Overview
For more than 15 years, POPP has provided dependable business telephone service for a well-known Twin Cities pizza chain with eight restaurant locations throughout the metro area.
As the business has grown and technology has evolved, POPP has helped the client modernize one location at a time—keeping every restaurant connected while avoiding unnecessary disruption. Today, six locations use POPP’s Cloud Phone System, while two locations continue using POPP’s Internet Phone Service lines with their existing PBX phone equipment until replacement becomes practical.
Because every incoming call represents business revenue, dependable telephone service isn’t just important—it’s essential.
To protect client privacy, company names and identifying details have been modified or omitted. Images are for illustrative purposes only.
The Challenge
When POPP first partnered with the client, each restaurant relied on traditional copper POTS telephone lines connected to aging on-premise PBX phone systems.
As those systems reached the end of their useful life, the client needed a practical way to modernize without replacing every location at once. Their goals included:
- Keeping every restaurant available to receive incoming phone orders.
- Replacing aging phone equipment with minimal cost and disruption.
- Lowering ongoing telephone service costs where possible.
- Continuing to support fax machines and fire alarm communication panels.
- Having a local support team that could respond quickly whenever problems occurred.
For a busy restaurant, even a short phone outage can mean missed orders, disappointed customers, and lost revenue.
The Solution
Rather than recommending a complete system replacement across all locations, POPP worked with the client over many years to upgrade each restaurant as the timing made sense.
The solution included:
- Replacing legacy POTS lines with POPP Internet Phone Service lines.
- Installing POPP Cloud Phone Systems as older PBX systems reached end of life.
- Installing IP desk phones and cordless phones wherever employees needed convenient access to calls.
- Enabling smartphone calling app capability for restaurant managers who want the flexibility to make and take business calls using the business phone number from anywhere.
- Continuing to support fax lines at each location.
- Providing POPP’s managed network equipment package, including a business firewall and Power over Ethernet (PoE) network switch to securely connect and power the IP phones.
- Installing POPP Wireless Phone Service at locations with fire alarm panels requiring dependable connectivity.
Today, the client benefits from modern communications while upgrading locations on a schedule that fits their business—not someone else’s.
Investment & Value
Instead of replacing every restaurant’s phone system at once, the client chose to modernize as existing equipment reached the end of its useful life. This phased approach allowed them to spread investments over time while immediately benefiting from lower-cost Internet Phone Service, modern cloud communications where needed, and continued support from a single trusted local provider.
By aligning technology upgrades with the natural replacement cycle of each location, the client avoided unnecessary capital expenses while steadily improving reliability across the organization. Plus, POPP provides them with a fully-managed phone system, meaning POPP takes care of all phone system related changes for them at no additional cost. This saves time for managers who can simply call POPP instead of spending valuable time learning to manage and troubleshoot the system themselves.
The Results
Over more than 15 years of partnership with POPP, the restaurant chain has been able to:
- Modernize communications on a schedule that made business sense.
- Replace aging PBX systems without disrupting restaurant operations.
- Reduce recurring telephone service costs by replacing legacy POTS lines.
- Standardize communications across cloud-enabled locations supporting nearly 50 phone users.
- Continue supporting fax machines and life-safety equipment where required.
- Give restaurant managers additional flexibility with desktop and mobile softphone applications.
- Rely on one local communications partner for every location, with free fully-managed phone system administration.
Most importantly, the client knows that whenever a problem arises, POPP’s local support team is only a phone call away—helping keep incoming customer orders flowing and minimizing downtime.
Supporting Retail & Hospitality Businesses Across the Twin Cities
Restaurants, retail stores, and hospitality businesses depend on reliable communications every day. Whether you’re answering customer calls, processing takeout orders, supporting multiple locations, or maintaining life-safety systems, dependable phone service directly impacts customer satisfaction and revenue.
For more than 45 years, POPP has helped Twin Cities businesses modernize their communications with practical solutions, responsive local support, and technology that simply works.
Ready to Modernize Your Business Communications?
Whether you’re operating a single storefront or multiple locations across the Twin Cities, POPP can help you modernize your communications on your schedule without disrupting your business.