Phaeton Automotive connects dealerships and enhances service with SIP Trunking

Business Challenge

As a fast-growing automotive dealership with six locations in Ontario, Phaeton Automotive Group knew it needed advanced communica­tions solutions. Beyond connecting voice and data across all its dealership locations, the company wanted to leverage its technology to redefine how car dealerships interact with customers. Its ad hoc network of VPN routers and cable connections supplied Internet and data connectivity, but each dealership had an independent, unconnected telephone system. With this network configuration, its vision of providing call-in customers with consistent first-contact expertise was impossible, and the danger of losing business to caller frustration was real.

Solution

Phaeton Automotive had only Internet-based data connectivity and was experiencing regular crashes and downtime, as well as finger-pointing between service providers. Although it looked at several telecom companies for an expanded, unified, stable solution, only Allstream could fully enable its communications vision.

“We were working with Allstream on another project, and when we brought this to them, they were by far the most responsive with both concepts and pricing,” says Jonathan Pisarczyk, Phaeton’s Information Systems Group Manager. “They ‘got’ what we wanted and knew how to make it happen.”

Phaeton now has an integrated MPLS network that supports IP trunking, delivering complete voice and data connectivity between seven sites (six locations plus a centralized data centre); a call centre; primary and backup servers hosted at the data centre; and even secure Wi-Fi access for on-site customers.

Business Outcomes

Allstream’s MPLS network and IP trunking solution, combined with hosted data centre management, have allowed Phaeton Automotive to:

• Save approximately $36,000/year in local and long distance calling with IP trunking
• Lower cost from about $35 per line to about $10 per line
• Reduce lost sales by greatly increasing system uptime, thanks to MPLS network stability
• Increase customer satisfaction—and repeat business—with a call centre providing fast, first-contact access to automotive sales or service specialists
• Improve efficiency and resource allocation with Allstream’s 24/7 remote management and fast response times
• Enhance Phaeton network security with separate network for customer wireless Internet access
• Simplify the sales channel with seamless communication between locations