BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Brandon Dwight, the former co-owner of Boulder Cycle Sport here, has launched a software program that allows shops to easily gather feedback from customers who received technical service at their stores.
Service Reign is an add-on "integration" for the Lightspeed Retail POS. It sends an email to customers who had work done, giving them an opportunity to quickly respond that they are satisfied or still have issues. They can leave a comment if they wish, and those who say they are satisfied can be presented with links to rate the store on Yelp or similar sites.
When customers respond negatively, their response and comments and transaction details can be immediately forwarded to an owner or manager for follow up.
"When I was a bike shop owner, a huge source of my stress was the occasional negative customer review. Whether it was on Google, Yelp or social media, a bad online review kept me up at night and turned my hair gray sooner than it should have," said Dwight.
"When a client had a bad experience it was typically due to poor communication. Sure we dropped the ball once in a while, but more often than not it was due to a simple misunderstanding. I also learned many unhappy customers do not complain. They just don't come back. This frustrated me because when I was able to speak to the customer and address the concern, I would usually turn it around and make them happy."
Dwight was co-founder and co-owner of Boulder Cycle Sport, which now has three locations in Boulder. The shop was awarded Best New Bike Shop by BRAIN in 2005 and was the Interbike Retailer Of The Year in 2016. Dwight stepped down early this year to spend more time with his family and explore new projects.
The Service Reign app costs retailers $19 per month and $5 per additional location. Dwight said it can be up and running in minutes with little technical skills. It allows retailers to customize the language for the responses and email subject lines, add store logos, and determine which shop staff members managers will be notified of responses. A dashboard allows owners or managers to see transaction information, responses, and comments and allows them to mark negative transactions as resolved.
The system can be triggered by transactions that include a labor charge or work order. It does require store employees to gather email addresses from customers, which Dwight said should be standard practice in any case. "If you are not collecting emails you are throwing marketing dollars out the window," he said.
More information: servicereign.com.
