Case Study

Opened in 1961 with three employees, Peter Mark has grown organically to become Ireland’s largest hairdressing chain with 1,600 staff and 71 salons.

A business based on fashion trends turns out to be equally progressive when it comes to harnessing the power of new technology, and is always eager to explore new ways of increasing efficiency and improving the client experience.

Shane Keaveney, is pursuing a list of projects. He is passionate about improving the quality of the client journey right from the initial client engagement all the way through to their experience in the salon. Shane also wants to use HD video streaming as an efficient and effective training tool between the company’s college and the salons.” A total communications solution was crucial to it’s plans, but the company had a problem.

At one point, Peter Mark was relying on six different telecommunication providers, which presented a challenge when it came to managing the bills and getting the most out of the services. As well as different fixed, mobile and broadband providers, separate companies were responsible for firewall security and supporting different telephone systems in the salons.

"We wanted to consolidate to one because we knew what we were doing was inefficient and expensive," says Shane Keaveney. "We worked closely with our Three Account team and following analysis of our entire telecommunications infrastructure they came back with a one-stop service proposition that would be much easier to manage, more efficient and delivered for our clients as well."

Solution

Three now provides a total communication infrastructure to all 71 salons over a Managed Network environment. This new infrastructure enables a Unified Communications experience for both clients and staff within all of our salons. Calls are routed efficiently in-salon to ensure clients receive a prompt response, improving the experience to the client and ensuring we never miss a call. HD training videos can be streamed live across the new infrastructure from our college to our salons keeping all staff up to date on the latest trends and techniques.

By moving everything to Three, Peter Mark now has ongoing access to the latest innovative technology in a cycle of continuous improvement. "The beauty of the cloud- based communications environment is that Three continually upgrades its systems over the course of the contract at no cost to our business," says Keaveney. "The capabilities we have now are enhanced compared to what we started out with; the solution is constantly evolving."

Results

Consolidating its communication services with Three has delivered tangible benefits for Peter Mark, as Shane Keaveney explains. "Previously, we had to deal with six companies to get the full range of communication services that are now provided by Three," he says. "I think they are a fabulous company to deal with which is why I keep pushing more services their way. They know our business really well and understand what we are trying to achieve. That’s vital in business."

The total communications solution has provided the infrastructure needed to stream HD video between sites as part of a more advanced staff upskilling programme. Unified Communications is keeping us in touch with our clients and our staff no matter where they are. The new network infrastructure is also delivering tangible business benefits with seamless site-to-site communications. What he particularly likes about the Three service is that it provides Peter Mark with a future-proof communications platform to support the company’s plans. "We can add on services that we would only have dreamed of a few years ago," he says.

He also values the input he gets from Three, how they always put the client first. "I like the fact that they will come to me with suggestions that cost them revenue. That’s very impressive. They will take the hit because they want to keep Peter Mark as a client."

Overall, Shane Keaveney is confident that Peter Mark has found the right partner to help the business continue to thrive in a fast-changing sector. "Communications is transforming retail. Looking two years down the line, I know that we will be using Three’s communications solutions to complement our service to clients in more efficient ways," he says.

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