ServiceMonster Users - I want your thoughts

[smastio]

We are about to release this addition of the FittleBug Real-Time Scheduling software and I thought that I would share it on Mikey's Board first. For the last two years at the Connections Trade Shows, we were asked by numerous people if the calendar within FittleBug tied into the ServiceMonster CMS calendar and program. Joe and I said let's do it, and soon we will be releasing it to our existing clients first and shortly after to new clients that have ServiceMonster and want FittleBug. You don't have to have ServiceMonster to utilize the power of FittleBug, but with both, you may not need an administrator.

Let me know your thoughts, questions and suggestion... Thanks, Steve Mastio 630-444-2000 steve@businessbridge.com

[video=youtube_share;9Gi24YPQ0co]http://youtu.be/9Gi24YPQ0co[/video]

 

[TomKing]

Questions
How does it deal with keeping jobs in the same area? Could you have a job in one town and then the next job 20 miles away?

How does it compensate for travel time and time to offer add on services? The stuff that cost and makes you money.

How does it keep from opening trucks up as you fill one route and move to the next?

Will it build your day from the morning to the afternoon if you like? We guide people to the times that are best for us. We offer two times so they have a choice. Can the program do the same?

I think your comment about not needing a administrator is a stretch. This might be a way to grow to get to the size where you can hire a office manager. Everyone who has multi trucks knows the power of having good people on the phones educating and selling clients.

Correction on your comment on the video
Service Monster is not just for multi Truck owners. Single truck operators need it the most to help as they grow. I wish I had it the first day we started. I waited to long.

 

[smastio]

Questions
How does it deal with keeping jobs in the same area? Could you have a job in one town and then the next job 20 miles away?

Presently consumers can book on any day at any time that you let them. Just like if they call up and you are able to suggest some times, the FB (FittleBug) calendar times can be blocked so that they are not a choice online. Does FB group by day or truck or some other approach - no. After much discussion and insight, it was determined that consumer needs the options. We have built in unique zipcode travel times to accommodate the travel time to get to the next appointment; but presently it does not group. Grouping in on the radar for the next version.

How does it compensate for travel time and time to offer add on services? The stuff that cost and makes you money.

Yes, as mentioned above. Each zip code can have its own unique travel time, minimum job cost and travel surcharge added if desired.

How does it keep from opening trucks up as you fill one route and move to the next?

Not sure that I understand the question, but I'll take a shot.... You control the number of trucks with FB ie. 1,2,9 etc. If you are running two trucks then two consumers can take the same time on the same day since there are two trucks. FB does not tell you as a service provider what truck should go where. Consumers don't care that there are multiple trucks they care about the time that works for them. If you don't want the additional appointment on the same day and time... just run one truck with in FB. Once the data is obtained in FB and them Passed on to ServiceMonster, you can change the appointments to whatever "route" that you want. We call them trucks (or service providers) and ServiceMonster calls them routes.

Will it build your day from the morning to the afternoon if you like? We guide people to the times that are best for us. We offer two times so they have a choice. Can the program do the same?

Not sure how that would work to build your day from the morning to the afternoon, but I would be willing to discuss it with you. YES, you can allocate a set number of appointments for a set time frame. One of our clients has it set for 9,11,1 and 3. But, you could set it for something like 9 and 1 if you want. Personally, I think that you are limiting your odds that the consumer may be looking for in a service time; but it certainly is your option.

I think your comment about not needing a administrator is a stretch. This might be a way to grow to get to the size where you can hire a office manager. Everyone who has multi trucks knows the power of having good people on the phones educating and selling clients.

Good people are always a must for growth in any business. I am only suggesting that there are a BUNCH of people that prefer to work on their time, based on your available time, anytime it is convenient for them ... not having to work within your 9-5 guidelines. People book online at all times of the day when booking airline tickets, hotels, etc. and it is proving to be true with FB bookings as well. The strangest time yet was 2:45 AM and the most about was about $1300 from a brand new client.

Correction on your comment on the video
Service Monster is not just for multi Truck owners. Single truck operators need it the most to help as they grow. I wish I had it the first day we started. I waited to long.

