Customer Spotlights

Kollective is a new breed of automotive brand that proudly sells and services some of the world's most luxurious and iconic brands, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Audi, Jaguar, and Land Rover. Reflecting the changing global marketplace and how customers shop, the dealership operates physical retail destinations in New York, New Jersey, and Texas, and also virtually supports digital destinations worldwide. The company's goal is to deliver an express indelible luxury customer shopping experience, so Kollective’s connectivity must be as reliable as the cars they sell to optimize the customer experience.

Robert Ramellini, the IT Director of Kollective, has seen first-hand how the right connectivity is a component critical to business growth. “Having reliable Internet connectivity is invaluable,” states Ramellini. From conducting business online, moving applications and data to the Cloud, and interacting with customers, vendors, manufacturers, data centers, and each other, the dealerships need to be able to depend on fast, 24/7/365 connectivity.

However, meeting the need for connectivity can be a challenge for a company that spans areas where reliable Internet connections may not be widely available. "It's surprising to think that in this day and age and in the USA, that there are places you can't get a reliable Internet connection," states Ramellini. But in fact, this was the issue at Kollective’s dealership in Southampton, NY, when Ramellini first came onboard. At that time, they only had a DSL connection which meant the dealership experienced the impact of frequent unplanned network outages common in older wired technologies like DSL.

“Any loss of connectivity means we can’t sell a car, service a car, sell a part, or serve our customers. “Today, cars need to be connected to the manufacturer to do any diagnostics on the car. Without a reliable Internet connection, technicians cannot do their jobs efficiently and safely.” Reliable connectivity is especially important as it impacts ranking in the J.D. Power U.S. Customer Service Index which examines customer satisfaction with maintenance and repair service at new-vehicle dealerships which is tied to revenue.

Ramellini’s top priorities of reliability, cost, and especially support led him to Lightpath. Lightpath was able to serve the location that many others could not, and built a 500 Mbps all-fiber Internet circuit, helping Kollective maintain robust, reliable connectivity. “Moving to Lightpath was like going from the Stone Age to the future,” states Ramellini. “They took a problem location and made it no problem at all.”

“We are a small IT department, servicing a lot of users, so I rely on Lightpath for quick, reliable, and effective support. Unlike other providers who can keep you on hold for 45 minutes or more, I know that in the rare instance I need to call Lightpath, someone picks up within one minute and I am immediately speaking with an engineer who expedites resolution.”

Now with Lightpath as their direct Internet connection, Kollective does not have to be restricted to where they choose to expand. Lightpath’s responsive and proactive support also lowers the risk of downtime and provides Kollective peace of mind. “I get notification emails when we're expecting a winter storm. Lightpath informs us that they're monitoring the situation and ready to respond in case of any emergencies.”

Kollective’s customers expect high-end service when they're paying for a luxury automobile. Lightpath also offers unparalleled service centered around a customer-first consultative model. “I would consider Lightpath to be the high-end dealer of Internet services and our growth partner. So, I think our partnership is a perfect fit,” confirms Ramellini.

To see how Lightpath connectivity can help your business get a competitive advantage, contact your Account Executive or call 877‑544‑4872.