Ellinger Riggs
Ellinger Riggs Insurance needed dependable, scalable communications technology to keep their customers on the line and seamlessly expand to new locations. They found their solution with Mitel’s MiVoice Connect.
THE COMPANY
Consisting of 20 employees at four locations across the U.S. state of Indiana, Ellinger Riggs is an independent insurance agency that prides itself on attentive customer care. The agency depends on reliable communications to both provide instant service to current customers in their times of need and offer quotes to prospective clients.
THE SITUATION
After opening their first office in Noblesville, Ellinger Riggs began steadily expanding across Indiana, with different communications technology at each location. As business grew, the antiquated, inconsistent telephony began hindering the company’s development.
A substantial problem was the inability to quickly transfer calls between locations, causing customers to wait on hold for long periods or be sent to voicemail while available employees were tracked down. Ellinger Riggs also wasn’t able to see which employees were currently on a call, causing significant waiting periods.
Perhaps one of the greatest areas of concern for the company was its inability to service clients during natural disasters. Worried customers frantically calling about damage and not being able to reach their insurance company due to downed power lines was a nightmare Ellinger Riggs couldn’t afford.
“Imagine calling your agent in a time of need and their phone line is down,” explains Rob Ellinger, President of Ellinger Riggs Insurance. “That creates uncertainty and more panic for a person who’s in a time of need, and we just need to be there for them.”
Anticipating rapid growth, the company was concerned these difficulties with their communications technology would only worsen as new locations were added.
THE SOLUTION
The answer came to Ellinger Riggs in the form of Mitel’s MiVoice Connect, formerly known as ShoreTel Connect, an on-site unified communications and business phone system offering robust features and integrations. The solution was recommended by Van Ausdall & Farrar, a Mitel Gold Partner with a long history with Ellinger Riggs, and quickly beat out solutions from other vendors.
“It seemed a lot easier to navigate through than other phone systems,” Rob remarks.
He worked closely with Van Ausdall & Farrar’s Vice President of Converged Communications Groups, Trent Smith, to select the right solution and orchestrate its initial deployment at two locations.
Rob especially appreciates Van Ausdall & Farrar’s dependability, saying “Their customer service is fantastic. They know the product. With Trent, he really tries to understand. He’s a great listener, so he will listen to what your needs are and then find the right product for that.”
MiVoice Connect integrated with their AMS 360 management system without difficulty, making installation and setup simple. Van Ausdall & Farrar was closely involved, offering support throughout the process.
“We always like to provide on-site user training with all of our deployments just to ensure that people can leverage the technology,” Trent comments. “We’re very instrumental in making it happen.”
THE RESULTS
Ellinger Riggs experienced immediate benefits from their Mitel telephony. Installation was smooth and employee training was swift due to the technology’s ease of use.
Now employees can view a customer’s information automatically during a call, a feature for which Rob Ellinger feels especially grateful.
“Eliminating the steps our customer service agents have to take to pull up the client’s data right away saves us time, and time is money,” Rob comments. “It makes life so much easier for us.”
In addition, the fear of being unable to connect with customers during a natural disaster is gone thanks to MiVoice Connect’s ability to monitor telephone activity and easily transfer calls between locations and employees. The quality of the company’s customer service has significantly improved, especially when it counts the most.
Rob expands on why dependability is critical for his company, commenting, “That was important for us because we’re in the insurance business, and we protect people in their time of need.”
As Ellinger Riggs foresees the acquisition of several new locations in the next few years, they know their Mitel technology will continue meeting their needs with each expansion.
“Mitel has been a partner in our current growth,” Rob remarks, “and I think definitely in our future growth as well.”
