Global restaurant group switches to hosted telephony, providing accurate call data, simplified support and an enhanced guest experience.

"With GTN's help, we've improved the customer service journey. GTN clearly cares about Hawksmoor as well as their product. They're collaborative, helpful and hands-on."

Alex Grace-Smith, Group Head of Reservations UK/IRE/USA.

About Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor is an award-winning international restaurant group serving steak and sustainable seafood. After opening its first restaurant in London in 2006, Hawksmoor has expanded to 14 restaurants across the UK, Ireland and the US. As well as providing a high-end dining experience, Hawksmoor is famous for its dry-aged steaks, which are ethically reared from small farms in each country. Hawksmoor was the first UK restaurant to be awarded B Corp Certification. It has also been recognised as a 'Best Company to Work For' in the UK for 12 consecutive years.

The Challenge

Growing a global restaurant group with multiple legacy phone systems

Every guest experience starts long before they sit down at the table. Making a reservation gives guests a first taste of the restaurant's customer service. That's why a key business goal for Hawksmoor in 2024 was to replace its phone systems with a modern alternative. The restaurant group had used legacy phone systems for 15 years; however, they were coming to end of life and could no longer provide the best guest experience.

"The previous phone systems were implemented when we were a brand of three or four restaurants. But as we'd grown, they hadn't grown with us," said Alex Grace-Smith, Group Head of Reservations UK/IRE/USA

A major problem with the legacy systems was that they could not supply Hawksmoor with data on its inbound call volumes and the types of calls received. The restaurant group needed this information to make informed decisions about its business strategy and where to allocate staff. 

"We wanted to delve into the data and create better reporting on whether the calls were sales calls or general enquiries."

What's more, Hawksmoor's New York restaurant operated on a different platform from the rest of the business in the UK and Ireland. With a further restaurant opening in Chicago that year, Hawksmoor wanted a single system to align the US sites with those in the UK and Ireland.

"It was very important for us to have an international partner to bring everything under one umbrella and one system."

The Solution

Choosing a trusted partner with a hosted telephony service

Hawksmoor chose GTN because it showed a collaborative spirit in all the conversations they had. The team's attention to service mirrored the importance that the restaurant group gave to it. In addition to the proposed telephony solution, GTN's rollout plans also included hands-on support from skilled engineers to address every detail in each restaurant.

"The product's capabilities were a big factor because the solution had the reporting we needed around the call context. But GTN also felt like a team of genuinely nice people who cared about Hawksmoor as well as their product. And they were a lot more collaborative than other companies."

GTN's solution replaced Hawksmoor's multiple legacy managed services with one hosted telephony service. The restaurant group would now benefit from a single management team and support desk in the UK. It would also receive one invoice for all telephony services to its restaurants worldwide.

The Hawksmoor team worked closely with GTN to plan the new system's rollout and minimise disruption in the restaurants. Engineers arrived at each site at 8am, changed all the hardware and checked the routing before the restaurant staff arrived at 10am. GTN completed implementation across the 14 restaurants on schedule within two and a half weeks. 

"It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be, putting a whole new phone system into 11 sites in the UK alone. The engineers were so helpful and very hands-on. They showed the team how the system worked, how to transfer calls and all the day-to-day things we needed for the restaurants."

The Results:

Enhanced customer experience and data-driven decisions

Guest experience is paramount for Hawksmoor, even during reservation or enquiry calls. While that was not always possible with its old phone systems, the restaurant group now delivers an exceptional experience from the start.

"The new phone system allows us to provide a high-end customer experience from the very first touch point. The main improvement is a massive reduction in missed and abandoned calls, so calls are getting answered and we've improved the customer service journey."

The other significant improvement since using the hosted telephony service is accurate reporting on call data.

"Data helps us drive decisions around how to structure the business. We get about 5,500 inbound calls a week through the system, and 36% of them are customers calling to make a reservation. Knowing that has helped us to prioritise calls for reservations over general enquiries."

The data also showed that 6% of the restaurant group's calls were around private dining and high-value bookings. As this was lower than anticipated, Hawksmoor has restructured its sales team to focus more on proactive sales.

Looking ahead – A taste of what’s next

Armed with clearer data and sharper insight, Hawksmoor is now exploring how AI and automation could further enhance the guest journey, particularly for handling FAQs and general enquiries.

But the restaurant group is not tackling it alone. When Hawksmoor shared its vision, GTN built a custom demo product to show what AI automation could look like. The demo included a tailored solution, rather than an off-the-shelf tool, designed around Hawksmoor's unique needs.

While conversations are ongoing, the goal is clear: keep the human touch where it counts, deflect the noise and make every guest feel like the VIP they are. “We’re looking at ways to deflect those low-value interactions so our team can focus on the conversations that really matter.”