CHALLENGES
Carmen Transportation was initially satisfied with their previous business communications provider but as their renewal approached, they encountered several different problems. The first was that the provider was ending support for Carmen’s previous communications solution. Even before support officially ended, the team at Carmen began to notice issues with their phone service; disruptions became more common than they were used to. Not only that, but it was getting more and more difficult for them to get anyone from their provider on the phone to provide support while they planned for a transition to an alternative solution.
Carmen was also in need of a communications platform that could make it easier and more efficient to route calls between the local, national, and international (US) dispatch groups they have across multiple locations. Each individual dispatcher has a different schedule with varying availability and things had gotten to the point where each of them had to have multiple telephone sets at their desk just to ensure calls were fielded in a timely manner.
“In dispatch, they need the phones working. Otherwise, we don’t get loads. We don’t move freight and then we don’t pay the bills,” Tanya, Carmen’s HR Administrator and Office Manager, said, emphasizing just how critical their needs were.
Solution
Fortunately, Carmen Transportation had a trusted partner in Ivan Cohen and Meteor Telecommunications Inc. Ivan had helped Carmen navigate multiple communications migrations in the past and he identified UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT as the ideal solution to help resolve Carmen’s issues.
“Ivan, right away, took over, and got us moving, doing what we had to do to get us up and running as quick as possible,” Tanya noted.
By adopting the CONNECT PRO service tier, Carmen was able to take advantage of several critical features like intelligent call routing, advanced hunt group call recording, and real-time agent status. Carmen is now able to establish a workflow where certain dispatch groups can receive calls first and if those groups are unavailable, others can be designated as backups. This ensures that they can answer every call and continue providing the same outstanding service they’ve offered over the years. Calls can also be recorded and the recording files are immediately sent out via email once the call is complete.
“When I record [a call], it sends me an email and I’m able to file it away – which is nice. So if I have to go back to it, I have that recording of our conversation, say, with a driver, and I’m able to file it away in his file if I ever have to go back,” said Tanya.
And each individual dispatcher’s status is readily available to administrators so that it’s clear which individuals are available any given time.
In dispatch, they need the phones working. Otherwise, we don’t get loads. We don’t move freight and then we don’t pay the bills.
Tanya
HR Administrator/Office Manager
Carmen Transportation
Results
Now that they’ve adopted a cloud-based solution, the team at Carmen can seamlessly switch back and forth between working from the office and working remotely – another benefit that Tanya was keen to highlight.
“When I work from home, it’s great! I just log in and it works fine.”
UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT has also helped streamline Carmen’s communications so that each individual dispatcher now only requires one phone set at their desk. They now have the option of connecting up to three devices to a given individual’s phone number, if needed. And while Carmen has modernized their own communications with CONNECT, they also occasionally utilize the WebFax feature included so they can send faxes out from an individual’s desktop computer, when needed.
It's safe to say, UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT has made it easy for Carmen Transportation to spend less time worrying about their communications and more time focusing on what they do best: serving their customers.
About
Based out of Toronto, Canada, Carmen Transportation is proud to be a 100% family-owned and operated transportation company since 1985. Over the years, the company has diversified their services to provide a variety of services that serve many different customers, including:
- Local truckload cartage for the Greater Toronto and Southern Ontario region
- Truckload service to and from the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario to select US states
- Truckload service to and from the Greater Montreal and Quebec City areas to select US states
- Freight management services for your North American logistics requirements
Many of their customers view them as not just a transportation company, but as trusted advisers they can count on to get the job done year in and year out as their needs grow and evolve. They’re strong communicators and offer a level of collaboration and transparency that’s rare in the transportation industry—or any industry for that matter.
