| We Go Above and Beyond to Bring Small Companies Big Customer Service |
| Groupware Technology employs the same work ethic, ingenuity and personalized care for customers with limited budgets that it provides for those with deeper pockets. The case of TGH Realty and Mortgage is an excellent example. |
| TGH, of Fremont, CA, is a small but rapidly growing realty and financing company that needed a more robust phone system, mainly to help it properly route incoming calls and give its field agents easier and more comprehensive messaging capabilities. Its existing
system, a low-end PBX system, was at first sufficient, but soon became a hindrance to the company’s growth. |
| “The TGH phone system was the low-end of the low-end,” said Groupware Professional Services Manager Cedric Higgins. “It wasn’t good for the number of calls TGH was getting and it didn’t facilitate good communication with their representatives in the field. Finally, and most critically, it didn’t give them the ability to present the company
as two different entities: a real estate brokerage and a mortgage company. |
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| TGH believed an Internet Protocol (IP)-based system was the way to go but had very little knowledge
of the solutions available. The privately-owned and -funded company needed a more versatile phone system that would sustain its projected growth but not break their budget. |
| Finding the Perfect Fit – Worth the Challenge |
| Groupware engaged in an intensive analysis of TGH’s needs and potential solutions. “We researched for about 30 days until we found the right product,” said Higgins. Connie Chung, TGH’s account manager at Groupware, explained the lengths to which Groupware’s team went for this small customer. “Cedric contacted a multitude of vendors,” she said. “He explained the features they were looking for and asked for recommendations. But he didn’t stop there.” |
| Higgins insisted on visiting the manufacturers and getting live demonstrations of their phone systems. “I did that with four or five different companies,” he said. “We really believe you have to conduct hands-on evaluations where customers’ mission-critical services are concerned. We always want to put in a solution we know is going to work.” |
| There were a number of phone systems that would have worked well for TGH but all were significantly over budget. Higgins sifted through many IP phone systems and persevered until he found the system that was ideal for TGH, despite costing about a third less than most others. “The system we chose fit all the criteria for the client,” said Higgins. “It was cost-effective and had the right features – a wise investment for a growing one-to-50-person company.” |
| Getting it Right – The Customer’s Business Depends on it |
| Groupware spent three days planning the installation, paying particular attention to ensuring all calls were routed properly.
This was crucial and gave callers to TGH something they didn’t have in the past: The ability to direct their calls to either the mortgage division or the real estate division. |
| The new system, including 10 phones and a receptionist console, allows TGH’s field agents to easily access voicemail from remote locations and to receive notification when customers call their office phones. Groupware took the time to train TGH’s in-house employees on how to use the new system and then visited the agents in the field to train them on the new remote-access functions. |
| The whole solution, including implementation, came in well under the client’s budget. Additionally, because Groupware converted the client to voice-over-Internet-protocol (VOIP), the company is saving thousands on long-distance calling charges. “They’re pretty excited,” said Chung. “We gave them a solution that can now support a company with $80 million in revenue.” |
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| A key principal in the Groupware philosophy is that the right technology depends on a variety of factors, very specific to each client. Scott Sutter, VP of Sales for Groupware said, “We could have taken the easy route and gone with a higher-cost solution that met their performance criteria, but we consider ourselves an extension of our clients’ team. And that means watching every dollar. We strive to solve our customers’ problems while staying within their budgets because we know their business, depends on it.” |
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