Case Study

Redstone Telecom was engaged by the brewers Hardys & Hansons to modernise its telecommunications. The result was a single-supplier solution that covered both internal call routing as well as line rental and call charges. It delivered cost savings and much-improved technology to help Hardys & Hansons staff improve customer service.

Hardys & Hansons is an integrated brewer, wholesaler and pub retailer, operating both managed and tenanted outlets primarily in the East Midlands. It has over 250 pub outlets, comprising modern pub restaurants as well as traditional and community pubs. It also markets and supplies branded ales and other drinks to the free trade.

The company is Nottinghamshire’s oldest independent brewery, and it is based in the town of Kimberley where it was established 174 years ago. In late 2003 it began investigating how to improve its telecommunications arrangements to increase levels of customer service.

With 100 phone extensions at its main site and around 600 lines to its outlets, the incumbent system was showing its age. A 1980s switchboard and existing BT services had resulted in a system that was costly to manage and that did not deliver the internal service levels required by a forward-looking business. David Cooke, internal systems manager at Hardys & Hansons, explains: “This was, quite simply, a modernisation project. We believed modernising our telecoms would save us money, but we were also keen to benefit from today’s technology.”

David initially engaged a Redstone Telecom consultant to help analyse call rates and to prepare an invitation to tender. With over a year left to run on its old contract, this meant that he could ensure adequate time was spent on investigating prospective suppliers.

In a two-stage process, these prospects were whittled down to six and then to three. Each potential supplier was visited and rigorously compared. Finally, Redstone Telecom itself was selected to provide a new single-source service combining internal call management, line rental and call charges, including a new Avaya system at Hardys & Hansons’ head office.

“Redstone Telecom provided the best solution,” says David. “It came in at a good price and it was obvious that this was a company that really wanted to work with us. Overall, I’d say it provided better value than the other options we looked at.”

With six different buildings on its main site, Hardys & Hansons uses a combination of hardwiring and CAT5 networking for its telephony. The new system was prepared over a two-week period with three days onsite, and David nominated one of his staff to oversee the project. “Redstone Telecom’s people were very industrious; they didn’t mind the extra hours and we were impressed by the way they quickly resolved minor issues. One of those was the routing of a service line that comes into voicemail or a nominated technician, according to the time of day, so that we can provide technical support for the beer pumps in our outlets!”

Over a 15-hour period one weekend in March 2005, the switchover to the new service was completed. “It worked like a dream,” says David. “Our people are now using voicemail effectively for the first time. Each handset displays colour-coded caller identification, so staff instantly recognise internal calls, external calls and those from our pubs. The system is directly linked to each user’s PC, so that they can immediately track lost calls and access the integrated internal directory. We haven’t implemented VoIP at this stage, but the system has that option should we choose to do so in the future.”

Since the new system went live, Hardys & Hansons has not only realised cost savings and increased technological performance, but also improved supplier customer service. “We have a very good relationship with Redstone Telecom,” confirms David. “Following the success of the main implementation, we have a project plan underway with Redstone to roll out new Avaya switchboards into about 80 of our pubs.

“From an IT perspective, I have always experienced problems with customer service from telecommunications firms. It seems to be a common issue that affects almost all telcos, including the biggest names in the business. Redstone Telecom is the first company of its kind that I’ve dealt with where our ongoing customer service experience has been positive.

“Working with Redstone is like dealing with a proper IT company, in that it really cares about its customers.”

Hardys & Hanson at a glance

• Over 250 pub outlets
• 339 Analogue lines
• 124 ISDN2 channels
• 20 ISDN30 channels
• Improved service availability for internal users
• Single service provider
• Account manager providing single point of contact

For more information email: sales@redstone.co.uk or call 0845 200 2200