Technology Adoption: Vend Alaska's Key to Success with ZippyAssist.

Today’s technology-focused environment moves fast, and much of the success of a business can depend on its ability to keep up. While staying up to date with the latest advancements can be a challenge, there are innovative yet simple ways to make sure your company doesn’t get left behind. Vend Alaska, a vending service established in 1944, has seen first-hand how implementing modern technology, such as ZippyAssist, can improve everyday business operations and customer service.

Approaching 80 years since its inception, Vend Alaska is still going strong as a leading refreshments provider, so we wanted to hear about the strategy behind the company’s success — and how ZippyAssist has contributed to it. To learn more, we talked with Steven McDonald, Vend Alaska CEO.

“We’ve really had to adapt,” he says. “Technology has been a huge help in doing that.”

Streamlined Communication with Customers

... making sure that whatever concerns they have or services they need, we’re able to provide that for them.

Listening to and providing for customers is an essential component to every business. Since incorporating ZippyAssist last year, Vend Alaska has seen improvement in its day-to-day communication with customers, according to McDonald.

“[ZippyAssist] has given us a really good way to communicate with our customers. We get a lot of clear messages through ZippyAssist. It gives our customers another way of reaching out to us, so that we can be attentive to the services that the machines need.”

McDonald has found that ZippyAssist, which operates with a user-friendly web app, also allows for more hands-on conversations with customers, as it gives them an opportunity to provide more information.

Customers used to call and describe their problem, but now, “with ZippyAssist, they’re able to text us. It accumulates their email and phone number for us so we have multiple ways of reaching back out to the customer, making sure that whatever concerns they have or services they need, we’re able to provide that for them,” says McDonald.

“On top of that, Zippy also does a follow-up, so we can get that feedback after the services have been provided and see how well we did.”

Tackling Challenges Head-On

“It asks all the overall general questions that we need to address the issue no matter what it is.”

Communication is key, but that’s especially true when dealing with unexpected challenges. Being able to provide a positive customer service experience when issues arise makes all the difference, and ZippyAssist has helped the team at Vend Alaska quickly tackle obstacles that come up.

Vend Alaska’s leader of Customer Service Operations, Rebekah, told us, “ZippyAssist helps us have a less intimidating way of quickly letting us know what the issue is. I do also love the photo feature because sometimes that tells me more than the customer themselves.”

This feature is especially helpful when assisting customers remotely because it can describe the different mechanical parts of a machine. “Of course, they don’t deal with vending machines as often as we do, so they’re not sure how to describe what it’s doing,” says Rebekah. “They just know that it took their money or didn't do what they wanted, so the photos help.”

Although some less tech-savvy customers may need additional instructions when it comes to using the app, Rebekah has found that, for the most part, ZippyAssist has helped customers better articulate the problem, which helps the Vend Alaska team ensure the proper assistance.

She especially appreciates that the app takes users through a set of questions that help determine and explain the problem. “They answer the questions that best help us, which takes down much of the guessing,” she says. “It asks all the overall general questions that we need to address the issue no matter what it is.”

The result? A speedy resolution and happy customers.

Tracking Made Easy

“The more we know why our machines aren’t working properly, the better we’re able to get those issues fixed and have them generating revenue again.”

Both McDonald and Rebekah agree that ZippyAssist has helped Vend Alaska operationally by tracking customer inquiries and insights. “I really like that it compiles a database of our customers and who we’ve been in contact with,” says McDonald.

ZippyAssist’s photo feature has also helped keep track of the actual vending machines. “That to me is also a huge benefit. It’s like I’m able to keep eyes on the machine without actually being there.”

“The more we know why our machines aren’t working properly, the better we’re able to get those issues fixed and have them generating revenue again.”

Additionally, ZippyAssist helps track what the common issues are. Before ZippyAssist, some customers felt that an issue wasn’t urgent enough to bother calling, but at the same time, they might run into a few frustrations. “But if nobody reports it, we’ll never know to go look at it,” says Rebekah. Now, customers can easily report issues and review their experience thanks to the platform's streamlined interface. These insights are a valuable resource for adjusting operations to better support the customer, especially since ZippyAssist keeps all customer inquiries and contacts on file.

“I like the setup of giving feedback through the ZippyAssist app. It’s easy to read and go through. It’s also easy to respond back and keep track of it. Even if [customers] change their email address, it’ll show me what it used to be and what it is now. I love that. That is awesome.”

So, is ZippyAssist worth it? Simply put: yes. “I’ve definitely recommended [ZippyAssist] to other operators,” says McDonald. “I’m always happy to give my opinion on it.”