PROFESSIONAL SPORTS SUCCESS STORY
Buffalo Sabres Win Over Fans and Score Big with ShoreTel CHALLENGE:
• Implementamodernphonesystemthatimprovesreliability,enablesintegrationwithkeybusinessprocessapplicationsandiseasytomanageinahighpressure,highlypublicenvironment.
SOLUTION:
• TheShoreTelUCsystem,comprising20ShoreGearVoiceSwitchesand700ShorePhoneIPTelephones,installedthroughoutthe$127million,six-floorfacility.
BENEFITS:
• IntegrationoftheShoreTelUCsystemwiththeorganization’sCRMsystemprovidesrichinformationaboutcallers,makingiteveneasierforticketofficeagentstomeetcustomerneedsfaster,improvingcustomersatisfactionandincreasingrevenues.
• SupportandexpertiseprovidedbyShoreTelthroughitspartner,PremCom,givestheBuffaloSabresandHSBCArenatheconfidencetheyneedforademanding24/7business.
• Theorganizationrequiresreliabilityandeaseofmanagement.ShoreTel’scallcontrolsoftwareisdistributedtoeveryvoiceswitch,whicheliminatesanysinglepointoffailureinthesystem,andasingleimageinterfacemakesdailymanagementtasksquickandeasy.
Duringpeakhockeyseason,morethan18,000fanscancometowatchtheNationalHockeyLeague’sBuffaloSabresfaceoffattheirhomevenue,theHSBCArena.LocatedonthewaterfrontinBuffalo,NewYork,HSBCArenaisalsohometotheNationalLacrosseLeague’sBuffaloBandits,andastate-of-the-artvenuedesignedforallkindsofliveentertainment—includingconcertsbyinternationalrocklegendssuchasThePoliceandBruceSpringsteen,DisneyonIceandCirqueduSoleilshows,andMonsterTruckThunderSlams.ControlledbytheBuffaloSabresandownedbyErieCounty,thearenaandits80suites,multiplebars,pavilionandotherrecreationalfacilities,ishosttoallkindsofeventsandattractionsthroughouttheyear.
Ensuringthatcommunicationsthroughoutthis$127millionfacilityareefficient,cost-effectiveandreliable,isvitaltoservingtheinterestsandsafetyofthelocalpopulationandthecrowdsoftouristsandvisitorsthatflocktothesite.SowhentheSabres’previousagingtelephonesystembecameincreasinglylessreliable—droppingcallsandtakinglongertofindreplacementpartsasvariouscomponentsfailed,MikeQueeno,
manageroftechnicalcommunicationsfortheBuffaloSabresdecideditwastimetoupdatetheentiretelephonesystem.
ShoreTel Strikes a Perfect Face-Off TogetherwithhisITteam,MrQueenoinvestigatedthreeIP-basedunifiedcommunications(UC)systems,andnarrowedthefielddownbyrequestingdemonstrationsfromShoreTelandCisco.“Wewereveryhandsoninlookingcloselyateachsolutiondemonstration,workingwiththesystemourselves,andtalkingtocustomerreferences,”MrQueenosaid.“ItquicklybecameclearthattheShoreTelsolutionmetallofourmainprioritiesforreliability,cost-effectivenessanditsabilitytointegratewithotherbusinessprocesses.”
Inadditiontoreliability,amajorrequirementfortheteam’sUCsystemwastheabilitytointegratewithitscustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)system,whichcontainsvitalbusinessintelligenceaboutcustomers,campaignsandpromotionsandotherkeysalesandmarketinginformation.“TheabilitytoputrelevantCRMdetailsatthefingertipsofourstaff,sotheyhaveinformationaboutthecallerthatcanhelpthembestanswer
NHLteamrealizessavings,reliability,andcustomerrelationsenhancementswithShoreTel
PAGE 2
thecall,wasakeygoalforus,”explainedTomMatheny,databasemarketingmanagerfortheSabres.“Efficiencyfeatureslikethesearewhatunifiedcommunicationsareallabout.”
