INDUSTRY WATCH
SOME STORES HAD SIX OR SEVEN PHONE LINES IN PLACE , AND IT HAD BECOME VERY CHALLENGING TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT . completed all the backend work to upgrade its platform to ensure the new phone hardware was fully supported .
“ 8x8 offers significantly more features than we are currently using ,” said O ’ Connor . “ But this gives us the potential to expand our telephony capabilities in the future .”
The result : Monthly call costs dropped by 60 % the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it new challenges .
With 8x8 Work now live across all Kathmandu stores , the company ’ s management and store staff are noticing some significant benefits .
“ 8x8 was very flexible and allowed us to delay the start of our deployment in Australia , and the entire process took four months . New Zealand then followed a short time later ,” said O ’ Connor .
Kathmandu made use of 8x8 ’ s professional services team who assisted with configuration of the back-end components while Kathmandu handled the front-end requirements at each store .
“ 8x8 Professional Services were fantastic and added significant value to the project . We simply could not have got it done without them ,” said O ’ Connor .
The reasonable cost to engage with 8x8 professional services and training services made it an easy decision to utilize 8x8 services . Each store is now equipped with two 8x8 phone lines which are connected via the call attendant to allow both to ring simultaneously .
Stores are also equipped with two Polycom VVX D230 handsets that allow staff to make and receive calls from anywhere in the store .
This Polycom model phone was a new inclusion on to the 8x8 hardware support list , 8x8 without hesitation
“ Previously , we had a multitude of different plans in place , which made budgeting very difficult ,” said O ’ Connor . “ We now have consistent costs across all locations , and we ’ ve reduced our total telecommunications costs by 60 %.
“ Additionally , since our deployment , we have never experienced an 8x8 outage or service failure . Initially we were apprehensive about moving away from traditional physical telco platforms to the cloud . It turns out that traditional physical platforms is what companies should be most apprehensive about .”
Kathmandu also has access to call analytics for the first time . This allows the company to closely monitor call volumes and maintain high standards of customer service at all times .
“ The analytics show that we have more than 85,000 inbound and outbound calls across the store network each month ,” said O ’ Connor . “ Before 8x8 , we had no insight into our call volumes .”
For store staff , the change has had little impact , thanks to training provided by 8x8 . Handsets were also preconfigured , so employees only had to plug them in .
Moving stores or setting up a new location is now much easier for Kathmandu . There is no need to involve a telco as all the required configuration can be completed in-house .
“ Our five Rip Curl stores in New Zealand currently have 8x8 phones . Considerations for using 8x8 phones in the Australian Rip Curl and Ozmosis stores is a future decision to be assessed , however , I ’ m confident that we now have a telephony solution in place that will support our growth well into the future ,” said O ’ Connor . p
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