background

Spotlight is Australasia's largest retail chain of fabric, craft and home interiors superstores. Since the first Spotlight store opened in 1973, the company has grown rapidly. Now there are more than 100 stores spread across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. While Spotlight was not actively searching for a new telephone system, when Hitech Solutions presented its innovative Trixbox IP telephone system the benefits of an upgrade were obvious. Daleen Van Rooyen, IT Support Manager for Spotlight in New Zealand, saw the potential to save money, lift customer service and escape from support hassles. Daleen remarked that Spotlight had been putting up with sub-standard support from their current phone system's providers. Service was the main issue.

"Between the various providers it was hard to pinpoint problems and who was responsible for them.  You had to get technicians to come out, pay them just to locate the problem, and then figure out how to get someone to come back again to fix it! It was time consuming and laborious", she said.Aware that sorting out the telephone system was a major project - one she didn't have time for - Daleen couldn't see a way out of the situation. Hitech Solution's presentation was like seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Implementation

Before implementation, Hitech Solutions was able to put the recommended Trixbox telephony system through its paces in their purpose-built demonstration suite. The Spotlight team could see exactly how the system would work and what it could do. As well as seeing features they would use immediately, they were able to explore features that would be useful in the future.

Spotlight's Trixbox solution went live in March 2008. While the process of rolling the system out to each store required Spotlight staff to find time for training and familiarisation, they quickly saw the benefits. Positive feedback about the functionality and 'cool features' of the new system started pouring into Daleen. "While the implementation was happening Hitech discovered what a mix up our phone lines were in and sorted it all out for us, which was fantastic. Now we finally have all that information on paper", said Daleen.

 

User Experience

Spotlight's management are pleased with the shift to new technology - not just for its immediate benefits, but also for the telephony future-proofing it gives the company. "It's a great system using up-to-date technology", said Daleen. "I've had a lot of feedback from the stores and they are very, very happy with it". Daleen is particularly impressed with Hitech Solution's support. "Hitech Solutions' people are easy to talk to and they are on to it very quickly. We have found that their technicians can establish what we as a customer know, or don't know and relate accordingly", she said.

Another aspect of Hitech's service that helps Spotlight is direct communication between users in individual stores and support people. Problems and questions can be dealt with quickly and directly. Customer service standards at Spotlight have been on the rise since the Trixbox system was implemented. Previously customers could dial the stores with an enquiry and not get a response; now their calls are quickly and easily directed to the person who can answer their question.

One overwhelming advantage for Spotlight is the lifetime license that comes with Trixbox. "We're always going to be updated with the latest technology without paying more for it", said Daleen.

 

Highlights:

• Customer service has improved, because calls can be sent to the staff member in store who is most likely to be able to help the caller.
• Significant cost savings. The Trixbox system has reduced toll calls, access line charges and service fees.
• There are no surprise costs. Hitech's flat monthly service fee supports better cost management.
• Updates are automatic and free of charge. Trixbox comes with lifetime licensing, so new features can be downloaded and implemented without any cost concerns. Spotlight will always have the benefit of the latest Trixbox enhancements and upgrades.
• Trixbox's open source platform means that Spotlight can choose from a greater range of telephony hardware.