QLD resort discovers VoIP

instrumental in its success at every stage – evaluation, implementation and support,” said Breene. “We can now allocate calls to the person who has most expertise in the relevant area. We’re expecting that this will shorten customer time on the phone and help our staff to manage the calls more effectively, not to mention stopping the thousands of missed calls, potentially creating a rapid ROI by improving our bottom line.”

For the call centre, it means that operators will have absolute control of all incoming calls into the centre, how they queue, what the caller hears, who the calls should go to and call handling option can be chosen to improve Tangalooma’s customer service, said Breene.

Technical needs
Malcolm Flanagan, managing director at Telstra Business Systems said Tangalooma invested in an Avaya Communications Manager IP telephony solution with a G700 gateway and S8300 server with voicemail and deluxe call centre package.

The new IP 9620 handsets have one-touch access to key features and high fidelity audio, resulting in improved sound quality and making conference calls and meetings more effective by requiring less reiteration.

As a popular holiday destination, Tangalooma is focused on delivering the most exceptional customer experiences and upgrading its communications system is a positive step for this world-class resort, Flanagan said.

Telstra installed 50 of the latest Avaya IP handsets and an Avaya Call Centre Suite at Tangalooma Resort, with an option to extend the network across Tangalooma’s entire resort and 300-room complex. Upgrading its contact centre with Avaya’s IP handsets and Call Centre Suite has resulted in a significant improvement in satisfaction for both customers and staff.

“Tangalooma needed a virtual IP location for its phone calls in order to solve a lot of the issues that it had. Its disparate locations required Tangalooma to get a contact call centre with a virtual operative branch operating off the back of Telstra’s WAN,” said Flanagan.

Smooth operator
Flanagan said the project went fairly smoothly, with around eight weeks taken by Telstra Business Systems team to gather Tangalooma’s requirements for installing the Avaya system.

“It all went pretty smoothly. The only thing that caused any momentary concern was Avaya didn’t hold the stock required for the implementation. It had to send for the products from the US. At the time Avaya was also relocating its warehouses, but we got what we needed,” said Flanagan.

Breene said the project required up to five people from Telstra’s side and three people from Tangalooma.

“I had just gotten a new PA and took her on board to help co-ordinate the project as it was during one of our busiest periods — Christmas,” he said.
Flanagan said it was fortunate that the implementation was taking place in the mainland office, where there was minimal disruption for staff members.

“Our biggest challenge was ensuring the quality of service we provide to the customer. We felt we had the reasonable products to be able to do this for the Tangalooma project,” said Flanagan.

Keeping the customer happy
Flanagan said the team at Telstra Business Systems followed a basic methodology of identifying the requirements needed by the end-user; archtyping the solution; making sure it fit with the customer’s requirements; getting sign-off for equipment ordinance; then it would start to co-ordinate with the customer on making sure the resources and the network are up to scratch; and then ensuring the technology is ready for implementation.

For Breene, Tangalooma now has the latest IP telephone system which has created a platform that will give the opportunity to roll out IP telephony across the entire resort.

“It has improved the customer service experience considerably for holiday makers who expect to receive holiday information quickly and efficiently,” said Breene.

According to Flanagan, more organisations such as Tangalooma are recognising the advantages of having IP telephony technology.

“IP telephony provides more than just voice connectivity at reduced cost. It also acts as a foundation that is breaking down barriers between different forms of communication,” he said.

Organisations with disparate locations need to be able to
provide their customers with centralised contact information to avoid confusion.

“This will shorten customer time on the phone and help our staff manage calls more effectively.”