J.P. Licks Hand-Churned Ice Cream Cafes Scoop Up Customers With Comcast Business WiFi

BOSTON, July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Business today announced that J.P. Licks, a local chain with 12 hand-churned ice cream parlor-cafes serving the greater Boston area, is using Comcast Business Internet, Business WiFi and Business Voice to provide public Internet access for customers while also maintaining separate, secure connectivity for its internal communications. With this deployment, J.P. Licks is successfully managing network expenses while also enhancing the speed of its customer service operations for customers hungry for its celebrated ice cream, coffee and pastries.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Jamaica Plain, J.P. Licks is a local small business success story, having grown to include 12 storefronts, each of which offers hand-churned ice cream and frozen yogurt made from scratch. Despite new competition in the area, J.P. Licks has maintained a strong presence in Boston due to its high-quality, intensely flavored concoctions and eclectic, artsy and fun store decor. As its clientele increasingly utilized the company's onsite wireless hotspot, J.P. Licks knew it needed to upgrade its existing WiFi network to accommodate this demand while also ensuring its dedicated Internet line could process customer credit card transactions and loyalty card updates – especially during the summer months, when the chain could see more than 6,500 transactions in a single day.

"Customers coming in for WiFi usually stay longer and buy more items than just an ice cream cone, so offering this amenity was extremely important to us, as it directly impacts sales," said Vincent Petryk, founder and owner of J.P. Licks. "The speed and quality of service may have been what motivated us to switch to Comcast Business in the first place, but being able to offer this reliable WiFi access to our guests in most of our stores has definitely reassured us along the way that we made the right choice."

J.P. Licks is currently using both Comcast Business Voice and Business Internet, which includes a private, dedicated line for employees as well as a separate XFINITY hotspot that provides public WiFi to the store's customers. This service has helped to boost business while also allowing the chain to successfully manage its overall network expenses.

This is just one example of the many businesses finding that offering WiFi can help boost customer loyalty and retention. In a recent national survey of entrepreneurs and small business IT decision makers, Bredin Research found that nearly eight in 10 businesses offering WiFi say it helps keep customers happy while they wait, with an additional 65 percent reporting it has encouraged repeat business, and 55% believing it has brought in new customers. The survey also found that WiFi helps sales, as more than half (55 percent) of businesses providing Wi-Fi believe it has resulted in higher sales per customer visit.

"As consumers become increasingly dependent on the Internet – regardless of where they are – providing them with the convenience of WiFi simply makes good business sense," said Steve Walsh, vice president for Comcast Business in Greater Boston. "The benefits of WiFi compound as those same consumers look to reduce their wireless data usage while still getting a fast connection, which is why these services are a natural fit for rapidly-growing businesses like J.P. Licks."

More details on how J.P. Licks is enhancing the guest experience with Comcast Business can be found here: http://bit.ly/1oMWsKC.

About Comcast Business

Comcast Business, a unit of Comcast Cable, provides advanced communication solutions to help organizations of all sizes meet their business objectives. Through a modern, advanced network that is backed by 24/7 technical support, Comcast delivers Business Internet, TV and Voice services for cost-effective, simplified communications management.

The Comcast Business Ethernet suite offers high-performance point-to-point and multi-point Ethernet services with the capacity to deliver cloud computing, software-as-a-service, business continuity/disaster recovery and other bandwidth-intensive applications. Comcast Ethernet services are significantly faster than standard T1 lines and other legacy technologies, providing scalable bandwidth from 1 Mbps up to 10 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) in more than 20 major US markets.

For more information, call 866-429-3085 or visit http://business.comcast.com/internet/business-internet/business-wifi. 

Follow us on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social.

About Comcast Cable

Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to businesses and residential customers. Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

SOURCE Comcast Cable