Sir Speedy
Zultys IP PBX Exceeds Expectations for Call Handling and Unified Communications Capabilities
“This investment is bringing me a positive ROI. When I amortize the phone system over a five year period and look at the productivity gains and cost savings, we’re absolutely making money because of Zultys.”
George Coriaty
Owner
Sir Speedy Whittier
Profile
- Single office
- Multiple co-located businesses that require personalized call handling and customer service from sales team
- 30 users with multiple operating systems (Mac and PC)
The Customer
Sir Speedy is a Whittier, California-based business that is part of the Franchise Services, Inc. (FSI) network, one of the nation’s premier print-on-demand and business marketing solutions provider. Sir Speedy Whittier offers customers the convenience of doing business anyway they want, in-person or via telephone, fax, e-mail or online. Using the Sir Speedy Whittier MyDocs® online ordering and Document Management System, customers have the ability to design, order and manage their documents anywhere, anytime. The Sir Speedy Global Digital Network, with its affiliates, spans nearly 1,000+ centers in 26 countries.
Sir Speedy Whitter has expanded into a unique business space through the creation of Pixelmemories.com, an online customizable photo album service which has created numerous white labeled personalized photo album services for KOA (Kampgrounds of America), University of Southern California (USC) and others.
“As we expanded to tackle new business opportunities, I was really concerned about my phone system and voice mail capabilities in particular,” said George Coriaty, owner of Sir Speedy Whittier. “From a management point of view, I needed to ensure that the sales team was able to stay on top of calls and voice messages and emails from customers and other team members as well as be able to support multiple OS platforms. I was also looking for a solution to help me meet the needs of multiple companies that leverage our dynamic workforce.”
The Challenge
A dynamic marketing company needs to react quickly to customer demands. Sir Speedy Whittier was increasingly concerned about the stability of its aging voice mail system and the functional limitations of its Panasonic phones. While experiencing growth due to new business opportunities, the company ran into several obstacles regarding its communications:
- Flexibility:
- The system in place made it difficult to manage multiple companies that leveraged the same core staff team
- Inability to quickly address customer needs were affected by an awkward and rigid call handling system
- Ease, Speed and Resources: It took an unacceptable amount of time and resources to install or move phone extensions
- Multiple Platform Support: A system that could support both Mac and Windows-based computers was needed
The company evaluated several alternatives and decided that the best solution for their business was to adopt a VoIP system with Unified Communications (UC) to ensure high performance, flexibility and build a foundation for adding future communications services.
“Once we decided to go with a VoIP system, we examined multiple vendors, including solutions from Cisco, Avaya and Nortel,” said Coriaty. “The cost and licensing structures, plus the complexity of their offerings, were not going to work for my company. It simply wasn’t affordable and within my budget. Zultys, however, was the perfect match for us. The Zultys system offered all the features the larger companies were offering, but in a much less complicated solution to purchase, deploy and manage. In some ways, Zultys has so many features bundled into its offering that it perhaps exceeds our needs – but we’ve got the flexibility to grow with Zultys as our needs change.”
“We had a very good installation experience,” said Coriaty. “You always expect to experience some issues when installing new equipment, but we were extremely happy with how quickly Zultys moved to address our concerns. I can honestly say that our Zultys system performs flawlessly – in fact, it’s been trouble free since we installed it.”
The Solution
Sir Speedy Whittier worked with its communications reseller, MTG Consulting Services, to implement the Zultys solution it needed. Sir Speedy Whittier installed a Zultys MX250 IP PBX along with Zultys phones, and secured licenses for MXIE™ (the Zultys Unified Communications Client), fax, call record and other features. They also migrated away from expensive hosted Verizon business lines which provided an immediate 50% cost savings. Zultys support of SIP open standard interfaces made it easy for Sir Speedy Whittier to handle the day-to-day management of telephone moves, additions and changes themselves. Not only were the changes made more quickly it also saved money by not having to hire outside IT staff.
Sir Speedy Whittier was also able to leverage the capabilities of the Zultys MX250 and UC solutions to create a “virtual” employee base that could handle the needs of its White Label customers such as KOA Kampgrounds of America and the University of Southern California.
“We’re not a huge company but we have a lot of specific customer needs,” said Coriaty. “We have to provide full branded experience for those coming to us for services via our White Label customers. When a customer calls us about their USC “Trojan Memories” photo album, they expect to speak to a customer service rep from that company, using that company name, who can swiftly access their order and account information.”
Sir Speedy Whittier used the Zultys system to manage unique DID numbers for each of its White Label customers. Each DID is directed to its own ACD groups as opposed to Sir Speedy Whittier’s general line. When a call comes in, employees within the company’s customer service group can quickly see via a MXIE incoming call screen-pop which White Label service is associated with the call and respond appropriately
The Impact
The Zultys system allowed Sir Speedy Whittier to support their workforce and operations across Mac and Windows operating systems, boost inter-office communications and provide seamless call handling for multiple co-located “White Label” service companies.
The company has come to rely heavily on Zultys’ MXIE Unified Communications client for intra-office communications through Presence and Instant Messaging, integrated email, voice messaging and easy call handling. A big concern the company had was solved through the Visual Voicemail feature of MXIE, which lets sales and operating staff quickly locate and act on time-sensitive messages and forward voice mails to other with a simple drag-and-drop action.
Sir Speedy Whittier also enjoys that Zultys regularly enhances and upgrades its core software to constantly improve the service experience. The Release Version 5.0 has allowed the company to integrate off-site workers into their corporate system without exposing their MX250. The MXconnect feature, in conjunction with Session Border Controller lets them use outside SIP-phones/other phones and keep their MX system behind the NAT firewall. Now the company can use MXIE softphone and home office phones to get business done.
“Attaining market leadership in a business that provides printing and personal marketing demands instant answers, regardless of whether you’re mobile, at a customer’s office, or at your desk,” Coriaty said. “It demands connecting across any media: voice, fax, data, voicemail. Zultys offers more in one communications platform then others do in 4 or 5 platforms, all cleanly integrated through their easy to use desktop client. What is an optional feature in other market solutions, I was also pleasantly surprised that Zultys offers call recording as part of their base features, as well as auto attendants. I can count on being reachable wherever I am.”
Coriaty added, “The Zultys solution has far exceeded my expectations, from its unparalleled ease-of-use, to the impact the remote access and ease of management has had on personnel productivity and to the fact that after a year it’s been absolutely trouble free. Even if I didn’t save hard dollars, it would have been worth every penny for the increase in productivity.”