Customer Profile:
A large non-profit health care organization with an older phone system.

Business Challenge:
Patients’ calls were not getting routed properly, calls were getting dropped, and messages were very cumbersome to send and receive. Furthermore, the phone system was being rented at considerable monthly expense, and response time on service calls was up to two weeks.

In addition, the pharmacy was growing rapidly and it was difficult keeping up with the call volume. Many callers were seeking basic information such as “is my prescription ready?” and the staff was overwhelmed by mundane requests. Customers were also requesting an IVR system similar to those used by competitors. All of the problems resulted in patient dissatisfaction and low employee productivity.

The company knew that they needed a new phone system, but they did not know where to begin. Nor did they have the time or resources to properly evaluate available systems, understand exactly what was needed, etc. Sales people would come in and discuss VOIP, PRI, DID, Unified Messaging and other network design issues that simply made things even more confusing. Instead of business questions, the conversations revolved around technological terms and engineering questions that the company did not understand.

The Solution:
LME Consulting assisted the company with development of a Request for Proposals (RFP) that was distributed to multiple vendors, and three were ultimately selected as finalists.

LME Consulting then facilitated presentations by the three finalists. Based on the presentations and extensive question and answer sessions, a vendor was chosen that exceeded the company’s requirements and was cost-effective.

Outcome:
With the assistance of LME Consulting, the company was able to reduce operating expenses by $1,500 per month, improve call routing to handle 25 percent more customer calls, and provide customers a method of checking on prescriptions 24/7. In addition, LME Consulting’s assistance in negotiating a new vendor contract saved the company $40,000.