I was in direct contact with Joe and others at ServiceMonster when designing this add-on to FB, and they were very helpful in its outcome. Yes we know that they run 1 to many trucks. I would be glad to give you a personal webinar tour of the administrative and consumer side of the program.
Thanks for the questions and I hope I was able to answer them to your satisfaction. If not, please call me personally. 630-444-2000 x 102 Steve

 

[knoxclean]

What would the costs be? As I recall when I looked at FittleBug a few years ago the costs was something like $300 a month ( not sure on the amount but was not even in range for average cc company)

 

[smastio]

What would the costs be? As I recall when I looked at FittleBug a few years ago the costs was something like $300 a month ( not sure on the amount but was not even in range for average cc company)

Thanks for asking... there are two plans to get into FB. Please watch the video and check out the Plan A and B comparison chart below the video... [video=youtube_share;zh07SMNIGXk]http://youtu.be/zh07SMNIGXk[/video]

Comparison Chart of pricing... http://www.businessbridge.com/Pricing/tabid/744/Default.aspx

Call me if you have questions... Most people start out with Plan B and migrate toward Plan A when they get it going.

 

[hogjowl]

Wow ... this program better be wonderful.

 

[Mikey P]

If I had little/not enough work or needed to keep three or more trucks busy all year I would be all over this.

 

[smastio]

Wow ... this program better be wonderful.

We would like to think so... but the only way to know for sure is to see it for yourself or look at what it has done for others. You know everyone is seeking the magic bullet on the Internet... FittleBug is NOT IT, but it does serve a consumer purpose just like Etrade, Orbitz, Hotel.com and others. Here is snap shot of the last 2.5 years of one our clients results offering FittleBug to his clients. When he got FittleBug he was about a year into the business and one truck. let me know if you have any questions. FittleBug is a Marketing Tool... which means that you HAVE TO MARKET. To date he has only marketed on one site... YELP and NO SEO. You form your own opinions. I try like hell to get him to market his own business more... lol. He knows it!

In case you can't see it, the admin/call in bookings are 764 and the Online bookings are 574. Also, let me know if you can't see the image well. I am not sure how to enlarge it... maybe some help from others?

View attachment 2494

 

[The Great Oz]

A caution. Geographic grouping of routes is pretty important if you cover a large service area. Drive time is "drive profit away time."

Also, don't promise times if you can't back up that promise. It doesn't matter if you give the customer what they want up front (set appointments/bait) and don't show (switch). This is one of the constants we hear from COIT and Stanley employees that interview with us: they're tired of driving all over the region to hit promised times; they're tired of getting yelled at by customers for not being able to hit promised times.

 

[smastio]

A caution. Geographic grouping of routes is pretty important if you cover a large service area. Drive time is "drive profit away time."

Also, don't promise times if you can't back up that promise. It doesn't matter if you give the customer what they want up front (set appointments/bait) and don't show (switch). This is one of the constants we hear from COIT and Stanley employees that interview with us: they're tired of driving all over the region to hit promised times; they're tired of getting yelled at by customers for not being able to hit promised times.

Bryan - I ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!! That's why we initially set up FittleBug to be able to customized down to the zip code level. You can change the Travel Time for each zip, as well as add any Surcharge you may desire to offset the Gas/Time charge to get to those zips. I tell people to draw circles around your office and the farther you get the more the zip code travel time should be increased. Also, I should note that travel time can and should include Set Up Time. You might notice the longitude and latitude in the image. This is Google Mapping or grouping as you call it and is soon to come. So far (knock on wood) none of the clients have experienced an issue with the approach we took for travel and setup. BTW... travel times are not limited to 15 minute increments. It can be down to the minute options as well; just like the service times.

Your example of COIT and Stanley Steamer is one of bad business practices and would hurt anybody's success in any industry. Good to hear from you... stay in touch! Hope it helps, let me know if you have any questions or share more thoughts... Steve

View attachment 2495

 

[Shane Deubell]

What is the advantage of me using fittlebug over say installing a free booking plugin?

I do agree that having a booking/appointment plugin generates more jobs and bigger tickets. Not sure your numbers would go up enough to justify the added expense though, just asking...

 

[smastio]

What is the advantage of me using fittlebug over say installing a free booking plugin?

I do agree that having a booking/appointment plugin generates more jobs and bigger tickets. Not sure your numbers would go up enough to justify the added expense though, just asking...

