Water Babies is a franchise business operating across the UK. Its focus is on teaching babies swimming and water safety, and it’s passionate about the wider skills and confidence that come with swimming at a young age.
Several Water Babies franchises are currently using Dial 9 as their communications provider. We caught up with the Scotland East and West franchise for a case study on their journey of finding the VoIP provider that ticks all of their boxes.
Like the rest of the business, the Scotland East and West franchise relies heavily on its communications provider to stay in touch with customers and drive the business forward. When the franchise changed hands, it experienced challenges with its telecommunications system and found that its existing set-up wasn’t fit for purpose. The franchise talked to other Water Babies franchisees who were already using Dial 9 about their experiences.
The Challenge
Pre-COVID, the Scotland East and West franchise used a traditional landline system for their communication needs, but when they had to move to home working they found their current system wasn’t adaptable or flexible. They tried to speak to their current supplier and struggled to get hold of anyone leaving them dissatisfied with the quality of customer care.
“The support was absolutely terrible, you couldn’t get hold of anyone, and the lines kept falling out, we couldn’t get an answer from anyone to our questions, account managers were changing every other week, just really bad customer support. We couldn’t continue that way.”
The franchise started looking for a new provider that offered outstanding customer service, a flexible system that could be used from home, and a competitive pricing model.
The Approach
After speaking with other Water Babies franchises’ they discovered they were using Dial 9. Onboarding with Dial 9 was hassle-free, quick and easy and the customer support team helped them with every step of the process. Having a dedicated point of contact has made switching to Dial 9 seamless, as it means they’ve got someone at the other end of a phone or email to help them when they need it.
“It’s just easy, which is what you want. You want it to be easy, you don’t want it to be a burden.”
The Connect platform is entirely built in-house by Dial 9’s UK-based team, giving the franchise complete flexibility and ensuring their users can choose their set-up and device—some prefer apps on their mobile devices, whilst others prefer a desktop phone to separate their work and personal communications. The franchise also has the option to add or remove users at any time, helping them manage their costs.
Water Babies found what they needed with Dial 9’s flexibility and robust support.
“What we like about Dial 9 is that we always have our point of contact, and if we need to set up anyone new, it’s really easy. Any time we email, we get a very quick response.”
The Impact
As a small business, the franchise doesn’t have an in-house IT expert, so having a robust system that’s easy to use with excellent support is fundamental. Moving to Dial 9 has allowed everyone in the business to work from wherever they need which has had a massive impact on the business.
They found that with Dial 9, you’re always talking to a small, friendly team which means you usually talk to the same person rather than an impersonal call centre.
“Having that ease of communication and getting things sorted, just takes stress away from you. When you’re running a business you feel like you are juggling a lot of things at the same time, and your phone system is something you should just be able to rely on and not have to think about.”
Moving to Dial 9 has allowed the company to work more flexibly and efficiently, allowing its employees to have a better work-life balance while still knowing they have a reliable way to keep in touch.
Find out more about Dial 9 Business Phone solutions here.
