Gumley House School

When Gumley House School put its print contract out to tender five years ago, it wasn’t driven by cost. The school had endured years of unreliable devices, cancelled appointments and extended periods of downtime – and enough was enough.

Gumley House set out to find a supplier that would provide the latest equipment, attend breakdowns swiftly and deliver against their promises, and it found IBS Office Solutions. Having worked with IBS in a previous role, school business leader David Carlin knew he could rely on Caleb and his team to provide exceptional service.

IBS Office Solutions has now been the preferred supplier at Gumley House for five years. Over that period, the company has taken the time to understand the unique requirements of the school, which comprises of eight different blocks, and installed a mixed fleet of devices, each suited to a particular location and type of printing. For example, in the reprographics department, high-volume multifunction printers have the ability to staple, vastly increasing the speed of each major print job.

All the devices are fully managed with the latest PaperCut software, an advanced print management system which allows the school to track printing by individual, department and device, and restrict the ability of pupils to print materials. IBS also monitors print volumes and printer status remotely and makes proactive recommendations based on usage and service issues.

“We don’t award contracts purely on price; customer service is of equal if not greater importance to us. We needed a company we could rely on to repair breakdowns in a timely manner and so reduce the amount of downtime, and I was confident that IBS would deliver on this front. As it happens, they were extremely competitive on price too.”

David Carlin, School Business Leader
Gumley House School

“Our relationship with IBS Office Solutions feels very open and transparent,” said David. “Caleb will always answer any questions honestly, even if he doesn’t know the answer right away. There’s no trying to get away with it, he simply says he’ll get back to us – and we have total confidence he’ll deliver on that promise.

“The same applies to servicing and maintenance. Engineers arrive when they should, are personable and DBS checked. They communicate with us about the issue and expected timescales, and stick to them. And in a busy school, this level of reliability is crucial.”

MIXED FLEET DEVICES

STUDENTS

YEAR RELATIONSHIP

Gumley House School is a Catholic secondary school for girls with 1150 students aged 11 to 18 and 120 staff. Located in Isleworth, West London, it has a strong academic record and has been awarded the World Class Schools Quality Mark in recognition of students’ performance.