Our fast broadband for rural businesses is helping them thrive, grow and transform. We spoke to former farmer Stephen Gorwood, owner of the Black Bull Inn in East Halton, North Lincolnshire, to hear his story.
Tell us about your business and what you do
The Black Bull Inn is a public house and restaurant with 23 rooms, including seven self-contained flats, and I’ve been here since 2011.
East Halton is a small, rural village ideally situated next to Humber ports, refineries and industry, which creates a demand from contractors and people coming to work in the area, and I’m fortunate to welcome people from all over the country.
We also host christenings, birthday parties and other occasions, we’re an overflow for residents if they don’t have enough room when their families come to stay, and we have a mobile bar which we take to events.
We offer a full restaurant service on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday lunchtimes, as well as a stripped down version of our menu for guests staying with us at all other times.
How important is fast and reliable broadband for rural businesses to you?
It’s extremely important. The only time I’ve ever had anybody check out was for lack of Wi-Fi when it wasn’t functioning correctly but that was pre-Covid and pre-Quickline.
We rely on a good connection not only for the administrative side of business but for our card machines, which need to work swiftly and efficiently. Broadband for rural businesses is also needed for guests who like to use streaming services in their rooms, and for streaming the music on our system in the pub, restaurant and in the garden areas.
If people are away from home, they want to use Facetime or Skype and a good quality Wi-Fi signal is absolutely essential.
As we’ve moved over to Quickline, it works extremely well. If we have a function, guests can play their own playlists. It’s been some time since we’ve seen that little buffering symbol.
What was your previous broadband experience like?
I’m old enough to remember dial up! Before Quickline, I had three routers connected to a load balancer, which was reasonable, and if one of the routers dropped out the other two picked up the slack. Everything goes down the full fibre Quickline connection now.
I’ve gained three times the speed and I’m spending less per month to do that, so it was a no brainer. I wanted a true fibre to business connection and Quickline was first to offer that. The cost of the package is very sensible.
Why did you choose Quickline?
I’d asked my previous provider about installing full fibre on a number of occasions and they had no intention of doing so, so it was as good as it could get at the time. I feared we’d struggle with capacity because we’ve recently added more rooms to the accommodation side of the business.
I wanted to futureproof our connection long-term and Quickline offers reliability, connectivity and speed. When Quickline came along, I did some background research and compared them to other providers in the area and they seemed to be running a smooth and efficient service, including regarding the installation of the required infrastructure. I thought I’d get behind that and I’m very pleased I did. It’s been a very smooth transition.
Tell us about the service you receive from Quickline
It’s absolutely first class. The engineers who came to make the installation were very helpful. Everything is neat and tidy and I haven’t had to touch a single thing.
I’ve received a very good, professional service. If I ask for support, it’s there and if Quickline say they’ll get back to you, they do. It’s priceless.
I would highly recommend Quickline because it’s a very favourable package and the speeds they promise are there. The more I find out about Quickline, the more I like it.
How has Quickline helped your business?
It’s been a very symbiotic approach. Quickline have been very good in supporting the community here, with a quiz night and helping with promotion for Mothering Sunday.
But when anyone has asked me about Quickline, I’ve also been very positive. I’ve told them you can get fibre straight to your property and receive a good, reliable service, achieving the speeds Quickline promise. In each case where Quickline has been involved with a local resident here, they have achieved or exceeded that speed.
One of the greatest speed changes I have seen since using Quickline is our card machines. When you complete a card transaction it goes straight through and that pause time has been removed.
How important is Quickline to your business?
I don’t have any worries about loading onto the system now. For example, if a contractor staying here and working locally brings their own gaming machine, they’re sharing it with many others on site.
The bandwidth data capacity I’ve got should readily be able to serve that.
Quickline staff are spreading the word in communities that otherwise wouldn’t get connected for a long, long time to come. I like their ethos.
What advice would you give to other rural businesses struggling with connectivity?
I would recommend a proper fibre connection and if Quickline is available in their area, choose them. I’ve already recommended Quickline and the proof is in the pudding. My customers can come in and connect to fast and reliable Wi-Fi straight away. Going forward, I have every confidence I’m in very good hands with Quickline.
Stephen Gorwood’s experience with Quickline highlights the transformative power of fast and reliable broadband for rural businesses. With seamless connectivity, enhanced customer experience, and dependable support, Quickline has futureproofed his business. Want to see how Quickline can improve your connectivity? Follow Quickline on LinkedIn and explore more customer success stories here.
