Here is a nice, informative post that my CEO wrote:
Hi all,
I am Ian Heidt the CEO of HouseCall.
Sorry I wasn't able to respond as quickly as you would have liked. I was simply asleep last night when the thread got going. Got back up this morning to work on some more features for the software and Roland and Ruben pointed me to the thread to chime in.
Happy to do so!
Also wanted to take the time to write something thoughtful and open it up for any follow-up.
Why did we start HouseCall?
We wanted to create the best experience for service professionals and their customers. Increasingly, everyone is using their smartphone for everything. In addition, software systems are starting to connect customers and service providers together. It just makes things easier from a customer service perspective.
We didn't see much new technology being offered in the home services space that really used the best of what mobile could offer. So we all quit our jobs and started HouseCall. We are simply a tight group of friend with spouse, kids, mortgages trying to take a stab at building a great company. Hopefully if you have interacted with any of us personally, you will have found that we extend the care we have inside the company outwards.
What is our business plan?
It is to sell software to home services companies to better run their business. Our software is relatively inexpensive for the features it offers for a couple reasons. 1) We use the latest software technologies, and the cost to create software has plummeted in the last 5 years. If we don’t price it appropriately, someone else will. 2) We still have some additional features to create and we are offering everything at a discount while we are getting going. We think it’s only fair that companies that help us grow share in that through a reduced price. The price will go up in the future, but *** folks can lock-in now at a reduced price. And things will only get better.
How do we view the customer app?
The customer app is an important part of the service because we think it helps the experience. If someone has a quick question, they can message you. If you choose to send the 'on my way' notification, customers can see how long it will be until you arrive. If someone can't quite remember who cleaned their carpets last year, they can quickly find you in the app. By inputting you customers in the CRM, we can then make you the default provider for those customers.
We think that is fair. Your customers see you. My Dad was a house painter my whole life and he built his business on word of mouth referrals. He did great work and people were happy with his service. They trusted him. That trust translated into repeat business time and time again. We want to strengthen that bond now that the world is going digital. The only way to link that up is to associate a digital information like a customer email address or code with your business.
As part of HouseCall, if we can drive you new customers through the customer app there is a 10% referral fee. There is never a fee for existing customers and they can use the customer app freely.
Also, the app is designed to drive customer booking across home services categories because we have seen that is what homeowners desire. An easy place to take care of all the things in their home. Our typical customer app behavior in San Diego is that homeowners are introduced to the app through a service professional they trust and use the app repeatedly with that service professional. They then love that they have been introduced to a convenient way to find new service professionals in other home services categories that are not competitive to the person that introduced them to the app.
Do I have you use the customer app?
No.
How do I turn it off?
Until now we have said just call us. This has been because 99% of customers have been excited to use it as a marketing channel. It gives them the ability to offer their customers the latest technology.
On Sunday, we will include a simple ON/OFF switch in the web portal to turn it off.
Why wasn't this available before?
We are just trying to get through all the things we still need to make the service exceptional. We still have a long ways to go and with a relatively small team, we just can't get to all the things we want to at once.
Also we are learning along the way about how to make it great. We listen to feedback you give and make changes. We will always do that. It's the only way IMHO.
But, we are FAST. We didn't even know postcards mattered 2 months ago. We hadn't come across that need before, but quickly realized its importance in driving new business to your companies. So I asked the team how quickly we could have it done. We worked through weekends and finished a working version in 10 days. We can also use the latest technologies and pass any cost savings on to you.
We commit that we will keep working just as hard to improve everything else. And boy do we still have a ways to go!
What else are we still working on?
Estimates, Qty * Unit pricing, Discounts, Crews (sending more than 1 person to a job) Tax on individual items, Additional role/permissions for employees, Show all jobs on the apps for Admins (not just jobs assigned to that person), + more!
Are we going to market to your customer database without your permission?
No.
Do we give you tools to market to your customer database?
Yes.
What is the refund policy?
Full refund within 30-days of signing up.
Happy to answer more questions & see you on the webinar too!
Grabbing lunch now, but back in 45 mins.
Kind regards,
Ian