With the 45th anniversary of Systel Business Equipment, many things have changed over the years, but they would say their commitment to high-quality customer service has stayed true and been the key to their success. In 1981, Systel began in a small rental house turned office on Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville, and has grown to a multi-million dollar company that provides for small businesses, nonprofits, churches, state and federal governments, schools and national private companies. 

“We are serving thousands of clients,” shared Janene Aul, CEO of Systel Business Equipment. “Anything from a one-employee business to national companies throughout the US… our focus on customer service is there whether you’re a one-employee company or a thousand-employee company. It’s about doing the right thing for the customer.” 

Keith Allison began the business, and his three daughters - Cara Spencer, Jaqueline Smith and Janene Aul - began working in and learning the business when they were just teens. They each went off to college and began careers of their own: Spencer in finance and accounting, Smith in real estate and Aul in law.

“[Our father] encouraged us to go off to college and find our own fields, and see what the world was like outside of Systel before coming back and working within the business,” remarked Spencer in their promotional video on the website. 

In 2008, they all returned to the business within a few months of each other and took on various leadership roles within the company. 

“We didn’t know it at the time, but our dad was recruiting all of us to come back,” Aul shared. “We each had our own focus areas… and my husband even came to work with us for a season. It was a whole family business… It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for almost 20 years now.”

Systel is a family business, and their staff culture speaks to this as well. They believe this is because of their strong focus on people, and caring about their staff and customers before profits. That has been their guiding principle since the beginning of the business, and they intend to keep it that way. 

“Our father has always instilled in us customer service, and customer service begins with great employees,” Smith said in their promotional video. “We have some of the same employees who have been here for 35 years.” 

These employees are experts in their field with certifications and awards from their various manufacturers and providers. 

Systel Business Equipment primarily provides and services office equipment like printers, copiers and scanners. They have also seen the growing needs for modernizing technology, and have grown into providing hardware, software and work-flow solutions for organizations. 

Because of the wide range of clients that Systel works with, they often provide customized solutions for their clients. The needs of a one-person organization are very different from a federal contract, and their desire and ability to provide for small to large businesses speaks to their organizational ethos and values.

They have weathered the challenges of adapting in an always-changing technology industry. They are focused on finding and training the next generation of professionals, like sending workers to manufacturer conferences. That comes with its costs, but it is necessary and valuable for their staff to be able to quickly and effectively address the needs of their clients. 

Systel boasts a response and resolution time of about two hours with a guarantee of four hours. They also offer the Command Center for clients to call, and an expert will walk them through resolution steps over the phone. Their dedication to customer satisfaction is not just a platitude, it is a data-driven mission which has won them various industry awards and recognition. 

Last fall, Keith Allison stepped away from oversight of the company, and Spencer, Smith and Aul have all taken on senior leadership roles. Allison spent decades cultivating a business culture that focused on serving people with excellence, and now his daughters are carrying the mantle so the business has a strong future ahead. Systel currently serves all 100 counties of North Carolina, along with parts of South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. 

They hope to expand to more of the South East in the coming years. When Aul thinks of the future she says, “Along with expanding, [we are] focusing on what we are good at, and really making sure we are the best copier, technology dealership in the Carolinas, Georgia and maybe Florida and Virginia. We are wanting to grow, and do so in a way that we stay true to our core business that has made us successful.” 

They remain committed to their vision of providing superior technology products and exceptional service, allowing their clients to focus on their own customers.