The Stoneman and Bowker Story

• Significantly improved response times to enquiries when things go wrong or new services are required
• Savings of £100 a month
• Consultancy style support with telecoms systems for changes at individual retail sites

Stoneman and Bowker are one of the longest established house furnishers
within the South West having started with the current 4-storey main store in
the historic city centre of Exeter.

The retailer sells furniture from leading brands such as Nathan, Parker Knoll,
Morris and Old Charm as well as contemporary names such as Collins & Hayes
and Tetrad. They also have a bespoke soft furnishings department and a floor
covering division selling brands such as Axminster, Brintons and Amtico.

The Challenge

Stoneman and Bowker were experiencing a patchy service from their previous
telecoms supplier. Specifically this included calls cutting out as well as
problems with incoming and outgoing calls, sending and receiving e-mails and
internet access, all due to connectivity issues.

This was coupled with poor response times to any account queries with long
waits on the phone and slow responses to enquiries.

As a result they took the decision to switch to Uniworld to improve the service
they were receiving.

Solutions

Stoneman and Bowker approached Uniworld through the British Shops and
Stores Association. Uniworld is the preferred telecoms provider of the BSSA
which has over 4000 retail members with a combined turnover of more than
£3 billion, trading out of 6200 outlets and employing in excess of 45,000 staff.

In recent years the retailer refurbished a carpet showroom. At the same time
as having a state of the art phone system installed by Uniworld they took the
opportunity to bring all of their telecoms and internet to Uniworld.

Uniworld is now providing Stoneman and Bowker with a number of services
encompassing lines, calls traffic and broadband (with speeds of 512kb and
8mb in different stores). A number of these lines are being used to carry data
traffic for the PDQ terminals located in the various shops.

The retailer also has a named Account Manager at Uniworld who acts as a first
point of contact for all enquiries and is involved at a detailed level, even to the
point of helping with site moves and the installation of telephone systems.

Outcomes

A major benefit delivered to Stoneman and Bowker in the provision of a
named Account Manager which has delivered significantly improved responses
to enquiries and support with the telecoms infrastructure and systems
involved with site changes.

In addition Stoneman and Bowker has seen its net telecoms costs reduce by
around £100 a month.

Trevor Richardson, a Retail Manager for Stoneman and Bowker, said "Any
doubts about leaving BT were banished when the first bills arrived from
Uniworld with significant savings already.

But the real benefits were yet to emerge. If we have a query and speak to our
Account Manager it is so reassuring to hear them say they’ll get this sorted for
us not we’ll see what we can do. Now we have efficient communications,
reduced costs and a first class provider with customer service second to
none"