Great Question - For simple I'm free You're Free let's choose a time booking... a free booking plugin is Fine. What FittleBug (FB) does is allows Total customization of most everything that you would tell the client if they called you. There is soooooo much more but maybe so I don't have to guess what you are referring to, please let me know what plugin you're referring to and I will break down the differences. In the mean time, if you want to send me your email, I will forward some marketing material that is larger than allowed to be display here. (PDF's)

steve@businessbridge.com

 

[TomKing]

Bryan - I ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!! That's why we initially set up FittleBug to be able to customized down to the zip code level. You can change the Travel Time for each zip, as well as add any Surcharge you may desire to offset the Gas/Time charge to get to those zips. I tell people to draw circles around your office and the farther you get the more the zip code travel time should be increased. Also, I should note that travel time can and should include Set Up Time. You might notice the longitude and latitude in the image. This is Google Mapping or grouping as you call it and is soon to come. So far (knock on wood) none of the clients have experienced an issue with the approach we took for travel and setup. BTW... travel times are not limited to 15 minute increments. It can be down to the minute options as well; just like the service times.

Your example of COIT and Stanley Steamer is one of bad business practices and would hurt anybody's success in any industry. Good to hear from you... stay in touch! Hope it helps, let me know if you have any questions or share more thoughts... Steve

View attachment 2495

So does every zip code have a travel time to every other zip code or are they estimated from your home zip code?

What about allowing for traffic at different times of the day?

If customer A books 2 rooms and a hall $140 and lives in the northwest corner of your 20 mile service radius and then
Customer B books 2 rooms and a hall also $140 in the south east corner of your service area can FB stop that from happening?


Also what if you have 3 trucks and all trucks have a 9am 2 hour job and a 3pm 2 hour job on say Tuesday, will it force people to fill in those days?

 

[smastio]

So does every zip code have a travel time to every other zip code or are they estimated from your home zip code?

A: Every zip code has it's own time from the home zip code. You might have noticed the Longitude/Latitude in the image above. Google Maps are coming in the next version. Also, we are thinking of the grouping of zip codes into buckets assigned to days and/or providers. Can be done.

What about allowing for traffic at different times of the day?

A: I don't even go to church, I'm not that close to the decision maker! lol Wouldn't that be nice... tell me when there is an accident.

If customer A books 2 rooms and a hall $140 and lives in the northwest corner of your 20 mile service radius and then
Customer B books 2 rooms and a hall also $140 in the south east corner of your service area can FB stop that from happening?

A: No, it can't stop it from happening. You could extend the travel time to accommodate these scenarios if it becomes a problem. Just set it up for appointments at like 9, 12 and 3; or 10 and 2; or something like that. Remember they can only choose what you let them. The Key is to let them do it on there time... anytime.

Also what if you have 3 trucks and all trucks have a 9am 2 hour job and a 3pm 2 hour job on say Tuesday, will it force people to fill in those days?

A: No it will not force people to choose times on a slow day. If Tuesday is not an option for them, do you not want the business? (and remember they are already online trying to book you). they need more options than one. FB has the capability of saying to the consumer... if none of our times work or this is an emergency, call XXX. One of my clients tested something you might find helpful and it worked really well. he created (on the fly) a promotion stating that for example Tuesday jobs between 11- 3 are 15% off... choose that time and use promo code filltuesday. He says it works great in Yelp. Disclaimers must be declared of course.

Believe me folks, a lot of input from both Service Providers and Consumers was used to design the structure. It was our initial decision to make it as flexible to the providers as possible, but as empowering to the consumer as possible. After all if it isn't easy convenient and empowering, they won't use it; and they like it if they use it... Good questions... call for a demo, I won't be driving back to Indy for awhile. LOL

 

[smastio]

What is the advantage of me using fittlebug over say installing a free booking plugin?

I do agree that having a booking/appointment plugin generates more jobs and bigger tickets. Not sure your numbers would go up enough to justify the added expense though, just asking...

To enlarge the image... click it, then hold the CTRL key and ROLL your scroll bar on the mouse.
View attachment 2637

 

[Shane Deubell]

Hey i think its a great idea, we have several different websites and the ones with the appt. plugin bring in the most jobs and the tickets are little bit higher.
Nothing is better then hearing the ding on my phone and its someone booking a job.

