Chantry Collections’
natural objective is to
collect what is entirely
consumer debt. In
effect, they act as an
internal collection
service for the other
businesses and do not
collect for third
parties. The business
model revolves around
regular communication
with debtors.
Since inception, the
main method of
contacting debtors was
by phone and for the
first few years, Chantry
used a manual dialling
system. David added:
“Calling people manually
had its results – but we
felt we were not getting
through nearly as much
out of our data as we
could and as a result,
staff overheads were
high.” |
 |
David
Summerscales,
Collections
Manager,
Chantry
Collections |
|
|
Chantry subsequently
invested in a hosted
dialling system.
David was initially
pleased with the
increase in
productivity this
produced but over
time became
frustrated with the
limitations of the
system: “It simply
wasn’t reliable,
that was the main
problem. We found we
were having a lot of
down time which took
away the advantage
from having a
dialling system in
the first place!
Often we would have
to spend much of the
day dialling
manually. In terms
of reporting, there
was very little to
get excited about,
for example, the
system did not allow
us to monitor agents
for a specific part
of the day when they
manually dialled. In
addition, the system
did not allow us to
blend inbound calls”
|
|
For the business to
retain its value to the
overall group, it was
now apparent that
efficiencies would need
to be increased. At this
point, David along with
Operations Director of
Unsecured Lending
Division, Bob Cooke
looked at suppliers of
on-site call centre
solutions and began
talking to TouchStar. |
|
Why Did Chantry
Collections Choose TouchStar? |
|
1. A Collections
Industry Solution |
|
Chantry spoke to about
five or six suppliers of
dialling solutions and
eventually narrowed this
down to two – TouchStar
and a competitor. They
were impressed with both
systems in terms of
dialling capability,
reliability and
regulatory compliance.
David added: “It was
difficult at first to
separate the two – both
systems appeared to
satisfy our needs, both
had very extensive,
intelligent scripting
capability and both had
very good real time and
historical reporting.”
Faced with making a
decision that would have
a real impact on the
business, Chantry took
their time and stayed in
regular contact with
both suppliers,
exploring various
features within the
system. Soon it became
apparent that the
TouchStar option would
be the most beneficial.
David commented: “The
more we looked at the
systems, the more it
seemed that the
TouchStar system is
designed with the needs
of the collections
industry in mind.” |
|
2. 24/7 Support, Expert
Account Management and
Free of Charge Monthly
Training |
|
A second major reason
was the confidence they
had in the support
systems that would be
put in place upon
purchase. David added:
“We knew that they
wouldn’t just install
the system and that’s
the last we’d hear from
them! The fact they
provide 24/7 support put
us at ease and we have
an appointed account
manager who not only
helps us get the most
out the system itself,
but provides us with
general advice on how to
run a call centre
efficiently. They
provide free of charge
monthly training courses
and can attend as many
as we want. We just felt
they were an altogether
more people focused
company who would listen
to what we require and
they plan what we need
from that.” |
|
3. Cheaper Price Than
Competitor |
|
Both these reasons made
the decision-making
process straightforward
and when the TouchStar
system was priced
cheaper than their
competitor, the final
decision was an easy one
to make. |
|
4. Integration with
CRM Systems |
|
TouchStar
implemented the
fully compliant
TouchStar Connect
blended call centre
system complete with
ACD & IVR,
intelligent
scripting, call
recording and
reporting at Chantry
Collections in a
matter of days.
TouchStar Connect
has been fully
integrated into both
their CRM’s. |
|
5. Increase in
Productivity and
Collections |
|
Since
implementation,
David has been very
pleased with the
increase in
productivity:
“Collections have
increased and that
is because we can
operate in
‘predictive’ mode
all day without the
downtime we
regularly
experienced with our
hosted solution. It
allows us to use our
data more
effectively and
pinpoint the likely
time we will be able
to contact our
debtors. In
addition, the system
allows us to route
inbound calls to an
appropriate agent.”
David has also been
innovative in his
use of the system:
“We have
competitions within
the call centre to
incentives and
improve agent
performance and the
amount of reporting
information we can
get off the
TouchStar system
allows us to build
in these quality
targets.” |
|
Implementation |
|
The TouchStar Connect
system was implemented
by TouchStar engineers
with minimal disruption
to daily business
operations. Operations
Director Bob Cooke was
impressed with the
professionalism and
added: “The guys were in
early every morning and
installed the system
with a minimum amount of
fuss. They also
delivered some training
to our supervisors and
agents to show them the
basics of how their part
of the system operates.
Naturally the 24/7
support was essential at
first but over time we
have become more self
sufficient.” |
|
Features and Benefits of
TouchStar Connect |
|
Chantry Collections have
experienced the
following results and
benefits since
implementing TouchStar
Connect: |
- Their agents
talk time has
increased
considerably.
- A huge increase
in debtor contact
meant increased
collections.
- A seamless
integration with
their CRMs has
meant streamlined
business processes.
- A system that
fully complies with
and exceeds all
Ofcom and FSA
regulations.
- The ability to
report with detailed
statistics from all
campaigns in real
time and
historically.
- Free training on
an ongoing basis,
has continually
updated staff
expertise.
- 24 x 7 x 365 UK
based engineering
support proving
invaluable when
requiring advice at
any time of the day
or night.
- An appointed
expert business
development manager
to optimise use of
the technology and
their call centre
processes.
- Ability for
further developments
as their business
grows.
|
|
David Summerscales
concluded: “I would
certainly recommend
TouchStar to anyone
considering purchasing a
call centre system for
both the software and
the system itself and
the service you get from
the company. The system
is ideal for any debt
collection company and I
can see why it’s market
leader in the States.
Also, they are a
friendly company to deal
with and you are treated
as you like to be
treated.” |
|
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Copyright 2009 TouchStar Call Centre Software. All Rights Reserved.