For Amanda Powell, running a business starts with a question: “How can we serve you today?”
That philosophy has shaped The Backyard Solution, the family-owned outdoor-structure dealership Powell runs with her husband, Andy. The Backyard Solution is one of the top Virginia dealers for Eagle Carports and Old Hickory Buildings, ranking first in Virginia and sixth nationally within the Old Hickory dealer network. In addition to selling pre-fabricated structures, TBS also sells playground equipment, greenhouses, cabanas, sheds, poly furniture, chicken coops, and pole barns.
The Powell's take a deliberately personal approach to retail, sitting down with customers and helping them design the right building.
“It’s about interacting from human to human,” Powell said. “We strive, above all else, to have excellent customer service, because that is something that's unheard of nowadays.”
Keeping that personal connection at the heart of operations requires a strong technical backbone. For years, however, The Backyard Solution’s unreliable internet and phone service fell short.
Three weeks without a connection
The Backyard Solution needed connectivity to design buildings, capture customer information, and maintain service across four locations throughout central and Northern Virginia.
Its legacy internet was “about as good as dial-up,” with each 3D design change taking up to five seconds to load in the manufacturer's cloud-based design portal. What should’ve been a quick design process could stretch to 15 minutes.
“It was so slow. You would ask the computer to make something 26 feet long, and then you'd have to wait five seconds for it to make the change. Then, you’d add a door and you'd have to wait for another five seconds,” Powell said. “It was just killing the productivity.”
Twice, the company lost phone and internet service for three weeks, leaving employees unable to communicate with customers or process orders. When contacting their connectivity provider for help, the Powells waited up to two hours on hold, up to 24 hours to get a response, and up to three weeks before the provider could get a technician onsite. Beyond frustration, it was a direct business risk.
“Every single day that we don't have a phone, we're losing sales. That's thousands upon thousands of dollars every single day,” Powell said. “We are responsible for our employees getting paychecks, and that's just not good business.”
Having reliable internet that’s really fast has helped us maintain our customer service, and do it in a way that is so efficient.
Amanda Powell, Co-owner, The Backyard Solution
From 15 minutes to three
The Backyard Solution switched to Verizon Business Internet for the reliable, high-speed connection that would improve its customer experience.
After the migration, employees could move through the 3D design process without a lag, cutting design time from around 15 minutes to three—an 80% improvement.
When there’s speed, staff actually have room to slow down. They can take the time to build rapport with customers who want to chat. And when a line forms, staff can serve people efficiently without making them wait.
“Having reliable internet that’s really fast has helped us maintain our customer service, and do it in a way that is so efficient,” Powell said.
From a 40% callback rate to 100%
Previously, slow-loading systems made it difficult for employees to enter customer information into a centralized callback list. Handwritten notes got lost, and busy staff would move on to serve the next customer without stopping to record details.
With faster internet, staff members can enter a customer’s information in around 30 seconds.
“The speed of the internet allows us to very quickly update our records,” Powell said.
Now, the staff doesn't have to choose between entering customer information or helping the customer right in front of them. Because they can enter data quickly, there’s more time to follow up with customers directly via phone. The company's callback rate jumped from approximately 40-50% to 100%, contributing to a 25% increase in sales.
Business calls that follow the team
The Backyard Solution also needed communications that could adapt with the business. At the company’s Keysville location, staff are beta testing Verizon One Talk’s call forwarding feature, which routes business calls to their personal phones.
There’s only one sales manager per lot, so a single day spent out of office used to mean a closed location. Now an employee can step away from the lot or work from home while staying connected to customers.
“You can literally press a button and the business calls still come to you,” Powell said. “You can still make money and we’re not closed. That’s been a game-changer.”
Now that we’ve partnered with Verizon for all our internet and phone needs, we can focus less on how the business runs and more on our customers.
Amanda Powell, Co-owner, The Backyard Solution
A partnership that paves the way for expansion
These days, the Powells don’t have to wait weeks for support. They have direct access to Verizon’s business support team, who resolve issues within hours on weekdays.
“It's been really nice partnering with somebody who actually answers their phones and gives really good service,” Powell said.
The fear of multi-week outages is long gone, and the increased efficiency means that the Powells can step back and explore expansion.
“Now that we’ve partnered with Verizon for all our internet and phone needs, we can focus less on how the business runs and more on our customers,” Powell said.
The Backyard Solution is growing around 15% each year, and its next step may be opening a fifth location. Regardless of what they decide, the Powells can keep their attention where they always wanted it to be: on the customers in front of them.
Learn more
Business Essentials
With Verizon Business Internet, One Talk, and direct access to business support, The Backyard Solution serves clients faster and drives revenue growth.
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See how Ganziano Sewer & Water improved emergency response times and team coordination using Verizon One Talk and Verizon Business Internet.