IVR booking system
"Square Systems innovation and support have provided us with a first class booking system."
Sarah Bennet, Project Manager, David Lloyd Leisure.
The company
David Lloyds Leisure is the leading racquets, health & fitness club group in the UK with 59 clubs across the country and over 300,000 members.
The challenge
David Lloyds needed a new IVR booking system as receptionists were struggling during peak periods with both receiving customers face to face and taking inbound calls, leading to delays with both groups of customers. The booking system needed to be integrated with the existing membership database, and in order to maintain good customer service David Lloyds wanted local agents to answer calls.
The solution
Square Systems provided an IVR application which allowed local receptionists to answer calls but automated much of the call handling, allowing booking information to be automatically added to the membership database.
The benefits
- Average call time for booking courts was reduced
- Productivity increased with receptionists better able to manage their time
- Customer service improved both face-to-face and over the telephone
- Bookings automatically registered in the membership database, reducing admin time
- The number of profit-making services David Lloyds was able to offer increased as a result
The full story
When organisations expand the range of service options they offer the resultant success can often exceed the capacity of the organisation to fulfil their offering. In the example of taking bookings by telephone, technology can often be employed to resolve the issues of providing sufficient resources to match the demand by automating parts of the process.
David Lloyd Leisure had identified problems with receiving tennis court bookings by telephone as the inbound calls were taken locally by the receptionists at each leisure centre. Court bookings were arranged on a rolling eight day period with a new day becoming available each day. The receptionists would have peak periods for receiving customers face to face and taking inbound calls, leading to delays with both groups of customers. The business processes required the flexibility of booking locally however the extra resource in the form of additional agents was not viable.
The Square Systems proposal was to automate the telephone court booking using an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system. This would enable customers to respond to structured questions with their telephone key pad to book the courts and receive booking information and confirmation. The proposal included a booking database and engine with a Windows interface and the additional option of an internet portal for future expansion. This was achieved by integrating the new IVR system with the existing membership database and developing a new booking system application for the receptionists.
David Lloyd Leisure benefited directly by reducing the average call time for booking a court and removing the likelihood of delays from unanswered calls. Productivity was also increased with the receptionists being able to better manage their time and improve contact with the leisure centre clients. As a result of developing a new booking system additional services were made available to the clients including event management and automating the availability of tennis coaches.
Square Systems were able to help David Lloyd Leisure improve their productivity, increase customer satisfaction and increase the number of services directly available to the client. This was achieved by introducing a new booking system to reduce the inbound workload and by integrating their existing computer systems with IVR & management system technologies.
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