Case Studies
Rhondda Cynon Taff Cultural Services
The Cultural Services Department operates three unique community-based multifunctional arts venues: The Coliseum Theatre, Trecynon, The Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd and The Park& Dare Theatre, Treorci. All three offer an enviable range of live experiences through a widespread mix of performance genres. Cultural Services' developing programme of events, customer service and continuing developments in marketing, resulted in it being awarded Regional Performing Arts Centre status, one of only 13 in Wales.
The challenge
Each of the three venues had a standalone, old and non feature-rich legacy phone system. Members of the public wishing to book tickets, had to call one of three different numbers and if no-one was available to take their call, the lines just rang out. When core staff needed to contact colleagues at a different location, they had to make an external call which was then routed through the operator, a process which often proved to be problematic. In addition there was no individual voice mail facility for messages to be left.
The brief
Cultural Services invited Aastra partner Glamorgan Telecom to recommend a new system that would address its primary requirement to improve the box office service. They wanted one number which members of the general public could call to book tickets and which could be answered by a member of staff at any of the three locations, depending on who was free at the time.
Cost was a concern due to a renewed
focus on reducing public sector spend,
although in this instance was not the
main driver for the solution. Enhancing
the box office service, improving
internal communication and adopting
modern feature-rich technology which
would enable them to add functionality
and expand as the business required or
when budget was available, were key
criteria.
"Our legacy phone system was archaic; the new Aastra system has delivered immeasurable productivity bene ts. We can now dial desk to desk across all three sites and contacting colleagues is so much easier."
Andrea Morgan, Theatre Manager
Rhondda Cynon Taff Cultural Services
Solution
Glamorgan Telecom's proposal was to install the Aastra IntelliGate 300 system which would replace all three legacy phone systems. This future-proof communications system supports the latest in telephony technology to deliver maximum business efficiencies. The new solution also included updating all existing phones and installing new Aastra 5370 handsets.
The three locations were connected via IP links and a single 08000 number allocated. Calls to this number are directed to Aberdare and then seamlessly routed to the additional two sites, until someone answers it. Plus, it is future-proof, Cultural Services can embrace added functionalities such as cordless mobility, call management monitoring and reporting, when business expansion requires greater capacity.
Key benefits
Cultural Services is reaping the bene t of the very latest technology, an increased feature set and improved ease of communication, without it costing them more. By repackaging line rental and call charges, delivering the ability to make calls over IP and facilitating free calls between sites, Glamorgan Telecom delivered the project within Cultural Services' existing spend.
A single box office number has enabled the team to handle a greater number of bookings than before. Customer service levels have improved through one easy to remember number that is answered even when one or more locations is not open. Box office opening hours have also been able to be extended. Staff can move from site to site and still be contacted and thanks to individual extension numbers desk to desk communication is now possible. Calls are transferred internally, saving money previously spent on making external calls and saving time, in trying to track an individual down via the operator.
"We have been able to extend the box office opening hours, so long as we have sta in at least one site, we can handle the calls. This has given us the flexibility to close venues if required, without compromising on customer service."
"The training provided by Glamorgan Telecom at installation and on an ongoing basis is superb. We know that if we need to we can pick up the phone and they will support us."
Andrea Morgan, Theatre Manager
Rhondda Cynon Taff Cultural Services