Homegrown Sustainable Sandwich Shop is a foodservice chain that emphasizes eco-friendliness and sustainability. Operating in the greater Seattle area, the company is praised for its locally-sourced, all-natural, organic and wholesomely-prepared sandwiches, salads and soups. The food is as fresh as it is healthy.
Business phone system for restaurants
When you work with clients directly, it’s essential that they’re able to contact you any time. What’s more, customer requests should be processed without delay to speed up cooking and service or delivery. However, the importance of adequate connectivity isn’t limited to clientele. A company has to be open to suppliers and other partners too, as should any problems occur with procurement, a business owner must know about it as soon as possible.
While Ben Friedman and Brad Gillis, the founders of Homegrown, love food, starting the business was about something bigger. Longtime fans of eco-friendly products, the founders decided to take environmentalism out to lunch. Using ethically-farmed and organic products, Homegrown aims to deliver environmentally and fiscally conscious meals for their clientele. This approach proved relatable, as Homegrown has exploded in popularity, even becoming a small chain. To keep up that level of growth—which can at times be chaotic—while also keeping a professional forward-facing appearance, their communication system needed to be more than a simple VoIP system.
Why MightyCall
Luckily for them, opting for MightyCall turned out to be the right call. With MightyCal’s auto receptionist and virtual phone number-based system they were able to route their corporate headquarters and other company divisions through one phone number, making it extremely easy for new and interested investors or clients to be able to contact them in the midst of their quick expansion. Brad Gillis, a co-founder, says:
MightyCall delivers cost savings and routes calls to our cell phones directly. We can take orders seamlessly, put in professional voice greetings and access the messages left by our customers quickly, and this is crucial to our team.
That was why the Homegrown owners decided to roll out the system to their new corporate headquarters and to the rest of their stores, thus making all of the divisions accessible through a single virtual phone number. At that time, the company would be able to put just one number on all of its promotional materials, while MightyCall’s advanced call routing system would still let customers quickly call through to the right store.
Business phone systems for restaurants is not only about receiving reservation requests by phone, but also about having an effective sales tool when managed properly. Writing down orders and having these calls recorded in case of discrepancies is important for quality control, just as voice greetings are important for a professional look and a personal touch.
Professional image for your business
If you need to appeal to your target audience, be like them. One of the main reasons for Homegrown’s success is that they value their customers more than anything, managing to stay on the same page as them all these years. Gillis notes:
We sell to a well-educated, affluent demographic and to businesses located downtown, so it is important for us to project a professional, business-like image, especially for our catering business, and also at our retail stores.
Without a doubt, professionalism is the key that helps business owners keep every door open. When it comes to building your brand recognition – everything matters, including your business phone system’s efficiency. Who wants to deal with a business that can’t be bothered to pick up the phone or doesn’t react to a left voicemail? These small things don’t seem irrelevant when it comes to building a professional image and quality relationships with your customers, partners and investors.
Expand your business with MightyCall
According to Gillis, as Homegrown has grown geographically, MightyCall’s business features have allowed them to stay synchronized while more branches open. It’s essential for companies to not be tethered expensive office phone setups and inflexible phone systems as they scale:
Going forward, we will want to use MightyCall as we grow and expand. For example, in terms of having a single number connecting any store through an extension number, MightyCall really is a winner when compared with existing VOIP offerings from companies such as Cisco. As we continue to grow outside Seattle, we will be able to have all this with MightyCall and not worry about putting in server locations onsite or investing in serious hardware.
MightyCall’s cloud approach makes it possible to not worry about physical hardware and rented desk phones. VoIP is the present and future for restaurants’ customer communications, and when paired with one like Homegrown, great things can happen. Choose the right MightyCall plan to help your business thrive.
