Scaling Phone Messaging Across Multiple Branches

Ask a customer what they think of a national retailer and they will describe the shops. Ask them after a frustrating phone call and you will get a very different answer.

For businesses with more than one location, the phone line is where brand consistency is most likely to slip. Every branch has its own hours, its own directions and its own team, and without a system in place each one ends up sounding different.

The challenge of the multi-site phone line

Hobbycraft is the UK's leading arts and crafts retailer, with stores hosting workshops as well as selling supplies. When they approached us they had 45 branches and a clear objective: a streamlined, professional phone service across all of them.

They needed each caller to hear:

• Confirmation of which branch they had reached
• Clear directions to that store
• Accurate opening hours for each day
• A simple, easy to follow menu

That sounds straightforward until you multiply it by 45 locations, each with different details and each needing to sound like the same welcoming brand.

How we approached it

The solution was a template with room for local detail.

A shared script structure.
We worked with Hobbycraft to build a script framework that carried the brand's tone consistently, then populated the variable sections with branch-specific information.

One consistent voice.
We selected a voiceover artist from our professional voice talent roster whose delivery matched the warmth and accessibility of the Hobbycraft brand. Using a single voice across every branch means customers hear the same company wherever they call.

Clear menu design.
The IVR menu options were kept short and practical, prioritising the information callers actually rang for.

The result

Callers now reach the right location with the information they need, which has taken pressure off in-store staff who previously fielded repetitive questions about directions and opening times.

More importantly, the system scaled. What began as a 45-branch project has grown with the business to 124 branches over a 15-year partnership, with the same standard applied to every new store.

Read the full case study: Hobbycraft

What multi-site businesses should take from this

Build the template before you need it.
Adding a branch to an existing framework takes days. Retrofitting consistency across 40 inconsistent recordings takes months.

Decide what is fixed and what is local.
Brand tone, menu structure and voice should be fixed. Address, hours and directions are local. Being explicit about the split prevents drift.

Answer the questions staff are tired of.
Directions and opening hours are the two most common calls for any retail site. Putting them in the greeting reduces call volume immediately.

Plan for seasonal changes.
Bank holidays, late-night trading and Christmas hours all need updating. A managed arrangement handles this without anyone in the business having to remember.

Frequently asked questions

Can each branch have different opening hours in the same system?
Yes. Each branch receives its own recorded message with its own hours, using shared brand wording throughout.

Should every branch use the same voiceover artist?
In most cases, yes. A single voice is the simplest way to make a large estate of locations sound like one organisation.

How quickly can new branches be added?
Once the template exists, adding a new location is usually a matter of supplying the branch details and approving a short script.

Related reading: What 15 years of client projects teach us about phone communication