12 | T T Kim Bowden Commitment to excellence set in stone Unifone New Zealand REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Providing connectivity Unifone’s strength lies in offering flexible plans, local staff and a responsive field team. Wānaka Stone T T Bernadette Cooney “We can cut bigger, longer bits of stone for the stonemasons, which they love, and it’s so much easier on bodies.” Otago regional internet and mobile service provider Unifone was honoured as a finalist in the prestigious Grand Business South Awards, in the Excellence in Customer Experience category. Recognised for its customer-centric business model and local ground-level responsiveness, the nomination is powerful acknowledgment of what drives the company. Unifone is a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) with bases in Dunedin and Balclutha, deploying Wi-Fi, FWA (4G/5G), DSL, fibre and mobile phone solutions across hardto-reach areas of Dunedin and wider Otago. Unifone business development manager Paul Johnson says the award recognition reflects its core values, breadth of service, and customer-first culture. “It reflects the culture we’ve built. Unifone are all about fast, reliable internet, and being reachable and staying local.” He says Unifone’s strength lies in offering flexible plans, local staff and a responsive field team. A family business operating two quarries in Central Otago is celebrating a hat-trick of nominations at this year’s Grand Business South Awards. Wānaka Stone, run by husband-and-wife team Lucy and Grant Middendorf, has built a reputation for supplying quality schist from its quarries at Tarras and Poolburn. And while, as Lucy puts it, “the product sells itself”, the pair never takes success for granted, and their commitment to innovation, excellence and customer service has earned them recognition from the judges at this year’s awards. Ranging from grey to brown, with quartz streaks, the schist is iconic Central Otago stone and is woven into the region’s history and landscape. “People love it; people want to use it,” Lucy says. At Wānaka Stone, though, looking after people is as important as the rock they work with. Quarrying is physical, demanding work, and Lucy and Grant make it a priority to look after their crew. “We say we’re here to break rocks, not people,” Lucy says. “It’s really hard work, so we’ve invested in tools and machinery that make the job easier – but we also noticed that people weren’t spending money on preventative maintenance for their own health.” To encourage that, the company set up a wellbeing fund, giving every staff member $100 a month to spend on anything that supports their health and wellbeing. “We’ve got all these processes for maintaining machines,” Lucy says, “so why wouldn’t we do the same for our bodies?” Wānaka Stone has invested heavily in technology that makes quarry work safer and more efficient – from importing advanced guillotines with modern hydraulics, to upgrading existing machines with similar tech. The result is less strain on staff and a better product for customers. “It’s these little things that save a lot of effort and give a better-quality product,” Lucy says. “We can cut bigger, longer bits of stone for the stonemasons, which they love, and it’s so much easier on bodies.” The team has grown to around seven staff, with more recruits on the way as the business expands. Most start at entry level and work their way up, gaining formal training along the way. Some have completed apprenticeships, and one has even qualified as a quarry manager – a reflection of the company’s focus on developing its people from within. Grant brings valuable expertise from his former career as an explosives specialist with the army. Traditional quarry blasting can shatter too much surrounding rock, wasting usable material. “He’s come up with some clever ways of dissipating that initial energy, so we don’t crush the rock around the blast,” says Lucy. “We get to use pretty much all the rock every time we blast – it’s far more efficient.” Customer service is another cornerstone of Wānaka Stone’s success. The company surveys its clients every few years, and last year’s results came back with an impressive 9.8 out of 10 for customer service. “We’ve always worked hard to accommodate what people are looking for with stone,” Lucy says. “We just build really good relationships with people. We supply a lot of solutions to problems – people can give us a call, and we’ll help them figure out how to make something work.” “Fairness is one of our values and is critical to everything we do,” Lucy says. “If you ring someone up here, you don’t go through to an overseas call centre. You speak to a local person, and we can dispatch a local technician,” says Paul. From rural farms and provincial businesses to urban residential and small business solutions, Unifone offers fibre and wireless broadband, mobile and home phone plus tailored phone and data bundles for small business. “We’re increasingly offering more business phone, data and mobile plans for smaller work crews throughout the region,” says Paul. “The cloud based modern equivalent of what we used to call PABX systems for tailored calling options and call forwarding and related services, which can be bundled together and streamlined into a single bill.” By owning its infrastructure, Unifone operates its own wireless network and server hosting which allows it to respond quickly to local conditions, rather than depend on third party response. Unifone has a staff of 19 operating a network of more than 60 cell towers and 200 radio repeaters across the region, ensuring reliable connections and one-stop shop convenience. 106 George Street | 03 471 7000 | info@yourpeople.co.nz | www.yourpeople.co.nz Successfully connecting employers and employees since 2008 Specialists in permanent and temporary recruitment across New Zealand LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES HIAB HIRE BULK CARTAGE ALLIED FUEL STOP UPPER CLUTHA TRANSPORT Wanaka Ph: 03 443 8221 E: wanaka@uct.co.nz W: www.uppercluthatransport.co.nz 021 999 649 | clydehiab@yahoo.com NEED A LIFT ? CLYDE HIAB SERVICES GENERAL HIAB SERVICE
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