Just over two years ago, we installed a new Yo telephone system for Touchstone Property Management in Bath.
“When Chris from Yo first visited our offices, I said you’ll never get a phone system in here because we just have NO connection”
So, a few years into their contract, we travelled to Bath to see how they were getting on, and get their thoughts on the Yo experience…
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
So Stacey, tell us a bit about yourself and your business…
I am Stacey Philips; I am the Director of Technology and Innovation at Touchstone. Touchstone is a large property management company. We manage about 16,000 properties up and down the UK. We’ve got a turnover of about nine million and we’ve got about 200 employees in offices spread throughout London, Scotland, and pretty much everywhere. So, that’s us.
What has Yo provided for Touchstone?
So, previously, we had very old-school analog telephones. That’s how we operated. Now, with Yo, we have all of our phones on our laptops. We have the apps on our mobiles that allow us to work from home, and do all of that cool stuff. It’s pretty much transformed our infrastructure.
How Has The Call Recording Feature Helped Your Operations?
Before Yo, we had a Call Recording system, but we had no faith in it at all. We would type in a number and it would be pot-luck as to whether it had actually been recorded. So we couldn’t use it to actually train colleagues on call handling. It can be a bit daunting for new staff and, since having Yo in place, we have a really easy-to-use recording system. So it’s made quite a difference to our managers, who now are comfortable that they can search for a call, should we get any need to, and have faith that that call is there. So yeah, it’s made a huge difference.
How Have You Found Call Reporting?
So, prior to having Yo in place, we didn’t have any type of Call Reporting facilities. We had absolutely no way of monitoring all of our 200 colleagues. And that became a little bit of a challenge when we moved to home working. I think it became important for all businesses to have performance metrics and have the peace of mind that everyone is doing a good job. So, the biggest change for us that Yo has provided is actually having performance measurements. The dashboards are a very welcome and handy tool for our management team. It’s completely changed what we’re able to do. We’re able to digest that information and, more importantly, start to either tweak the system to help us, improve our performance, or change those metrics. So, yeah, it’s been really useful.
Could You Tell Us More About How You Manoeuvred Around Home-Working During The COVID Pandemic?
Remote working was kind of forced upon us. It’s not ideal that people, colleagues in the building, were diverting their analog phones to their personal mobiles. We had no other option for them. When we’ve looked at flexible working in the past, aside from COVID, it’s always been a blocker that we didn’t have a phone system or the technology to do it. Since having Yo in place, we are able to work from home and looking to continue it even after the guidelines have passed on. One thing we were never able to do with the phones is actually have all of our offices operating under the same system. Because of the apps now that you can have on the mobile, even our agile workers can use the Yo system. Whereas, prior to Yo, they couldn’t actually come onto our system. So yeah it’s worked really well.
How Did You Find The Customer Service From Your Previous Supplier, Compared to Yo?
Well we’ve always been based in Bath as a business and, actually, when I started quite a few years ago, there were only 15 people in the business. We’d stuck with the same phone provider even though we’d grown at quite a rapid pace. If we needed something, it was quite difficult. We would always have to raise a ticket. There’d be no one at the other end of the phone. Certainly no 24/7 support that Yo offer. Just having that 24/7 support, and that hand-holding support, has kind of changed the way we’re able to react.
You Mentioned Before That Your Bills Were Not Consolidated With Your Previous Providers. How Have You Found Yo’s Way Of Billing?
Our setup internally, prior to Yo – was that we had about three or four providers in total, and they didn’t really want to talk to each other – which wasn’t very helpful. We had no real way of checking those bills. So we just relied on the fact that they stayed pretty consistent month on month. Whereas with Yo now; they come through, we can see what it’s costing, who we’ve been on the phone with, and again, whether we have the right amount of users or not. As they come and go, that’s quite easy to understand. So, yeah, reconciling the bill is now a lot easier.
How Did You Find The Switch-over To Yo?
The actual switchover itself, we did the rollout pretty quickly in terms of having to get people back to the office. It was large scale. It was 200 people, and we were completely changing the infrastructure. But also we’d never had any Call Routing before. We’d never had any Call Queuing either. So there were hundreds of messages that we had to record. It opened up our options massively. It wasn’t a straight switch, but it went relatively smoothly.
Would You Recommend Yo Telecom?
Yes, I would recommend Yo Telecom, based on the ease of the system. There’s all the reasons around cost, there’s all the reasons around helping us switch over, but the reality is, as a management tool, we really couldn’t do without it now. We struggled without it. As a tool for our customer service, it makes everything much easier for customers trying to get through to us. Like I said we never had any of the pre-recorded messages or anything like that so it’s definitely improved our customer service and helped us internally as well.
If you’re interested in getting set up with a Yo Telephone and/or Wi-Fi system, or just want to find out more about what we can do for you and your business, then get in touch today!
The Yo Experience:
Step 1: Complete our online form below, or give us a call.
Step 2: Book a consultation with one of our agents; Either online or on-location.
Step 3: Choose the best package for you. Pay only for what you need.
Step 4: Your new system will be delivered the next day.
Step 5: Within 7 days, an expert Yo engineer will arrive to fully install your new system; quickly & quietly.
Step 6: With extensive staff training and 24/7 support, we’re here whenever you need us.
You can also find more of our customer testimonials and hear how we’ve helped other businesses over on our YoTelecom YouTube Channel.
