Case Study - TFM Farm and Country Superstore
TFM Farm & Country Superstore LTD is a Shropshire-based retail company specialising in farm, agricultural and country supplies.
They have stores located in Bridgnorth, Stableford, Penkridge, Newport, Ludlow, Bromsgrove and Banbury.
With their head office located in Bridgnorth, the company comprises a total of 80 employees spread over their seven locations.
The Problems
As an expanding company, TFM needed to work with a provider that could understand the demands of their business and keep them connected across different locations.
TFM previously had separate IP-based phone systems running in each of the different locations, so there was no way to transfer calls between offices.
In addition to this, the old IP system itself proved to be unreliable, with calls dropping regularly or even not working at all.
There was also the extra cost of separate bills and contracts at each of their seven sites, not to mention the cost to the business through lost customers.
We at Start Tech knew that we could provide a reliable and consistent IP phone system for TFM that benefitted staff, customers and the business as a whole.
The Solution
We began by replacing the system in the TFM main office, then rolled out to other locations once each of their old supplier contracts expired.
Having one system across all TFM sites meant they had a main switchboard for the first time, allowing ease of call transfer between locations, and a reduction in abandoned calls.
We implemented a cloud-based cordless system that we knew would benefit their busy retail environment. (You can read more about our Business Telephone Systems here)
By installing a multi-base system, we were able to provide a huge range on the cordless phones, which helped enormously with the range required on their large sites.
As TFM were understandably wary of an internet-based phone system having been burned before, we were keen to reassure them that a good quality IP-based system can be hugely advantageous to their business. We offered them a 3-month trial as reassurance, confident that we could supply a reliable and professional solution.
Outcome
The main advantages for TFM were increased cohesion between offices in different locations, reduced costs for the company, and increased customer satisfaction.
The consistently reliable service and the introduction of a main switchboard provided by Start Tech allowed for greater customer engagement and a reduction in abandoned calls.
We provide a weekly automated report on system activity for our customers, which provides TFM with information that they can act upon, for example, to identify patterns in answering, peak periods at different
locations, staffing requirements etc. The call recording function also allows them to identify training needs.
Finally, the single bill and single system helps keep costs down for TFM, and the increased reliability allows them to provide more consistent customer service to benefit both their clients and their business.
You can read more about our Business Telephone Systems here and to find out more about TFM click here