Honda plans to improve customer service and costs by installing wireless telephony across its dealership network.

The introduction of wireless networks and portable handsets in showrooms is designed to allow sales staff to answer and handle more customer phone calls.

Sales executives will be able to take calls, access voicemail and email from anywhere in the showroom or the forecourt using Avaya wireless devices and unified messaging applications.

'By introducing the system the sales person will be contactable throughout the site,' said Paul Kidd, dealership support manager at Honda UK. 'If they are away from their desk the customer can be forwarded to the sales person using a wireless phone - it means they can answer the query much quicker.'

Honda has rolled out the Avaya IP Office and Wireless Network product at 11 showrooms and hopes the technology will be adopted across more than 200 franchised car dealerships over the next 12 months.

It expects to make cost savings by reducing the number of calls made using mobile phones and removing call costs between showrooms.

The technology will also allow sales people to access customer emails when out of the office at meetings or exhibitions, for example.