Allstate - Frederick
"Making the switch to Aptela was easy. They held my hand through the entire porting process and I was able to get very familiar with my new system before the switchover was complete."
George Cochrane, Allstate Agency Principal, Frederick, MD
Challenge: Finding a budget-friendly phone system to support Allstate's high service standards.
Insurance is one of those services customers don't put much thought into ... until they need it. Then they want immediate response and attention. As the award-winning owner of an Allstate agency, George Cochrane understands. Missing a call doesn't mesh with his standards of attentive, professional service. So it's vital that his phone system is up to the challenge. George had enjoyed the flexibility of Voice over IP (VoIP) at a previous employer. But when it came time to establish his own Allstate office, he discovered that the VoIP system he was used to was cost-prohibitive. But George quickly became frustrated with the telecom provider he had chosen.
Solution: Gaining more flexibility and functionality while reducing costs.
During the move to Agent Choice Technology in 2008, George replaced his office computers with fresh technology. He wanted a new phone system to match. His IT consultant told him about Aptela. Now, for less than what he was paying for his old phone service, George's Allstate office has the tools it needs to provide state-of-the-art customer service:
- Individual Voice Mail lets employees listen to customer requests in their own words, instead of relying on often-inaccurate handwritten messages.
- Seamless Remote Capabilities means George can work from home or other location and still appear to be in the office.
- Automatic Call Forwarding switches calls automatically to the after-hours call center.
- Monitoring Capabilities lets George monitor his agents' phone activity and productivity.
- Scalability to allow George to add as many employees and offices as his business requires.
Result: Leveraging a phone system that will service his business and his customers now and in the future.
With Aptela, the capabilities of George's phone system have increased significantly while his costs have dropped 15 to 20 percent. As his business grows, he is looking forward to exploring additional Aptela features such as receiving incoming faxes and Click to Call. With Aptela, George will be able to:
- Add satellite offices and additional Allstate agency franchises.
- Take calls from other offices and redistribute call flows during the day.
- Monitor productivity across all of his offices.
- Continue to deliver on Allstate's promise of putting his customers in good hands.
