Rydal Ticked All The Boxes - Please take the time to read
A corporate decision saw us move our broadband and telephone system to a new provider who offered a more favourable package both financially and in terms of the services offered and they commissioned Rydal, who would be responsible for the planning, the supply of all equipment, installation and every part of the operational requirements, both during installation and moving forward. Within our company I have the responsibility for the entire system in relation to requirements and operational needs and therefore my interaction with Rydal was immense. Our order consisted of 75 fixed desk handsets and 11 walkabout telephones over 20 different sites in addition to the broadband installs, new fibre cabling involving (sadly) Openreach, who performance and organisation was abysmal.
From the start Rydal sought to introduce any relevant personnel and explain the part they would play. It was also an opportunity to ensure clear lines of communication were established and our expectations could be clearly defined.
Our key individual was our Project Co-ordinator, Angela Melvin and I can say with all sincerity that I don’t know what we would have done without her, she was an absolute star and poor Angela had to pick up all the shortfalls of Openreach, which she did admirably. This was quite a sizeable project with many complexities and restrictions owing to the nature of our business where a service had to remain 24/7 and be worked around staff shift patterns etc so hurdles were going to appear from time to time, but each time they were presented she would overcome and resolved in a calm and civilised fashion. Angela was never once phased; she would use such a fantastic phrase when I called her with an issue it was ‘leave it with me’ and you could be confident that it would be dealt with and outcomes fed back. Her tenacity and commitment to task was nothing short of commendable. If anyone heard me speaking with her you would think I was talking to a friend – our professional relationship went from strength to strength. If anything arose that she was unsure of, she was not too proud, given her knowledge and experience, she would refer and discuss with colleagues ensuring at all times that the correct information was relayed back.
She was so instrumental to ensure that the installation was planned with absolute precision, and the installers were 1st Class (Simon and Will) who made every effort ensure client satisfaction and their necessary interaction with our IT engineers was superb as was Angela’s. Our ‘Down Time’ on switchover day was absolutely minimal and scheduled accordingly owing to company needs. Personally I cannot thank her enough for her support and assistance.
Dion O’Byrne (Chanel Growth & Strategy) was another individual who played a key part from the offset and was always there to ensure customer satisfaction and that all initially discussed requirements to be achieved were fully met upon completion and that we had an effective operating system and equipment. There were No empty promises which can so often be the case when trying to clinch a deal.
Training on the system was comprehensive and if in doubt there was always someone to bail you out and put you on the right track.
Of course I was sceptical initially as I was happy with our old providers and the system we were using, however now we are all fully equipped, and the system is complete I would recommend Rydal without a shadow of a doubt and I am so very pleased we moved over – the system is excellent, the portal is so user friendly and every single one of them at Rydal are at the end of a phone, more than happy to assist – If they say they will call you back, you can rest assured that they will. If you were in doubt as to whether to change suppliers I would recommend ‘Move Providers’ as I am so sure you would not be disappointed.
Val Alder
Personal Assistant to the MD and Head of Co. Administration
Ethelbert Children’s Services - 1st March 2026