What is 3CX? With the coronavirus outbreak, your staff are likely juggling random video apps and personal cell phones. What if you could boost customer service and make it easier for staff – all while saving money?
With QIS, you’ll have a full-featured phone system – call queues, built-in video calls, web conferencing and more. In addition, you can integrate website live chat, Facebook and text messages all in one system. All these features are remote-friendly; your team can use them from anywhere via mobile and browser apps. It’s also open-platform and fully compatible with popular IP phones and SIP trunks. 3CX scales with your business and remains cost effective!
Interview with David Cross owner of DMC Support Services will be discussing all things CX, and his experience with the product.
Interview With David Cross
QIS Marketing: Hi David, let us start off this interview with you telling us a bit about your business, DMC Support Services.
David Cross: For 10 years I used to run the IT department at a large secondary school which was also an umbrella for the primary schools in the area. I decided to set DMC Support Services back in 2008. I started it up because primary schools at that time mostly had commercial IT support, which was usually run by the county and I knew the schools required more flexibility than what was being offered.
I presently have 8 -10 regular schools and with lockdown aside, I would usually be in those once every two weeks providing IT support. I tend to do a fair bit more of consultancy now and get a lot more involved in the management side of things which is unique; you don’t tend to find someone who does the hands-on stuff and the management stuff.
QIS Marketing: That is true, it is unique, and from starting your business what have you found the most challenging?
David Cross: I think the biggest challenge really was, as a mid-20-year-old who had been employed literally from the day of stepping out of school, making that jump to go it on my own.
QIS Marketing: So, touching more on the school Stepping Stones, what did they require from you?
David Cross: Stepping Stones is a special needs school dealing with primarily mental health issues and some physical disablement. I was bought in 2 years ago, to help them with their IT. Being a private school they had a comparably high IT budget at the time, but they correctly felt they were overpaying for equipment and hardware service. DMC tried to work with The IT company they had in place but were removed within 2 months. I now have bought in and manage a local IT company which now means the school IT is running much more efficiently.
QIS Marketing: That’s great to hear. And what new systems or hardware were needed and why were these needed?
David Cross: When I take on a new school, I always assess what technology solutions they have, the age and how well they are working for them. I initially started looking at the phone system that Stepping Stones had, and while it was not archaic, it had been supplied by a company who just installed it and then hadn’t been interested in it over 4 years. The headmaster said that she wanted to change, because we had recently done a replacement solution in the school she had come from and knew that the school would benefit multifold from a new system. At the start of lockdown, a whole load of issues with communication, and with the old phone system were exposed.
QIS Marketing: So, was the school still running through lockdown then?
David Cross: Yes, and what we were finding was half the staff were at home because they didn’t actually need to be in the building, things like teams and zoom was beginning to get big at that point, and ultimately if a parent wanted to ring the school, the school need to be able to answer that call, and with limited admin staff that was becoming a problem.
QIS Marketing: Yes, so that brings me onto our next question of the 3CX product, tell me a bit about this.
David Cross: I had already been speaking to Richard Davis about replacing the phone systems with a more up to date conventional phone system and QIS suggested 3CX.
CX is cloud based and you can access a phone in so many ways now, it’s not just about having a desk phone with a conventional handset, they’ve now got a mobile app that you can run like a chrome browser. There are so many ways of owning an extension and being able to make a call, so a staff in the building can have a desk phone, the senior staff have the app as well so they can be called anywhere in the building.
QIS Marketing: So all the telephones can link to your mobile?
David Cross: They can do it’s all very flexible; for example, every class has a phone, the teachers in those classrooms don’t have the app on their phone, they have a fixed desk phone but they also have a mobile portable DECT which is a wireless phone. It is the same extension, so if somebody rings that classroom both phones ring and that comes down really to the vulnerability side of the children, and the fact that they need to pick up a phone and run with it, rather being tethered to a cable in a fixed location. During lockdown, the admin staff can work from home. They are effectively remoting into the system from home, so when somebody rings into the building, the auto attendant kicks in, i.e., press 1 for this, 2 for that and when the caller presses to speak to the office their phones are ringing at home, and they are taking the call as if they were present in the building.
Likewise, when the staff must make a call out, they are presenting as the school with the school’s phone number. This is important as they are not exposing their personal phone number. The parent or caller has no idea where the person answering is. It is really beneficial (I knew it was going to be), this lockdown has proven that the technology works, and it can work really well and it’s very easy to change the configuration on demand.
QIS Marketing: So when did you install this for the school?
David Cross: It was installed last summer.
QIS Marketing: And have they come back to you with how they are finding the new system?
David Cross: Yes, the feedback is brilliant. Just so much more effective, and you know the extension phone now has a big colour display on it. It also has direct access buttons, so when a call comes in and you want to be transferred, they know where to send them. It’s all electronic too and such a benefit as you can also sign into the system in a web browser, where you can see all the extensions, and can see all their statuses and if someone’s engaged in a call. It’s got all those sorts of features.
QIS Marketing: That’s great to hear, so coming onto my final question, would you recommend QIS service to others?
David Cross: Yes, in fact it’s already in another one of my schools and considering it for a third school, it would certainly be the top product of choice. Quantus would be at the top of the list, there is no question about that. I do most things myself; I have occasionally had to ask them questions which is never a problem, and ultimately, they provide the support to me, you know if I ever need support, I go to Hussain and he passes it through. So yes, I would recommend Quantus.
QIS Marketing: Well, that’s all the questions I have for today, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule and it was lovely speaking to you David, all the best.
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