Company History

All Phase was founded by Rick Giddens in 1986 with a philosophy of delivering "whatever it takes" customer service. After working in the industry for several years, Rick knew companies in the market were unhappy with the service they were getting from various telecommunications providers so Rick seized the opportunity to found his business under an umbrella of world-class customer service. As All Phase quickly grew in its first year, Sandi left her position at Interconnect (where the two had met) to join the All Phase team. Twenty years later, All Phase is ranked in the top 10 percent among hundreds of ShoreTel dealers nationwide.

Their goals

With the mission of "whatever it takes" customer service, All Phase put several goals in motion:

• Sell and service cutting edge phone systems
• Package installation and service solutions
• Build trusted relationships
• Provide prompt response time

In fact, when the company was founded, cell phones were very rare and very big. Rick's first cell phone was almost as large as a briefcase, but he carried it everywhere so he could be available to his clients all the time.

In its first year, All Phase launched several marketing initiatives to get the word out. One campaign that even current clients can recall is their first direct marketing piece, which was a 3" x 5" postcard sent to a customer list they built from previous jobs, networking and a list of referrals from existing clients (some of which had migrated with Rick and Sandi from the Toshiba dealership).

First clients — who are still clients today!

• Pike Place Market, Seattle's first and longest operating public market space on the waterfront.
• Equitable Life Insurance (now AXA Equitable), a leading issuer of life insurance and annuity products.
• Olympic Brake Supply, the northwest's most complete undercar and underhood parts company.

Secrets of success

Rick and Sandi both believe the secrets to their success have been:

1. Good service to customers. As proof, they grew in 2001 when others were failing. They continued to get good referrals year after year from their customers.
2. Employees. To provide good service to customers, All Phase knew it had to have educated employees who cared about their clients and did whatever it took to make them happy.
3. Technology. All Phase has always focused on delivering the best and most current technology available. This strategy is good for customers because All Phase stays on top of the "best of breed" systems so they always know what systems will work best for their customer requirements.

Accomplishments

Over the years, All Phase has grown and has improved on processes and now prides itself on being able to handle large projects such as the one for pharmaceutical company Amfac (now called Cardinal Health) where a team of just three people put in a large PBX system. The rollout was a success!

In 1996, All Phase bought Communications Service which gave them the opportunity to work with some new customers including Seattle-based Car Toys, the largest independent retailer of mobile entertainment and wireless phones in the nation.

The All Phase team works hard every day to take care of its customers. In fact, customer service is engrained in its culture so working with All Phase is very rewarding from both client and employee perspectives.

Rick Giddens knows, "We have the best technical group in the industry. They are very professional, very experienced." The All Phase team has worked hard to build its reputation in the industry and finds they are able to consistently bring on great, core people to help them grow and add to their knowledge base. Many employees have the standard certifications, which is how they find them, but then Rick goes the extra mile to refine their customer service skills and teach them how to work together. It's what clients call a magic combination!

Customer service continues to this day to be a top priority with integrity as a number one goal. Rick and Sandi trust their tech's abilities to look out for their best interest and clients trust them to do this too.

Rick and Sandy wanted a symbol to represent the importance of the customer. They wanted to make sure every employee knew when a customer was calling. So Rick spray painted their customer support phone red – and called it the "Batman phone."

When All Phase first launched, the company focused on service and installation. As the business grew, customers began to ask All Phase for equipment recommendations – so much so, it became the first word on the company's description line.