Customer Story

Fixing the crack in RepairAll’s reputation

For repair stores, communicating easily and conveniently with customers and getting positive reviews from those interactions is vital to their success. But, finding the right tools to make sure that their processes and operations are all working toward a better customer experience can be challenging. Joseph Howeth, president of RepairAll, started his mobile phone repair shop with just a couple locations at the beginning of 2017, and has now grown to 14 stores across California.

The growth of RepairAll was, no doubt, attributed to great business strategy, and how they communicate and handle customer interactions via Messenger.

“Now, with Podium’s Messenger, 25 percent of our customers get an in-store text invite to review our business, and 75 percent get it the next day,” Howeth said. “And in one month we have had more Google reviews than we had the previous year without Podium.”

All of the positive interactions they made through Messenger made it that much easier for Howeth and his team to ask for reviews, which had an immediate impact on their business.

“Before Podium, we were at the bottom of the local listings, I think we were 20th down on the Google search,” Howeth said. “In just a month of using Podium Messenger to send out reviews we jumped to 8th place, and we feel confident that we will be in the top three soon.”

QUICKER RESPONSE RATE & MORE SALES

Howeth said that now that he has text functionality for his business, he is able to answer more questions and help more customers. Generally, people will text into his businesses wanting to know the price to fix a certain model of phone.

“Podium Messenger has increased our sales another five percent above what the review aspect of Podium has already done for us,” Howeth said. “I attribute this to us communicating directly with the customer. Can you imagine, the owner or worker in the company is now communicating with the customer before the customers choose to buy? That is crazy! This really is the future.”

EASY IMPLEMENTATION

Howeth said Messenger was easy to implement and easy to train his team on. In fact, he didn’t train his team at all. He just told them to use it, and they figured it out fast.

“Messenger is so easy to figure out and use,” Howeth said. “Each store manager is using Messenger for their own location, and I am the catchall. If I see a message that hasn’t been taken care of in a while, I will respond and then screenshot the conversation and send it to the manager of that location. It is such a simple process, even my new managers are catching on quick.”

Howeth said that he likes that he can still manage and see all the conversations that are happening between his business and his managers.

“Being the owner, it is so nice that I can log into Messenger and look over my team’s shoulders remotely to see what is being asked and how my employees are responding,” Howeth said.

BUILDING LOYAL CUSTOMERS WITH MESSENGER

Not only has Podium Messenger revolutionized the way that their business is being reviewed, but it is making RepairAll more customer-friendly and personal. Howeth’s team uses Messenger everyday to communicate and build relationships with their customers.

“Messenger has given me and my team direct communication with our customers,” Howeth said. “For me it’s sort of like a customer-facing social media. I am talking to people I don’t know, but I know that they are potential customers and leads for my business. After texting back and forth with them about what they are looking for, not only have I sold more, but I have become friends with my customers.”

Howeth said that Messenger has made their customers more loyal because now they feel like they know someone at RepairAll and can text them with whatever they need.

“On Messenger, I had a customer that was shopping for the best price, and I quoted our price,” Howeth said. “He asked for a $10 discount, so I gave it to him, and I got the sale. Without Podium’s Messenger tool that person would’ve had to call my location, and the rep hopefully could have answered the phone. But would they have been patient enough to give them the absolute best price? I don’t think so. Messenger has allowed me to close more sales, communicate directly, and give me the edge over my competition.”

A CONVENIENT MESSAGING PLATFORM

Another reason Howeth started using Podium was because it was more convenient and just like chat. His team just has Messenger open on the desktop computer where they also have their point-of-sale software running.

“Messenger is just so convenient,” Howeth said. “It’s just like chatting back and forth. If I have to take another phone call in the meantime, then I can message the customer back later. It doesn’t have to be immediate, but you are still able to keep the conversation going.”

THE ROI OF MESSENGER

Podium Reviews and Messenger have saved Howeth at least $3,000 marketing dollars a month. Not only have Howeth’s RepairAll locations been found more often, but they have been able to increase ROI and save time with Podium Messenger.

“Messenger is increasing my sales by five percent,” Howeth said. “We are making around $5 million in sales a year, so five percent of that is pretty significant. Plus, it is saving us time because we aren’t constantly taking phone calls.” Not only has Messenger helped to increase revenue, but it has shifted their company culture.

“Since reviews and messaging are now part of our culture, getting reviews is a happy experience,” Howeth said. “We now strive, in every communication and interaction with our customers to be a five star culture.”