Locally owned and operated in Rochester, NY – Read More
Convergent was a phenomenal resource for our business. They understood the type of telecommunications functionality we needed and our budget parameters, delivering a solution that has helped us grow the business.
Miller Funeral and Cremation Services, a fifth-generation family-owned local business, knew they needed to upgrade their phone systems, but didn’t know where to start or what the options were for their unique needs. Calls received at a funeral home must be handled sensitively and easily; Miller’s 100+ year reputation was built on their caring relationship with those going through loss and the first line of that relationship often came via phone. Miller was using a traditional, 20-year old wired phone system. This solution limited the scalability of phone lines and multi-pronged access, which was an impediment to current and planned growth. Miller had recently acquired a second location and had long-term plans for additional growth, which needed to be considered for their telecom transition.
Given their size and relative inexperience with modern phone system options, Miller engaged Convergent to handle their upgrade from carrier recommendation through the final line switchover. Convergent’s first step was to clearly understand Miller’s unique needs given their industry. Key among those was Miller’s multiple locations in adjacent communities. Miller had recently opened a second location that didn’t need the investment of full staffing, but did require that local callers “see” the services were specifically in their community. Also, many funeral home calls come in during late-night hours so select staff needed the ability to seamlessly answer a business line from home. While competitors typically leverage an answering service for this, that impersonality didn’t align with the service Miller promises its customers.
Convergent took these specifications, along with Miller’s size as a small business, to recommend the right telecom provider and package of services that would fulfill the organization’s needs. Once the carrier agreement was negotiated and finalized, Convergent acted as project manager, ensuring lines were installed properly and the team was trained in VoIP functionality. Key to this functionality was having lines dedicated to each of Miller’s locations, which offered a cost-effective way for them to expand without hiring additional front-desk staff that wouldn’t be fully utilized given daily call volume. Convergent’s centralized solution will also support Miller’s future growth as new locations will simply need a new phone vs. another full deployment.
Miller leadership is thrilled with their telecom services, a fact they owe directly to Convergent’s partnership. “I would still be setting up phones or out of business if we hadn’t of worked with Convergent to manage our transition,” said Josh Miller, Owner of Miller Funeral and Cremation Services. “I would have paid double for their services; the investment in this partnership were well worth it and I would do it all over again.”
