How a premium UK bar group was able to manage their sites across the country and react to new challenges quickly with a simple and reliable remote meeting solution
Introduction
Revolution Bars Group operates a chain of bars across the United Kingdom serving premium drinks, food and live entertainment. The Group was founded in 1991 and its portfolio has expanded to 76 venues, employing over 3,000 staff.
To stay ahead in the fiercely competitive hospitality industry, your operations must run smoothly and problems must be resolved quickly. With multiple locations across the UK, this can be challenging for Revolution Bars. The head office relies on remote meetings to regularly check in with local teams to make sure venues are running smoothly and to share important company news and information.
High dial-in charges for guests and double-booked meetings
Initially, the company used a ‘free PIN’ conference calling solution. One feature of this approach is the absence of monthly invoices to the company – instead, the service provider generates revenue from access charges incurred by guests dialling in to conference calls, typically with premium rate numbers. The total cost to Revolution Bars proved high as many of the meeting guests were employees and so the cost of joining conference calls impacted the company’s phone bills. The cost of these calls was particularly high when joining from a mobile phone.
Revolution Bars then moved to a licence-based conference calling solution. In order to make this approach cost effective, a small number of licences were shared across the business. But employees would frequently book more than one meeting on the same licence at the same time. So, the business started looking for an alternative solution.
Introduction to LoopUp
John Leaver, Head of IT at Revolution Bars, is responsible for all technology across the business, including conference calling. A colleague who had used LoopUp in a previous role recommended the product to John. After a brief pilot, John selected LoopUp as the conference call provider for Revolution Bars. “I was particularly impressed by the flexibility in terms of pricing”, said John. “With LoopUp’s pay-as-you-go pricing, everyone can get an account and there are no fixed costs for having an account or a per user monthly rental. You just get charges on as little or as much as you use. This is great for us because we have some employees that don’t use it as regularly as others”.
Rolling out across the group
Rolling out the product across the business couldn’t be simpler. It involved one LoopUp representative and one member of the Revolution Bars IT team. LoopUp created an account for every user at Revolution Bars and offered short demos to get the team started. “It’s such a simple and intuitive product that no training was needed to get our team using it”, said John.
Within a few weeks, people across the company were using LoopUp for many of their calls. Sales teams were using it to speak to customers, area managers were communicating with suppliers and checking in with venue managers, and the executive team were using LoopUp to communicate important news to the regions.
Another great thing about LoopUp is their invoicing. It breaks down monthly cost so you can see exactly who was making calls, what type of meeting it was, how often and what office. This means we can understand our company’s usage better”
John Leaver, Head of IT, Revolution Bars Group
Improving the productivity of the team
LoopUp’s recording feature proved particularly useful to the sales team as it allowed them to record client meetings and refer back to the content later. Managers liked using the screen sharing feature to present reports in remote meetings and answer any questions on a live call. Previously, they would email out reports which would inevitably lead to follow-on questions and further meetings. “Overall, LoopUp has helped to improve the productivity of the team”, said John. “It is also so simple to use, that we haven’t had any problems from our users with the product. This means the IT team doesn’t have to spend time on support calls which is great for us!”
Reduced costs and transparent invoicing
LoopUp also helped reduced costs for Revolution Bars. “Because everyone is using the LoopUp meeting link, our sales team are no longer dialling in with their company mobile phones and racking up high charges”, said John. “Another great thing about LoopUp is their invoicing. It breaks down monthly cost so you can see exactly who was making calls, what type of meeting it was, how often and what office. This means we can understand our company’s usage better”.
Driving productivity and unity across the business
As any business in the hospitality industry knows, you need to respond the problems as they happen and maintaining an open communication channel is essential, particularly if your business has many locations across the country. LoopUp has allowed the team at Revolution Bars to connect with suppliers, clients, colleagues and managers, regardless of where they are based. Whether it’s to pitch for new business, manage the logistics of an order with a supplier or to share operational reports, they are able to join a LoopUp call at a moment’s notice. Since implementing LoopUp, productivity across the group has increased and the need for follow-up meetings and business travel has reduced.
Overall, LoopUp has helped to improve the productivity of the team. It is also so simple to use, that we haven’t had any problems from our users with the product. This means that IT don’t have to spend time on support calls which is great for us!”
John Leaver, Head of IT, Revolution Bars Group
It’s time to improve your company’s remote meetings with LoopUp. Sign up free.