ThesmallinternalITteamwasalsoconcernedaboutreceivingpromptandresponsivesupport,sincehighavailabilityaroundtheclockforeventsandactivitiesatthearenaiscrucialforbothsafetyandcustomersatisfaction.Duringthepresentationandevaluationstageoftheprocess,MrQueenoandhisteamworkedwithShoreTelpartner,Amherst,NewYork-basedPremCom,thatalsoofferfirstcallsupportfortheShoreTelUCsystem.“PremComtooktimetounderstandourspecificbusinessneedsandshowushowwecanoptimizetheShoreTelsystemforourspecificrequirements,”MrQueenosaid.“Theywereextremelyresponsive,andgaveustheconfidencethattheywouldcontinuetoberighttherewhenweneedthem,nomatterhowsmallthequestion.Thatlevelofserviceispricelessinthistypeofenvironment.”
Sabres Score More Than A Hat Trick With ShoreTelInadditiontothesemajorpriorities,MrQueenoandhisteamwerealsoimpressedwiththeShoreTelUCsystem’seaseofinstallationandmanagement,andlowtotalcostofownership.“We’redealingwiththepublicinafairlyhighpressurekindofenvironment,andsimplycan’taffordtohaveourstafftiedupincomplexsystemmanagementtasks,”MrQueenoexplained.
PremComconductedanetworkassessmentoftheHSBCArena,anddeterminedthattheentirebuildingneededtoberewiredwithfiber,whichcameasnosurprisetotheSabresteam.Oncethenewnetworkswitcheswereinplaceanddatalineswereconnected,thedecisiontodeploytheShoreTelUCsystemmovedaheadatfullsteam.
ShoreTelprovidedtheBuffaloSabreswithmorethan20ShoreGear®VoiceSwitchesandabout700ShorePhone™IPTelephonestosupporttheorganization’smorethan530usersthroughouttheHSBCArena.ThenewUCsystemisaccessiblealsointhelockerrooms,luxurysuites,
concessionstandsandmanagementofficesthroughoutthesix-floorfacility.
WiththeShoreTelUCsysteminplaceandShoreWare®PersonalCallManagerintegratedwithMicrosoftOutlook,allBuffaloSabresemployeesarenowonthesamephoneandvoicemailsystem.TheShoreTelsystemprovidesemployeeswithintegratedmessaging,suchascontactscreenpopandcalendarintegration.ShoreWarePersonalCallManagerenablesemployeestousetheircomputerstoeasilytypeinaname,bringupanumber,andmakecallsfromlocalonlinedirectorieswiththeclickofamouse.
“Iknowalotofpeople,likeme,appreciatethatvoicemailshowsuprightine-mail,andfinditaquickandeasywaytostayaccessible,”saidMrQueeno.“Ispendalotoftimeawayfrommydesk,andsincemyvoicemailshowsupinmye-mail,itgetspushedtomycellphone.That’sabighelp.IcanseewhothemessageisfromanddecideifIneedtomakethecallrightawayorifitcanwait.”
Inadditiontopowerfuluserfeatures,ShoreTel’scallcontrolsoftwareisdistributedtoeveryvoiceswitch,whicheliminatesanysinglepointoffailureinthesystem.IntheunlikelyeventofaShoreGearVoiceSwitchfailure,otherswitchesonthenetworkwillautomaticallytakeonthecallprocessingload,socallsareneverdropped.
ShoreWare Contact Center Application Enhances The Fan Experience SincecustomerserviceandmaintainingahappyfanbaseisattheheartoftheBuffaloSabresmission,theorganizationreliesonanefficientandwell-organizedcallcentertorespondtofans’needs.ShoreWareContactCenterapplicationsprovidearangeoffeaturestosatisfytheseneeds,frombasiccallcentertosophisticateddistributedmultimediacontactcentercapabilities.WithShoreWareContactCenter,theBuffaloSabreshaveimplementedenterpriseresourcematchingofcallsbasedoncustomerandagentprofiles.Eachcallishandledquicklyandefficiently,andadvancedreal-timemanagementand
“The savings on things like
long distance are incredible,
but the simplicity, the
ability to do what we can
do with the features on the
ShoreTel UC system that
have improved our business,
and the support we get from
ShoreTel—those are the
things that are really worth
mentioning.”
Michael Queeno ManagerofTechnicalCommunicationsBuffaloSabres
PAGE 3
historicalmeasurementtoolsaidplanningandresourcemanagement.Furthermore,integrationoftheShoreTelUCsystemwiththeorganization’sCRMsystemmakesiteveneasierforcallcenteragentsintheticketofficetorespondtocallersfasterandprovidethemwiththemostappropriateinformation.Displaysshowrelevantinformationoncallerswhoarealreadyinthedatabasesoagentsseethecaller’slevelofparticipationandcanrespondappropriately.
