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CASE STUDY: Woodies partners for better comms

By Retail Technology | Wednesday August 8 2018

DIY, home and garden retailer WoodieÂ’s has improved communication between its store associates and provided a hands-free, lightweight solution to deliver better service levels with a new wireless headset system

With 35 stores nationwide, Woodie’s sells in all the main DIY categories and has recently entered into the kitchens market. 

Given this demand for services, efficiency and reliability are key, which is why Woodie’s has implemented Quail Digital’s single channel headsets to ensure communication and proficiency is covered across every category, catering to the consumer desire for a quick and informative service. 

In order to enable staff to work effectively in an increasingly complex store environment, hardware retailers need to deploy a connected store model which will not only empower store associates to check stock and customer queries with each other, but will allow managers to reallocate in-store team members to specific areas as required - reorganising garden displays, replenishing paint samples, and so on. 

Quality support

The new system has helped staff to work more fluidly, offering an efficient service for the shopper. In the past, if a product failed to scan at the till because the barcode was damaged, a store associate would have to leave their post to go and find a replacement product. With the wireless headsets it’s very easy to just remotely ask a team member to get the price of the product - this quality of support and speed of resolution is fundamental.

Gavin Lambkin, IT director, said: “We found that our store associates were making a lot of journeys to and from the front to back of the store. While we’ve trialled other solutions such as walkie talkies, smart badges and tannoy speaker systems, we were unable to find an in-store communication solution that wasn’t outdated and would be suitable for our growing customer base.”

As a large store, Woodie’s can really feel the positive effects of this system during peak periods. The ability to contact every member of staff across the shop floor is a huge benefit for the retailer as it manages the busy rush of customer queries and product requests. 

During these busy periods, the retailer gets a large number of customers coming in-store looking for specific help or a particular product. Now that its staff are equipped with headsets, the store associate at the customer service desk is able to contact a category expert and ask them to come and help with the customer enquiry.  

And while catering to the needs of the customer is paramount, it is also vital to Woodie’s that their in-store staff are well looked after. 

Staff welfare

With the introduction of the headset systems, these store associates no longer feel isolated because they have multiple people on the other end of the line. It’s a great solution for improving staff welfare and for injecting a bit of fun into the working day.

In addition, the retailer has found that the implementation of this system has had a positive impact on the reduction in theft. By connecting the team via headsets, shoplifters are deterred from committing crimes out of fear that it will hinder their ability to get away easily. 

Lambkin added: “We’re delighted with the results of Quail Digital’s headset systems and are looking forward to rolling them out in more of our stores. Connecting the team through headsets has allowed them to offer a more personalised, friendly and forward-thinking service. We believe our personal touches differentiate us from our competition, and it is clear that these headsets have helped to emphasise these touchpoints, supporting our goal of continuous improvement.”

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