How Café Saint-Henri Connected Multiple Stores and Elevated the Customer Experience with VoIP.ms 

Imagine a thriving coffee shop. Beyond the brew, success is rooted in connecting with customers and partners, especially over the phone; thus, an efficient phone system is essential for smooth operations and top-notch customer experiences.

In this blog post, we will explore how Café Saint-Henri (CSH), a renowned Canadian micro coffee roaster, went from traditional telephony to a tailored VoIP system and found a reliable, affordable, and feature-rich solution to connect its multiple locations and create a better experience for customers. 

Café Saint-Henri: A Toast to Montreal’s Rich Coffee

Café Saint-Henri is a renowned specialty coffee roaster based in Montreal, captivating coffee enthusiasts with exceptional brews. With over a decade of experience, they’ve become a staple in the Montreal coffee scene, with eight locations throughout Montreal and Quebec City. The company is deeply committed to ethical practices, directly purchasing 80% of its beans from farmers under fair trade principles, ensuring transparency and traceability.

Beyond serving high-quality coffee, CSH offers an array of products tailored to coffee enthusiasts, and they’ve further expanded their reach by providing premium coffee machines for offices, selling several coffee varieties and products, and offering personalized coffee subscriptions over their website. Click here to learn more about their locations.

By maintaining a focus on quality, sustainability, and a varied product range delivers an unparalleled coffee experience to its customers.

The Challenge: Outdated Communication Systems Struggling with Growing Demands

As the roaster’s popularity grew, so did the demands on their communication infrastructure. The company was using a traditional phone system based on physical lines and, consequently, was limited in flexibility; adding or changing lines was a hassle, and it often lacked advanced features so that it couldn’t keep up with its expanding operations.

Café Saint-Henri encountered several challenges with its existing phone system, which presented obstacles to meeting its business efficiency goals. Some of the specific challenges were:

• Outdated infrastructure: They relied on traditional phone lines, which limited their communication capabilities and incurred high costs. 
• Escalating Phone Bills: As operations grew, so did their telephony expenses. The traditional phone lines were costly, and the company sought a cost-effective alternative to provide similar or better functionality.
• Busy Phone Lines: With multiple locations and a thriving customer base, CSH frequently encountered the frustration of busy phone lines. This hindered their ability to provide prompt customer service and posed a risk to customer satisfaction.
• Unique Challenges of the Restaurant Industry related to fast-paced operations, high call volumes, and the need for seamless integration with their point-of-sale systems.

The Solution: A Strategic Shift to VoIP for Optimized Communication

Café Saint-Henri formed a strategic partnership with VoIP.ms. to enhance their communication infrastructure. Leveraging VoIP.ms expertise, it established a business phone system designed specifically for the cafe’s distinct requirements, seamlessly integrating VoIP services with high-quality audio equipment.

The new phone system relied on various advanced features and services offered by VoIP.ms, including:

• Configuration of Internal Extensions: eliminating the need for costly calls between different locations. This seamless connectivity allowed for efficient communication and collaboration across their stores.
• IVR (Digital Receptionist): this feature provided callers, such as customers and vendors, with a well-organized call directory menu. This improved the overall calling experience and helped CSH avoid spam calls and efficiently direct callers to the desired locations.
• Time Condition Rules: this feature ensured that calls were handled efficiently, even during peak business hours or when specific departments were temporarily occupied.
• CallerID Filtering: setting specific rules for incoming calls from specific callers. This customization enhanced call routing control and prioritized calls from important contacts.

The collaboration with specialized hardware partners such as Amtectel, a devices distributor, was key in building a state-of-the-art communication system, providing high-quality hardware. The selected devices were SNOM M100 KLE wireless handsets and M10 KLE bases for the coffee stores. The deployment of these devices laid the foundation for a robust and efficient communication infrastructure.

Results

Implementing the VoIP phone system enhanced communication, improved customer satisfaction, and significant cost savings. Some remarkable outcomes are:

• Enhanced Inter-Store Communication: With the ability to communicate effortlessly across their stores using internal extensions, Café Saint-Henri experienced a significant improvement in inter-store collaboration and coordination. Store managers and staff could easily connect and share information, fostering a seamless workflow and ensuring consistent service delivery.
• Optimized Call Management: By introducing an IVR system, CSH ensured that inbound calls were directed to the appropriate extensions for timely responses. Moreover, the CallerID Filtering feature enabled them to identify and prioritize key contacts, enhancing their service workflows.
• Cost Savings and Operational Efficiency: One of the most substantial benefits of VoIP transformation was the drastic reduction in overall phone expenses. By replacing traditional analog phone lines with VoIP technology, Café Saint-Henri achieved a remarkable 77% cost savings compared to when they relied on conventional telephony.

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Every business is distinct, and our mission is to provide solutions that truly resonate with your unique requirements. Tap into our extensive expertise and leverage our dedicated team to optimize your communication infrastructure. Whether you are a small startup or a large enterprise, we have the knowledge and resources to provide a VoIP phone system that precisely meets your unique needs.   

Take advantage of our expertise and contact us today via email at [email protected] to discuss your needs and discover how we can provide you with an optimized system solution that drives your business forward.