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A man stands beside a large pile of steel pipes, showcasing industrial materials in a construction setting.

How GetPipe.com scales customer engagement with AI

GetPipe.com logo . c om A Division of Hempel Pipe & Supply
Region
Americas
Company size
20–99
Industry
Retail
Products used
AI Solutions logo
Business Communications logo
KEY METRICS
≈100%
calls accurately routed
by AI Receptionist
38%
time savings
92%
calls resolved
by AI Receptionist

Overview

GetPipe.com faced a breakdown in customer engagement as rapid e-commerce growth overwhelmed its small service team. By implementing RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR), the company automated its front-line response, helping the team reclaim 38% of its time each day for more productive work than answering phones. This automation also eliminated internal "call-bouncing," drastically reduced employee stress, and established a professional global presence while freeing the team to focus on high-value sales.
Our customer service staff was stretched thin. The AI Receptionist is streamlining inbound calls by directing them to the right place, freeing up approximately three hours per day, per person.
Corbin Lichty-DeWitt
, 
eCommerce Operations Manager

About our customer

GetPipe.com, a division of Hempel Pipe & Supply based in Davenport, Iowa, has provided a full line of industrial pipes, valves, and fittings since 1984. The family-owned distributor transitioned from a local parts focus to a high-volume international e-commerce leader that competes with global giants like Home Depot.

The challenge: Drowning in e-commerce success

Adding an e-commerce presence led to massive company growth almost immediately, sending order volume from 50 per week to 200 per day, which left the small customer service team completely bombarded by phone calls. As this rapid growth continued long-term, nearly doubling year after year, the team grew accustomed to a constant state of distraction and inefficiency, as every ring required an employee to drop their current task to answer the main line.
 
  • Underwhelming Service: Customers were frequently transferred from department to department before reaching the correct person, which created a disappointing customer experience at odds with GetPipe.com’s reputation for excellent service.
  • Inefficient Workflows: An outdated phone system forced employees to manually answer and route every call, which led to frequent interruptions of employees’ projects.

The solution and ROI: Leveraging AI automation to scale

To address its overwhelming call volume and growing frustration for staff and customers, GetPipe.com transitioned to RingCentral. Replacing manual call routing with AI Receptionist has led to significant and quantifiable improvements.
 
  • AIR automates 92% of all inbound calls, using tailored greetings and keywords to route callers to the correct department with nearly 100% accuracy.
  • AIR saves each employee approximately three hours per day, approximately an average time savings of 38%, which allows staff to focus on core sales and service tasks instead of manual call direction.
  • AIR Analytics empowers the owner to review usage during peak hours, enabling data-driven decisions for managing staff more effectively.
RingEX AI Receptionist dashboard showing profile choices.

What’s next for GetPipe.com

The team recognizes that their current success is only the beginning of their AI journey. They plan to further leverage AIR by integrating built-in texting capabilities and strategic platform connections to reach the next level of scale. By embracing these modern tools, GetPipe.com ensures its 40-year legacy of industrial expertise is powered by a future-proof communication infrastructure.
To learn more, visit GetPipe.com.

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