Capital 21's Call Management System Paid Off For Bristol City in Play-Offs

Bristol City FC had Capital 21 to thank for preventing a disastrous meltdown of their telephone system after the Club qualified for the 2003 Division Two play-offs.

The Club’s office-based staff had been struggling to deal with increases in the regular weekly flow of telephone calls to Ashton Gate, but after signing up with Capital 21 these problems were kicked into touch.

Now, without the need for capital outlay by the Club on new equipment, the telephone lines are never deadlocked - even when there is massive demand for tickets.

The Club had no staff retraining issues to worry about and not only is there a regular and recurring revenue stream earned by the Club from the call management system, but also the marketing department has another vehicle to highlight future fixtures and ticket details as well as promote the Club’s sponsors.

“We previously had a situation where we had nine telephone lines at the Club Ticket Office and if we had an influx of extra calls then it became impossible for fans to get through and our staff could not even make telephone calls out, which was a nightmare,” explains Richard Gould, Bristol City’s Commercial and Communications Manager; “We no longer have that problem, thanks to Capital 21.

“When we reached the Division Two play-offs it quickly became apparent that the Capital 21 investment was paying off as we experienced a dramatic surge in phone calls, which we were able to cope with.

“On the first day that our play-off tickets went on sale we had 15,000 telephone calls to the Club, yet every call was met by a voice rather than just an engaged tone. Capital 21’s queuing system then allowed us to process the calls from the fans, while other lines remained free.

“A key benefit of this system is the fact that it informs the caller where they are in the ticket queue during busy periods and updates them, so that they know they are nearer to being responded to by our staff.

“There is no longer a problem of fans or other callers being greeted with an engaged tone when they call the Club.

“Live Statistics from the call management system available through a web link, also allow us to see which days and times are particularly busy – due to extra callers. I believe we will be employing this information more and more to adjust our staff accordingly.

“This system has been a great signing and I wouldn’t have a problem recommending Capital 21 to another Club.”

For futher information, please call 0870 787 0490.