By David Barrow, Finance Director, Cherry Godfrey
There is no doubt that innovation is a primary driver of economic growth and of the rise in living standards since the sixties. Few areas have experienced more rapid growth innovation than the IT industry, which continues to revolutionise how we communicate at home and how we do business. Upgrading IT systems to meet business needs is commonplace, so why should a telephone system be any different?
Cherry Godfrey’s Finance Director, David Barrow explains how partnering with JT to upgrade a 10 year-old phone system has enabled the company to deliver a better customer service and achieve significant business savings.
“Like many Channel Island based businesses, Cherry Godfrey operates across the islands and the requirement to link between Guernsey and Jersey offices in addition to the limitations around an ageing telephone system, lead to us reviewing our telecommunications.
“From the outset we knew that a new solution had to meet three main areas and JT helped us to explore ways to; reduce call costs; upgrade to a multi-location system and centralise management and provision of resources.
“Following JT’s installation of new equipment, our staff now has the advantage of handsets that allow them to switch between desks, they also now have wireless handsets and headsets meaning that they are now able to take calls while recording information at the same time.
“We’re delighted with the seamless connectivity between our Guernsey and Jersey offices thanks to the new system, which has brought with it many advantages. Firstly, improved customer service thanks to calls being routed internally means continuity of service for inter-island customers. Overall, the implementation has simplified communications for staff primarily dealing with client enquiries and feedback of improved functionality and simplified user experience. Secondly, improved control of telecoms expenditure is very pleasing.
“When we originally discussed our requirements with JT they really listened to our needs and provided practical solutions to the business requirements of our operation. Since installation, the support we have received has been excellent, the JT team have been prompt, friendly and efficient and this was a valuable aspect to the success of the overall project.”
JT’s approach is on partnering rather than acting as a supplier and it was this ethos that really cemented our relationship when we were looking to upgrade our phone system.
Paul M Taylor, Business Account Manager at JT echoed this when he said: “For 120 years, JT has operated in the Channel Islands enabling local customers to take advantage of emerging technologies. We take pride in the fact that we work alongside our customers to find the right products and services for them, where possible each solution is bespoke and it is the idea of selling a solution rather than a product that forms the basis of our customer service excellence promise.
“Our knowledgeable and experienced teams work the same way with SMEs as they do with large international corporate customers, demonstrating commitment to designing our services around them rather than adopting the one size fits all approach. We’re proud of our own customer service excellence standards which in turn help our customers meet theirs, in the case of Cherry Godfrey the solutions we provided to them ensure an excellent level of service for the end customer.
“Whether it’s working outside of working hours so that our customers can continue to meet their customer service commitments during installation, getting back to clients when we say we will, or introducing a third party to deliver a service we can’t, our teams are committed to customer service excellence. Through partnering with our clients we also provide them with the right products and services that will grow with them, every step of the way – helping us take one step closer to achieving our vision: becoming the partner of choice for global telecommunications innovation.”