Brian Scudamore was a university student in 1989 when a tough summer job market inspired him to spend his last $700 on a used pickup and start his own junk removal service. After three increasingly successful summers, Brian knew he had something special, so he invested in more trucks, drivers and a brand name, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, to help his business take off.
Fast forward 17 years and this investment has paid off in spades. With annual sales of more than $112 million today, up from just $2 million in 2000, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is the world's largest junk removal service, and a household name.
Such fast-paced revenue growth created a unique set of challenges for 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. Over the past two years its staff has burgeoned from 43 to 116 employees, with plans to more than double again by 2008. As part of this growth, the company opened its first international offices in Australia in 2005 and England in 2006, causing Mr. Scudamore, who remains chief executive officer, to wonder how he would simultaneously support his growing business without sacrificing the high quality of customer service that is his company's hallmark.
"Organic growth coupled with opening international offices meant we needed to expand our sales and support centre and start running it 24/7," said Mr. Scudamore. "Our company needed a cost-effective way to handle more than 4,000 inbound calls per day and make sure they were routed to the appropriate sales team."
To support this rapid expansion, their existing telecom supplier proposed additional Primary Rate Interfaces (PRIs), but the solution was deemed cost prohibitive and proved not scalable for the business. Additionally, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? had more than doubled its inbound and outbound long distance usage to more than 600,000 minutes per month, and needed to reduce costs.
In May 2006, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? turned to Rogers Business Solutions to devise a cost-effective, flexible way to grow the sales centre and maintain its unique corporate culture and great customer service. Rogers replaced the five existing PRIs with just one, and added Dedicated Access Lines (DALs) to route the calls to the appropriate teams in the contact centre.
"The Rogers team understood how important it was for us to handle calls quickly, route them to the right people and keep our sales centre running efficiently 24/7," added Scudamore. "They offered us a much more cost-effective solution than our existing supplier, and were able to install it in a matter of weeks, which was paramount to supporting our international expansion."
With fewer PRIs, Rogers was able to reduce monthly costs by 75 per cent and cut long distance charges in half. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? estimates they'll save $45,000 a year on the PRIs alone, and considerably more on long distance usage.
"These cost savings directly benefit our customers, allowing us to grow our sales and support team, hire additional staff and further improve our high level of customer service," said Scudamore. "With the additional staff, inbound calls are answered within 30 seconds, a response rate that is unparalleled within the industry and a key differentiator for our business."
This high level of service is met with great fanfare by customers, driving growth both at the corporate and franchise level. Franchisees benefit from high quality service which directly translates into building the company's solid reputation, garnering new business and ultimately driving sales. Through stream-lining the costs of the sales and support centers, Rogers assisted in keeping the business here in Canada and not following the commonly practiced trend of off-shoring resources.
"Keeping the call centre in Canada gives our management team a great sense of pride," added Scudamore. "It allows us to monitor and maintain our high standards, unique corporate culture and entrepreneurial spirit."
"Rogers brought us a solution that met our business needs today and will help us remain competitive and productive into the future," concludes Scudamore. "They clearly demonstrated an understanding of our business needs, embracing our entrepreneurial mindset and obsession with delivering superior service.
For more information about 1-800-GOT-JUNK please visit their website at www.1800gotjunk.com
For more information about Rogers Business Solutions please visit our website at www.rogers.com/business or call 1 866 727-2141
