Business telecommunications and IT systems

Disaster struck recently at Birkdale School in Sheffield, Yorkshire.  This award winning day school for boys has been a du Pré telephone calls and lines customer since 2009.

During some bad weather a tree had fallen and taken out the main telephone line. This freak act of nature had resulted in the school being unable to make and receive any calls – a desperate situation as the school was unable to communicate with parents.

Getting the fault fixed

On realising the problem Paul Harker the Head of ICT systems at the school called the support department at Newbury, Berkshire-based du Pré plc. His call was logged and a fault raised with BT Openreach to get the line repaired. du Pré was also able to divert all incoming calls to another number allowing parents to contact the school.

The falling tree had damaged close to 30 lines and required lifting equipment and platforms to repair. During each stage of the repair process the du Pré support staff kept Paul up to date with the progress of his support call, allowing him to communicate the situation to staff and parents. Once the lines had been repaired by BT Openreach the divert was removed and Birkdale School was back communicating as normal.

Responding quickly

Thanks to the quick response of the du Pré support team and the close understanding du Pré has of BT, the school was up and running with minimal disruption. Paul Harker was delighted with the service he received.

“The customer service received was exceptional. We were updated frequently on the issue and were left feeling like our needs were important," Paul stated. "The issue was resolved quickly and professionally and the interface between us and BT was very smooth. I would recommend du Pré to others.”