Business Challenge

One of the biggest challenges facing the furniture retailer was an overwhelmed and overworked internal IT team. The increase in ticket volume meant that highly skilled employees were being asked to work as the help desk, rather than focusing on the high-level strategic initiatives that would support the company’s growth.

The increased demand also led the retailer to recognize the importance of obtaining the right amount of help desk coverage.

“Availability was a big issue for us,” said the company’s director of retail systems. “We had reasonable coverage with our people most of the time, but there were some very thin periods. We really needed to expand across weekends, which are the most important times for our retail business, as well as some of the holidays.”

Finally, the retailer wanted to be sure that outsourcing wouldn’t lead to communication or other problems. They needed to partner with a U.S.-based operation that was also familiar with industry best practices surrounding the management of sensitive customer data, such as credit card numbers.

With GHDSi, they found a partner able to solve all these problems.

Solution

GHDSi’s help desk services are specifically designed to address problems like what the furniture retailer faced, from accessibility to accountability.

After a thorough discovery process designed to surface the challenges faced by the retailer, GHDSi formulated a plan that would lead to positive results.

Help Desk Services 24/7/365 

The first pain point GHDSi helped to relieve was to provide full coverage for weekends, holidays, and other periods when the retailer’s help desk had previously been spread too thin. This led to a better experience for users who needed assistance and helped reestablish trust.

U.S.-Based Help Desk Agents

The furniture retailer needed help desk support that could offer clear, easy-to-understand assistance to their English and Spanish users. Knowing that GHDSi’s agents are entirely based in the United States reassured the retailer their users wouldn’t be tripped up by communication concerns.

Kind, Helpful Support

In the retail industry, customer service is crucial. That’s why the furniture retailer put such a high premium on finding a help desk with kind and empathetic support agents. After working with GHDSi, they quickly realized they’d found exactly the right kind of help that understood the nature of retail. 

“My users are thrilled with the level of detail and the nature of the attention they’re getting,” said the director of retail systems. “They’re not being talked down to—it’s a partnership. And all of Global Help Desk’s levels of management are very responsive to us. They jump on any problem, follow up on the reporting requirements, and make the issue go away.”

Results

It wasn’t long after GHDSi took over help desk support for the furniture retailer that they realized they’d made an excellent decision.

With GHDSi handling help desk support, the furniture retailer’s internal IT team could focus on other priorities, such as software deployments and better user experience. For a retailer on the verge of cracking $1 billion, freeing up those resources was vital.

“We looked at a couple of other providers, but it didn’t seem like any of the others even came close to what Global Help Desk had available,” said the director of retail systems. “They have shown us the way a real help desk should be run, as far as the reporting, the metrics, and how we should be structuring ourselves.”

Those reports and metrics provided the furniture retailer with much peace of mind, offering a clear portrait of resolved tickets, happy users, and fast response times, even on weekends and holidays. It was the same kind of customer service the retailer’s reputation was built on.

“For anyone facing the challenges we had, I think Global Help Desk would be a great option.”

- Director of Retail Systems, Furniture Retailer