 

[smastio]

Slowly but surely the carpet cleaning market is understanding the consumers WANT the ability to BOOK themselves. The challenge for the service providers is to tell their marketplace about the ability to be booked and done in one session anytime its convenient for them. People go to the net to finish booking, not to continue the process off line. If that were the case, you would get emails from Orbitz or Etrade saying thanks for telling us what you're interested in - "someone will get back to you to complete the request". This is not an email that I want to get when spending time to figure out a price,time and availability to fly to Las Vegas for the up coming trade show. If I am already on-line inquiring, I'm there to complete the task. Forms leave potential business (on the table) and lost in cyberspace for people that think like I do (and I believe there are lots); so does Expedia, Orbitz and others...

 

[renegade_cowboy]

How much is the down payment the customer needs to put down to book a job?

 

[smastio]

The down payment can be any number you want it to be. Today... people understand that if you want to reserve something, you have to place a monetary value to it. If you go wih Plan B as your license structure than the down payment must be 15%. click here to see more on that... Plan B.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

The down payment can be any number you want it to be. Today... people understand that if you want to reserve something, you have to place a monetary value to it. If you go wih Plan B as your license structure than the down payment must be 15%. click here to see more on that... Plan B.

What if I only wanted their down payment to be $10?

 

[smastio]

Not a problem. It's just a deposit to make sure that you are not going to be blown off. I might think that you might want a bit more for your time, but hey, each market is different. I do know that if it isn't something that makes the prospective buying "not want to lose", you will get all kinds of false bookings. (probably from people on this site just screwing with you)

Not once in 3 years has it been an issue for any prospect of the FittleBug clients (according to them). Call me for a live demo if you want... 630-444-2000 x 102

 

[renegade_cowboy]

You service looks very nice.. but can there be a Plan C? One where I pay the $200 set up fee, enter in the data myself and go straight to a $200 a month plan? With Plan B doesn't really make sense because at a certain point during the year it would end up being cheaper to just pay the $750 charge upfront and have you do the data input.

I think you would have a flood of new clients if it was more user friendly in pricing.

Thanks

 

[smastio]

You service looks very nice.. but can there be a Plan C? One where I pay the $200 set up fee, enter in the data myself and go straight to a $200 a month plan? With Plan B doesn't really make sense because at a certain point during the year it would end up being cheaper to just pay the $750 charge upfront and have you do the data input.

I think you would have a flood of new clients if it was more user friendly in pricing.

Thanks

DONE... Call me and mention Plan C. And did I mention that I have an hour long training video that has a table of contents so you can jump to whatever you need to review more.

The last thing that you need to know about either Plan A or "now Plan C" is that you have to get a PayPal Pro account. We use this as the merchant account engine. It's $30 a month + fee's. (under Plan B, clients use my PaylPal Pro account, so they don't need one of their own). Again, call for more details or to sign up.

Thanks for the interest and bring on the flood... Steve

 

[smastio]

Caduceus - I want make sure that you are aware that you can switch between Plan B and Plan A at anytime for a $200 transfer fee. I like that you shared the Plan C approach, I see it as a median of my offerings and appreciate your suggestion.

 

[Newman]

The down payment can be any number you want it to be. Today... people understand that if you want to reserve something, you have to place a monetary value to it. If you go wih Plan B as your license structure than the down payment must be 15%. click here to see more on that... Plan B.

Plan B - So this means that in addition to the $50 monthly charge for the software usage, we will be paying 15% of the online estimated gross revenue for every job booked to you? So the "down payment" is actually my Fittle Bug fee which goes to you, not to me?

 

[smastio]

Plan B - So this means that in addition to the $50 monthly charge for the software usage, we will be paying 15% of the online estimated gross revenue for every job booked to you? So the "down payment" is actually my Fittle Bug fee which goes to you, not to me?

Correct. It allows you to ease into the program. The break-even point is when you average $1000.00 a month of online bookings; then you should switch over to Plan A to lock your costs in at $200 a month. Here's the math:
View attachment 2659

Now there is a Plan C (thanks to Caduceus), which is king of a hybrid model of the two. Call me if you have questions,

I would be glad to meet you for a live demo. You can't get any closer in the USA than the same town! LOL

Thanks, Steve 630-444-2000 x102
(and remember, if you have ServiceMonster, it's instant data flow)