Stephensons

Stephensons is a fifth-generation, family-run business based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Since 1868, it has supplied the catering and hospitality sectors including restaurants, pubs and hotels, as well as public sector organisations and educational institutions.

With the largest cash and carry showroom in the North of England and a growing online presence, Stephensons handles all orders through a dedicated customer service team at its Greater Manchester hub.

Stephensons’ legacy ISDN/PSTN telephony and call centre system was reaching end-of-life. It was causing long wait times, dropped calls and a stressful environment for agents. Customers were left frustrated, often receiving callbacks that never came. Negative online reviews were mounting.

Chris North, Customer Service and Cash and Carry Manager, described the situation:

“Calls would ring on every free agent’s phone. But if the whole team were already talking to customers, the phones would ring throughout the building. With 300–400 calls each day, it felt like there was constant ringing everywhere, which was really stressful. It meant long waiting times for customers. It was also more likely that the person who finally answered could only take a message and offer a callback. Unfortunately, these callbacks rarely happened as the agents were so busy. It was frustrating for customers — and we suffered a lot of negative online reviews as a result.”

Stephensons needed a modern, omnichannel contact centre that could improve responsiveness, reduce missed calls and enhance customer experience.

The transformation was immediate and measurable.

• Stephensons broke its sales record in November and December.
• Customer service KPIs were met, even without hiring additional staff.
• The business saved money by avoiding unnecessary recruitment.
• Negative reviews were replaced with five-star feedback.

Chris shared:

“We got through Christmas without noticing any impact. In fact, we broke our sales record… while maintaining customer service standards and hitting call-handling KPIs!”

The new analytics dashboard gave visibility into call volumes, agent performance and callback rates, allowing smarter staffing decisions and better customer follow-up.

“The way our customers want to engage with us is changing. Hospitality managers want to reach us via instant messaging more often these days and place their orders on the go. They don’t always want or need to speak to someone on the phone. I think it suits the fast pace and more relaxed approach many have got used to with services like Uber, Just Eat and Airbnb. If we didn’t have those channels available, I know they would have gone elsewhere by now.”