It’s the to-do list that never gets done! Every household and business has one – there’s that dripping tap, the shelves that fall down and the lock that keeps sticking. What we all need is a friendly, versatile and reliable person to get the work done. Someone who arrives on schedule, does a great job, every time, at the right price.
Quality, security and peace of mind
Hire A Hubby is probably the UK’s fastest growing DIY and property maintenance franchise business. Launched in Australia, the business is now an international operation, with ‘Hubbies’ worldwide delivering a huge range of domestic and commercial maintenance and repair services. Their work is backed by quality, insurance and safety documentation, providing customers with security and peace of mind.
Hubbies are individual businesspeople who take pride in their work and aim to win long-term customers who will recommend them to colleagues, friends and family. There are no expensive call out fees or hourly rates, and every job has an estimate confirmed in writing.
“Property repairs and maintenance is a hugely competitive sector,” says UK Director, Gerry Fundell, who co-ordinates the work of eight Hubbies from UK headquarters near Harlow in Hertfordshire. “The quality of work is always important, but speed of response is absolutely vital. Often potential customers will call several suppliers - and the one that arrives first usually gets the business.
“Once you demonstrate to a customer that they’re important to you, the result is loyalty.
So, making sure we never miss a call, night or day, always answering incoming calls promptly and passing leads to our Hubbies to respond to, is of paramount importance.”
The perfect tool for the job
Hire A Hubby had no hesitation in selecting Vodafone One Net Business to deliver the speed of response and flexibility so crucial to its business success. The distinctive Hire A Hubby brand and service is steadily expanding throughout England and Wales, with interest from potential new franchisees growing month-by month.
“When a Hubby goes to a customer to do a job, it’s essential that they have the right tools to do the job quickly, efficiently and to the right quality. That’s exactly how I think of our One Net Business platform – the right tool for the job,” says Gerry. This highly streamlined, cloud-based service ensures that all calls are routed to wherever staff are located, day or night. If a call handler needs to work at home for family reasons or because of bad weather, they simply access the system remotely and work normally from home. If calls are not answered within 20 seconds,
they are automatically redirected to Gerry’s mobile. When office staff go home for the evening, calls are again forwarded to Gerry at his home or on his travels throughout the UK. It’s business as usual with Vodafone One Net Business.
“It’s very clever and its beauty is that it keeps everything so simple,” says Gerry. “We just don’t miss any calls, and we know that customers appreciate that one call, to a single number, will get an immediate response from us.”
“Equally every call is a potential sale. It’s very reassuring to know that, thanks to Vodafone, we are not missing any chances to win new customers. We can log all incoming calls and feed new opportunities to our franchisees by text, email and calls, helping them build their own regional businesses – and ours at the same time.
“We have a five-year contract for Vodafone One Net Business, the quality of the network is great, we get a single bill, it’s so easy to administer and we can just get on with building Hire A Hubby. It’s that simple.”
The ideal platform for growth
“Our plan is very simple, to expand and grow Hire A Hubby by helping our franchisees to grow their own businesses and by increasing our network of franchisees,” says Gerry. “Having Vodafone One Net Business is the ideal platform for us to achieve this and we can demonstrate that the model works to potential franchisees.
“And our franchisees can join the Hire a Hubby network and enjoy the benefits, even if they are currently tied to another provider.” “I’m aware that we are not currently making full use of all of the services and possibilities that One Net Business offers, we’re just using what we need right now. But it’s reassuring to know that, as we grow, and our needs expand, Vodafone will be able to assist us with additional products and services as and when we need them.
“I’ve been a Vodafone customer personally since 1985 and I’ve had great service for more than 30 years. I like the continuity, confidence and certainty that a long-term relationship provides – and it is pleasing that this is now extending into my business arrangements.”
Around the globe, our network reaches 184 countries.
We provide the underlying transport network, the virtual overlay, and the platform to prioritise everything.