Line One Contact Centres Inc

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an IT director for a national housebuilder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Line One Contact Centres Inc?

We hired Line One to provide IT help desk services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Anyone with an IT issue calls Line One to fix it. Line One handles tier one and tier two level services. We changed from a full-level service to an after-hours-only service a few years ago. We used TOPdesk for a long time which Line One managed fully before we switched to ServiceNow internally. Line One trained their own team members. 

What is the team composition?

We work with about 12 individual agents in addition to Jay (CEO) and Vince (Director of Technical Services). 

How did you come to work with Line One Contact Centres Inc?

They were working here when I started with the company. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have been working together since 2015, and the engagement is ongoing. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve invested more than $300,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We have a monthly meeting where we review the number of calls, number of missed calls, length of calls, time of day the calls came in, and other categories. We have service level agreements that Line One works to every month, but they have always done a great job, and we never have to worry about anything. 

We look for a 90% answer rate of phone calls, and they hit that every month. In the last two years, we haven’t had a single complaint, and we have a very demanding user base, which tells us that they’re doing a great job. 

How did Line One Contact Centres Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They have excellent organization and cover everything for us. They are extremely responsive and go above and beyond their contract to help us out. We use Microsoft Teams and phone calls to communicate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been able to quickly adjust to new technologies and provide great service regardless of what technology we’re using. They’ve been proactive in learning about our company and how we work. 

Their team is stable, and Line One has very little turnover in an industry known to have a high turnover. They deliver great service and do everything for a reasonable price. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing we can come up with. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear on what you want, and be prepared to have a conversation with Line One. They know their business very well, and you should listen to their advice. You don’t have to spell out the technical side for them, but you need to let them know exactly what you’re looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the office manager of a nonprofit Canadian-registered charity that serves people with disabilities. I ensure the daily operation of our offices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Line One Contact Centres Inc?

We’ve engaged with them primarily for their outsourced call center services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Line One Contact Centres Inc serves two of our particular needs: our 24/7 emergency line and after-hours scheduling. Our business office hours are not 24/7, so they cover the line overnight, over the weekend, during days off, and so on. They’re a fully remote service.

Our 24/7 line serves our staff and clients who find themselves in any kind of urgent situation, including abuse or healthcare emergencies. Line One Contact Centres Inc triages the emergency calls and requests. Their after-hours scheduling also covers anyone from our staff who calls in sick.

We’ve provided them with almost verbatim scripts. Our emergency on-call policy needs to be followed rigorously because, without exaggeration, it could mean the difference between life or death. We’ve provided training, examples, and scenarios that their staff might face when answering calls. We’ve also provided a suggested script for after-hours scheduling situations, and they receive training in the scheduling rules and conditions set by unions.

They utilize our database scheduling system, so they’re integrated as part of our team in that sense. We transfer information at the ends and beginnings of our respective shifts. 

What is the team composition?

We collaborate with them at several different levels. We interact with their operations personnel at the corporate CEO and director levels. We also have team lead contacts for managers of frontline staff. 

We do have one or two people who are dedicated and assigned to our account, but we also have access to the entire call center. It’s at their discretion to assign the number of staff members that they need for us.

How did you come to work with Line One Contact Centres Inc?

I received a cold call from a sales representative. We were running the RFP process for expanding our services here at the time, so we asked the sales representative for details. We initially tested the waters to see whether the model worked for us, and we now have a partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay roughly $6,500 CAD (approximately $5,100 USD) per month, and we’ve paid a total of about $300,000 CAD (approximately $237,000 USD) during our partnership with Line One Contact Centres Inc.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in December 2017, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We’ve agreed upon an acceptable margin of error together, and they’re consistently below that margin of error according to their monthly reports — that’s an indication of success because they handle a huge volume of calls. Accuracy is important to us because errors require us to compensate staff, which can be costly. We integrated their services with our operations and it has been an excellent collaboration.

How did Line One Contact Centres Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a very effective change management system in place that we use to manage the collaboration. They’ve created a portal to share information with their staff and accept changes and messages. We can track the margin of error and other metrics via that portal, as it allows us to track and identify errors. We’re in continuous communication with them via Microsoft Teams, phone, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very flexible. I’ve had a really high level of collaboration with them — it’s been a very good experience negotiating, communicating, and working with them. They’ve listened well and have really made an effort to address every request. We have a good mutual understanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we just need them to continue to keep their standards high, train their staff efficiently, and keep their margin of error low. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Meet them in the middle. Be honest, transparent, and clear about your expectations and concerns — this approach has certainly paid off for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the global services manager at a recreational vehicle manufacturer. My team specializes in global dealerships and after-sales services such as warranty management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Line One Contact Centres Inc?

We needed their team to help us increase our global coverage and language support through customer service.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Line One Contact Centres Inc supports all our Tier 1 operations, which is meant for our dealers and consumers. Their team responds to customer calls to provide answers to basic inquiries. In situations where the queries address a higher level of complexity, those calls are forwarded to our internal team.

They also have a resolution desk, a set of agents that handles more complex and consumer-centric calls. Line One Contract Centres Inc’s technical support is available in eight languages for our global customers to rely on — these key languages include French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian.

What is the team composition?

Our main interactions are done with their operations and account managers. We also work with their sales team and the different resources and team leaders assigned to tackle consumer dealerships.

How did you come to work with Line One Contact Centres Inc?

I wasn’t in the company yet when their team was onboarded. However, I’ve been handling and renewing their contract for two and a half years now.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $15,000,000 CAD (approximately $12,096,000 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in September 2016, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our response rate has definitely increased because of their team’s work. That’s something that’s been keeping the engagement smooth-sailing for the past five years. Line One Contact Centres Inc has always been a good partner to us — they’ve initiated wonderful ideas such as implementing dealer live chat and measuring our net promoter score through our transactional surveys. Their actions mainly lead to our company’s improvement, and that makes us pleased with their work.

How did Line One Contact Centres Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We make sure to involve ourselves in the project management process, and their team complements us well by providing productive insights and studying the trends that can help us get better outcomes. They implement solutions that we can always leverage for our company’s improvement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Line Once Contact Centres Inc is a highly flexible team. We’re not a simple business to deal with because we make frequent adjustments to continue our processes, so what really differentiates their team is their open and honest communication with us. There’s no beating around the bush when it comes to addressing issues because their team always dwells on finding the best solutions — that’s really their strong suit.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve come up with previous proposals that required tools and technology that aren’t really within our walls. We’re a manufacturing company, so our knowledge and capacity are based on what services we deliver. In the future, they can devise ideas that are more fit to the needs and interests of our company.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go into the engagement with a partnership mindset — this will really help you leverage their services in the most effective way.