Combe Products installs power protection system at Dial-a-Phone and eliminates down-time from power cuts

  • Ensures UK's leading mobile phones supplier delivers 'always on' customer service at its call centre
  • System provides rapid ROI, immediately resolving up to 2,800 calls Dial-a-Phone previously could not due to power failures

Hungerford, UK, 06 December, 2005 - Combe Products, a leading provider of power protection for business, has installed a leading-edge UPS system and stand-by generator at the 470 seat contact centre of Dial-a-Phone, the UK's Number One specialist direct supplier of mobile phones. The new system ensures that Dial-a-Phone experiences no down-time during power cuts which had previously meant around 2,800 incoming calls could not be resolved. Dial-a-Phone now provides its customers with an 'always on' service, increasing first time call resolution and eliminating the duplication of work.

This installation by Combe Products replaces a UPS system that was only able to maintain Dial-a-Phone's telephone service, which meant that the servers, and even regular lighting, were not accessible during power failures. The result was that sales calls had to be recorded on paperwork then transferred onto the server when full power was resumed, so customer service queries - comprising 40 per cent of incoming calls - could not be resolved at all. The stand-by generator now ensures that Dial-a-Phone can reduce the inefficiencies that previous power failures, which typically last up to four hours, had caused.

"The capacity of the stand-by generator to power our contact centre during powercuts has been a great enabler," commented Ben Bennett, Telecoms Manager, Dial-a-Phone. "The majority of our business is done over the phone, because we have no high street stores, so no contact centre means no business. Our previous UPS kept our phones operational, but we lost the power in our servers so we could not process orders or deal with customer service issues, which amount to around 300 calls an hour. This led to a massive back-log after the restoration of power which slowed our business down for a couple of days after the event. The stand-by generator lets us carry on with business-as-usual and enhances our efficiency."

"The installation of the system was excellent, and Combe Products got the UPS and generator operational with no down time for our contact centre," Benn Bennett continued. "Because of our location it was difficult for Combe Product's engineers to find a place for the generator, but their problem solving skills led them to discover a basement under the road that was by far the most cost-effective option."

"The installation at Dial-a-Phone was one of our more challenging projects," added Rob Chicken, Managing Director, Combe Products. "Not only does the area have more power cuts on average in a year than most areas in the country, but it is also in a high-value district, which presented us with a problem when we had to find somewhere for the 1000 litre-tank generator. Supporting the 470 seat contact centre was a serious business issue, which we are happy to say we helped Dial-a-Phone to resolve. This kind of stand-by power is becoming a critical issue for many organisations, who are beginning to realise that being unable to operate for several hours on end can damage their business. The beauty of this solution is that the generator and UPS will generally pay for themselves within two power failures, which will be a short time for many businesses."

 

About Dial-a-Phone
Dial-a-Phone offers the best deals in mobile phones direct to the public over the phone and through its website. Without the expense of high street shops, Dial-a-Phone cuts out the middleman and so is able to pass on the savings to customers.

Dial-a-Phone is a major UK advertiser, and can be seen every day in many of the national newspapers. Regular advertising slots on TV, as well as in national magazines and across the Internet, has made Dial-a-Phone's website one of the most visited mobile phone sites in the country.

Dial-a-Phone has grown from a handful of people in 1995 to now having over 600 employees. In that time Dial-a-Phone has supplied mobile phones on monthly contract to nearly two million customers, and since it launched in 2000 over 250,000 customers have connected from the website.

Dial-a-Phone deals with all the major networks and phone manufacturers to make sure it can bring the best value mobile deals in the market to its customers, and deliver further savings with exciting new products like HomeCall, helping customers save money on their fixed line calls.

About Combe Products
Combe Products supplies, installs, and maintains a wide range of power protection equipment for business continuity during mains power failure. With over 15 man-years in the business it has the knowledge and experience to provide its clients with the best advice on power protection issues. Its products and services include: UPS systems ranging from 6kVA to 700kVA with parallel redundancy options on all sizes, UPS maintenance with most manufacturers catered for, Standby Generators configured to suit UPS, or UPS/Building support, silenced, long run-times etc., UPS monitoring across different UPS makes, and models plus multiple-site management, and Battery monitoring - both static and portable for UPS and telecommunications applications.

 

Rob Chicken
Managing Director
Combe Products
Tel: 01488 684 364
rob@combeproducts.com

Duncan Burford
PR for Combe Products
Tel: 01780 721433
dburford@iba-europe.com

Issuers of news releases, not Targetwire, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.