ThesekindsofCRMinitiativescangreatlyhelpimprovesalesandincreaserevenues.Forinstance,newcallerscanbepresentedwithappropriatepromotionsandcampaignsdesignedtointroducethemtotheexcitementofaBuffaloSabreshockeygame.Existingfanscanbepresentedwithpromotionsandoffersthatinstillfanloyaltyandenhancetheirstadiumexperience.
“TheShoreTelUCsystemmakesiteasierforagentstohandleincomingcallsbygivingthemcriticalinformationonthecallerbeforetheyevenpickupthecall,”MrMathenysaid.“Wehaveagreatdealofinformationonsomecallers,suchasseasonticketholders.Soiftheycallin,assoonaswepickupthephone,wehaveallthatinfoon-screenandthey’reonthephoneforlesstimebecausewemeettheirneedsquickly.Ourstaffismoreefficientandthecustomer’sexperienceisenhanced.”
Workgroups Help Sabres Stay Ahead Of The GameTheBuffaloSabresteamhasestablishedseveralworkgroupsinShoreWareContactCentertohelpstreamlineefficiency.Theteamstoreisoneworkgroup,andthisenablestheBuffaloSabrestoconsolidateallitsinquirycallstoaspecifiedgroupofagents.Thisgroupcanbeaugmentedorchangedontheflytorespondtopeaksandchangesintraffic.Productivityisenhanced,andcallsareansweredquickly.Thisfeaturealsoprovidesbasicreportingcapabilitiestohelpmeasurecallvolumeandmakeworkschedulechangesasnecessary.
“Inadditiontoeachagentrespondingmuchmorequicklytoeverycaller,supervisorscanmonitoragentscloselyusingtheShoreTelUCsystem,andfurtherensurehighproductivityandcustomersatisfaction,”MrQueenosaid.“Wecanmonitorhowlongcallsareonhold,howlongeachcallistakingandsoon.Ifweneedtomakestaffchanges,wecanmakethemrightaway.Wedon’tneedtolookatacertainshiftandmakechangesforthenextshift—wecanaddstaffimmediatelytoimprovethesituationrightaway.It’sveryconvenient.”
Finally,theHSBCArenaisalsousingShoreTel’shuntgroupcapabilitytoensureallcallsareansweredbyalivepersonratherthanvoicemail.Callsringmultipleextensionsinaspecifiedsequenceorallatonce.Forexample,callsintotheeventsupportteamforaconcertorothereventcanbepickedupatanyphoneinthearena,ensuringthatthosecallsreachsomeonetheyneedquickly,whichisimportantinthistime-sensitivesituation.
CostsavingshavealsobeenahugebenefitfortheTheBuffaloSabresorganization.AsaresultofitsShoreTelimplementation,theSabreshavesavednotonlyontollchargesduetosharingthesamelineforbothdataandvoicetraffic,butalsoonserviceproviderchargesfordifficultconfigurationchanges.
“TheShoreTelUCsystemisaloteasiertoworkon,”MrQueenosaid.“IftherewassomethingIdidn’tknowhowtodowithourprevioussystem,Ihadtoaskaserviceprovidertoperformthetask,whichwasexpensiveandsometimestime-consuming.NowwecandoalmosteverythingonsiteandPremComsupportsusremotely,ifthereisanythingwecan’tdoourselves.Thatkindofpeaceofmindisinvaluablewhenyou’rehostingmorethan18,000peopleinafewhours.”
“The ShoreTel UC system
makes it easier for agents
to handle incoming calls
by giving them critical
information on the caller
before they even pick up
the call. Our staff is more
efficient and the customer’s
experience is enhanced.”
Tom Matheny DatabaseMarketingManagerBuffaloSabres
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About ShoreTel
ShoreTel is a provider of business communication solutions whose brilliantly simple unified communications platforms, applications and mobile UC solutions promise a new rhythm of workforce engagement and collaboration. With costly complexity eliminated by design from its award winning, all-in-one IP phone system, UC and contact center solution, and its industry leading hosted business phone system, workers enjoy a freedom and self-reliance that other providers can’t match. Users have full control to engage and collaborate, no matter the time, place or device, for the lowest cost and demand on IT resources in the industry. ShoreTel is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has regional offices and partners worldwide. For more information, visit shoretel.com or shoretelsky.com
