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BVG-Airflo saves money and delivers efficient service to 850,000 customers using cloud-based contact centre IT

BVG-Airflo saves money and delivers efficient service to 850,000 customers using cloud-based contact centre IT

 

BVG-Airflo, one of the UK’s largest groups of independent specialist mail order companies, has selected Intelecom to manage up to 10,000 calls a day and process around one million orders every year from 850,000 customers.

 

Since deploying a cloud-based contact centre from Intelecom, BVG-Airflo has created a more flexible contact centre environment that has enhanced customer service and achieved significant financial savings on outsourcing costs. BVG’s 50-strong contact centre team now distributes customer calls between its headquarters office in Brecon, South Wales, a 150,000-square-foot distribution centre in Skelmersdale, Lancashire and the company’s outsourced operation, also based in Lancashire.

 

Managing diverse range and volumes

 

The company selected Intelecom to manage fluctuating call volumes and respond to enquiries covering the group’s wide portfolio of products and services ranging from fishing tackle, shoes and clothing to home and garden products under brands that include Clifford James, Total Fishing and Airflo. BVG also turned to Intelecom to support the company’s online business that has increased dramatically over the past five years.

 

Tom Larkin, BVG-Airflo head of customer service, commented: “Intelecom fitted our requirements exactly. The technology was tried and tested and as a highly flexible, scalable solution, it has delivered real benefits all-round. Our customer response times have improved dramatically and we now meet our SLAs [service level agreements] consistently. We are particularly impressed by the complete visibility we have of our contact centre activities which has lead to financial savings in terms of managing our outsourced resources.”

 

Meeting customer requirements

 

Using advanced skills-based routing functionality, BVG has configured the system so that agents take only the calls that they are qualified to take, boosting their own confidence and enhancing customer satisfaction. One of the biggest benefits of using Intelecom has been visibility. Staff can see how many people are calling, when and how long they have been waiting. The availability of accurate, real-time information means that senior managers can see at a glance what type of calls are coming in and if they need to re-allocate resources.

 

This transparency gives staff control over their contact centre environment without having to rely on the IT or telecoms department for support. For example, on a busy day when the majority of calls are general enquiries, all sales calls can be routed to the outsourced call centre in a matter of seconds, a previously difficult task that depended on the skills of the IT department.

 

Customer satisfaction improved

 

Since deploying the new contact centre systems, BVG has noticed a dramatic improvement in call response times and customer feedback with no additional headcount. As a result, there has been a reduction in negative comments from customers regarding call waiting times and the team is meeting its SLAs more consistently.

 

Before Intelecom, BVG had to pay for all calls taken by the outsourced call centre based on a projected estimate given by BVG. Now that BVG can accurately forecast the number and type of calls it receives, it is able to manage the majority of them internally resulting in significant financial savings that can be released back into the business.