Padre Dam Partners with Vertical & 8×8 to Transform Its Communications

Padre Dam Municipal Water District

Padre Dam Municipal Water District, a water district serving over 100,000 people in Santee, CA, recognized that an upgrade to their older phones and contact center was long overdue. They aimed to find a modern solution that would eliminate costly hardware and bring the contact center and virtual office into one platform. Seamless integration with their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and reservation system was crucial.

Vertical and 8×8: The Best Solution on the Market

Leadership at Padre Dam partnered with Com-Strat Consultants to develop the Request For Proposal (RFP), select the vendor, and negotiate the contract negotiation. By staying closely involved through the process, Com-Strat’s effort was critical to the success of the project. In response to the RFP, Vertical presented the 8×8 XCaaS solution, a combined unified communications and contact center platform, that seamlessly integrated with Padre Dam’s unique CRM.

The Padre Dam team selected Vertical. “We liked the fact that the system that Vertical offered had the only integrated contact center and virtual office solution,” says David Salinard, Padre Dam’s Information Systems Manager. As the system was cloud-based, installation, deployment, setup, and training went smoothly and quickly. The Vertical project team demonstrated responsiveness and attention to detail throughout the process.

It was a really good experience. I found Vertical to be very responsive, very detail-oriented. They’re always available for extra calls and trainings. You really feel like you’re getting that personal service.

David Salinard, Information Systems Manager

An Impressively Smooth, Quick, and Easy Installation

The system was operational on the same day as installation, and all phones were deployed within a couple of days. Compared to traditional desk phones, many employees preferred the desktop app and the user-friendly Unified Communications features like voicemail transcripts delivered via e-mail and seamless calendar integration.

Big Savings and Upgraded Features by Going to the Cloud

Implementing the cloud-based 8×8 solution enabled Padre Dam to save on hardware costs while ensuring security and reliability. Features such as a full call history and an integrated directory are significant improvements.

With custom integration built out by Vertical, the contact center now integrates seamlessly with their reservation software. Before, users were placed on hold while the agent looked up their information. Now, says David, “When somebody calls in, they just click on the phone number and it pops up with all their account and reservation information from the system with just a single click.” It’s a game changer for handle time and for the end customer experience.

A Flawlessly Functioning Communications System

After 5 months with the new system, the employees couldn’t be happier. They appreciate the extensive modern feature set that represents a substantial upgrade. Furthermore, the system functions flawlessly. The Vertical team consistently checks in and ensures smooth operations. Padre Dam’s IT team has only needed to submit a small number of support tickets since the “go-live” week, and those they have submitted were settled with responsiveness for a solid resolution.