Bay Photo Helps Improve Customer Service with NEC Unified Communications Solution

Business Wire, Feb 3, 2009

Commercial Photo Processing Company Leverages Integrated Call Center Application to Help Ensure Accurate Staff Levels and Effective Communications

IRVING, Texas -- NEC Unified Solutions, Inc. (NEC), a leader in enterprise business communications, today announced that Bay Photo is using its UNIVERGE([R])SV8100 communications server and UC for Business (UCB) application for small- and medium-sized businesses to help improve customer service and staffing levels while reducing abandoned calls.

Bay Photo's Remote Order Entry System (Bay ROES) allows photographers to choose templates and photo treatments, and upload photos on-line to be processed by Bay Photo into customized albums, which are then shipped to customers. Before the NEC solution, Bay ROES customer support desk lacked a call center environment and call queuing, which left customers on hold for too long and caused the on-line business to underperform. The Maynard Group, an NEC UNIVERGE solutions dealer, designed, implemented and managed the project, deploying a sophisticated call center environment and a caller queuing process that now makes it possible for inbound calls to be answered in the order they are received and enhances performance of Bay ROES' help desk.

"The NEC solution enables help desk agents and employees to have easy access to the people and information they need to get their jobs done," said Sarah Bergeron, administrative executive, Bay Photo. "We can now see what is going on with the system, so we staff for peak traffic times; as a result, we are not losing calls and are getting to our customers faster. The solution cuts down on decision latency and our patrons have noticed the improved customer service."

An interactive voice response (IVR) uses data from UCB to form a call queue and informs the waiting customer of the number of calls ahead of them in line. Call metrics and reporting enable Bay Photo to properly staff its call center for peak traffic. Bay Photo is also utilizing UCB Cell Phone Link, which allows out of office salespeople to receive calls on their cell phone, making them accessible to clients and co-workers from a single phone number.

"Enabling organizations to implement communications solutions based on the role of individual employees is the cornerstone of our UNIVERGE360 vision," said Larry Levenberg, vice president and general manager, National Channel, NEC Unified Solutions. "This system not only lowered Bay Photo's total cost of ownership, it has upgraded their ability to give Bay ROES users the service they deserve."

For more information on NEC's communications solutions, visit www.UNIVERGE360.com.

For more information about NEC Unified Solutions, visit www.necunified.com.

For more information about Bay Photo, visit www.bayphoto.com.

For information about The Maynard Group, visit www.themaynardgroup.com.

NEC and UNIVERGE are registered trademarks of NEC Corporation.