Restaurant Equippers

“Accent has been a fantastic partner.

Their team guided us through every step of the process and adapted the system to our unique requirements. They’ve consistently provided knowledgeable support and continue to help us innovate.“

For over 50 years, Restaurant Equippers has been a trusted name in the restaurant industry, providing affordable, high-quality equipment to restaurateurs across the United States. What began as a small family business has grown into a multi-location operation with retail stores in three states, an extensive online shopping platform, and a strong customer support team. As the company expanded, its reliance on an aging and outdated phone system began to hinder its ability to provide top-tier customer service. Restaurant Equippers sought a solution to modernize its communication infrastructure, streamline operations, and improve sales and customer experience.

“There was not a lot of opportunity for innovation there (on the old system), we were at the limit of what that system could provide.” commented Peter Trautman, IT Manager for Restaurant Equippers.

“Part of our motivation for a new phone system was to capture the capabilities of a modern system like the Accent platform.”

Despite their success, the previous phone system began to hinder customer service and sales efforts. Before switching to Accent, the business faced significant challenges with its legacy phone system:

• Disaster Recovery: During outages, options were limited to rerouting calls to another location, a time-consuming and inefficient process. “If the lines went down, our entire call center would be out of commission,” said Peter.
• Limited Reporting and Analytics: Reporting capabilities were manual and cumbersome, requiring significant effort to generate and distribute data. Key insights, such as agent activity and detailed call analysis, were unavailable, limiting the company’s ability to optimize its call center operations.
• Lack of Modern Features: The system lacked essential tools like agent prioritization, advanced queue management, and integration with other business systems. Despite these limitations, Restaurant Equippers managed to operate, but inefficiencies and service outages highlighted the urgent need for a modern solution.

When Restaurant Equippers partnered with Accent, the transition to a cloud-based phone system addressed their previous challenges and introduced transformative improvements. Highlights of the benefits included:

• • • Enhanced Flexibility and Reliability
    • Advanced Reporting and Analytics
    • Improved Customer Service and Sales
    • Seamless Implementation and Support

Utilizing Accent’s advanced call center reporting and analytics capabilities, Restaurant Equippers has seen a measurable improvement in both customer service and sales performance. Accent’s automated reporting capabilities, including daily and weekly summaries of agent activity and call center performance, provide data which is more readily available than ever before.  Accent’s platform enabled features like talk time analysis and other call analytics, helping agents identify opportunities for upselling.

“Our business intelligence team can now see sales numbers alongside answered calls in real time, which has been a game-changer,” Peter noted. “We found that adding just one minute to a four-minute call leads to significant upselling opportunities. It’s worth the investment.”

With Accent’s modern call center tools, Restaurant Equipper’s call center agents can now prioritize customer satisfaction as well, reducing returns and ensuring customers get the right products the first time. “When someone buys a $5,000 griddle, it’s crucial they get exactly what they need the first time. That level of care builds trust,” said Peter.

Restaurant Equippers understood that technology was only a portion of the recipe for a successful cloud phone system deployment, choosing the right partner was extremely important as well. Accent’s team played a pivotal role in the success of this transformation. From the initial consultation to post-implementation support, Accent’s commitment to Restaurant Equipper’s success stood out as a difference maker.

“Accent has been a fantastic partner. Their team guided us through every step of the process and adapted the system to our unique requirements. They’ve consistently provided knowledgeable support and continue to help us innovate,“ Peter shared. “As a small IT team, we relied heavily on Accent, and they delivered. From plugging in devices to training our staff.”

With Accent’s phone system in place, Restaurant Equippers is well-positioned to continue its growth. As we expand, Accent will remain a key partner, helping us meet the challenges of the future,” Peter concluded.