GetQuik Blog
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Smart Phones Getting Smarter
The two darlings of Silicon Valley - Google and Apple want to get into your pocket. The approaches to get there are quite different. Apple's iPhone takes a new step forward as they release their much anticipated SDK.
Google is working on Android, which they are claiming as the "first open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices". We should be seeing some Android handsets later this year, but the question for application developers is whether Android will help to simplify application deployment or further complicate the matter.
Although J2ME (Java Mobile Edition 2) is designed to be a write-once deploy to many solution, the reality is that different handsets and even different carriers require modifications to the code in order for these J2ME applications to run correctly. As the number of deployed handsets increase, the porting requirements are massive. 200 or more ports are necessary to have a high percentage of installed base handsets covered.
That is why the single handset iPhone with its 27% of smartphone sales in the US is such an attractive platform to develop to. The usage patterns for the iPhone are unlike any smart phone. The amount of web usage fpr an iPhone user is significantly higher than any other handset. For application developers looking to target their ideal mobile customer without the massive cost of porting and testing, the iPhone offers a cost-effective entry-point.
GetQuik is getting onboard the iPhone bandwagon. Today GetQuik is releasing our iPhone for GetQuik web application. You can check out a tutorial on how to setup and use our application at www.getquik.com. We have some press coverage that is coming in conjunction with this release, so our traffic to our web-site may cause a few delays. We are eagerly awaiting the SDK announcement to see how we can extend and enhance future versions of our iPhone application.
If you get a chance to try out our app and have some thoughts - you can post here or email us comments@getquik.com.
The two darlings of Silicon Valley - Google and Apple want to get into your pocket. The approaches to get there are quite different. Apple's iPhone takes a new step forward as they release their much anticipated SDK.Google is working on Android, which they are claiming as the "first open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices". We should be seeing some Android handsets later this year, but the question for application developers is whether Android will help to simplify application deployment or further complicate the matter.
Although J2ME (Java Mobile Edition 2) is designed to be a write-once deploy to many solution, the reality is that different handsets and even different carriers require modifications to the code in order for these J2ME applications to run correctly. As the number of deployed handsets increase, the porting requirements are massive. 200 or more ports are necessary to have a high percentage of installed base handsets covered.
That is why the single handset iPhone with its 27% of smartphone sales in the US is such an attractive platform to develop to. The usage patterns for the iPhone are unlike any smart phone. The amount of web usage fpr an iPhone user is significantly higher than any other handset. For application developers looking to target their ideal mobile customer without the massive cost of porting and testing, the iPhone offers a cost-effective entry-point.
GetQuik is getting onboard the iPhone bandwagon. Today GetQuik is releasing our iPhone for GetQuik web application. You can check out a tutorial on how to setup and use our application at www.getquik.com. We have some press coverage that is coming in conjunction with this release, so our traffic to our web-site may cause a few delays. We are eagerly awaiting the SDK announcement to see how we can extend and enhance future versions of our iPhone application.
If you get a chance to try out our app and have some thoughts - you can post here or email us comments@getquik.com.
Labels: android, apple, GetQuik, iPhone, sdk, smart phones
¶ 6:49 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
An Apple Walks Into the Space and...
A certain technology company out of Cupertino has recently been making some noise about revolutionizing the way we order food and beverages. No question that their track record has been impressive recently. Apple was not the first to come up with an MP3 player or a mobile phone, but their entry into these markets have changed the game. In MP3's they have dominated the industry and left others like the Zune in the dust. For mobile phones, there are still major players to contend with, and these folks have deep pockets and will determinedly protect their turf. As Apple's entry into phones is still new, the end result of their entrance into the space is unknown. AppleTV, so far, has not worked out according to plan, but that does not mean that new versions may not change that situation.
A certain technology company out of Cupertino has recently been making some noise about revolutionizing the way we order food and beverages. No question that their track record has been impressive recently. Apple was not the first to come up with an MP3 player or a mobile phone, but their entry into these markets have changed the game. In MP3's they have dominated the industry and left others like the Zune in the dust. For mobile phones, there are still major players to contend with, and these folks have deep pockets and will determinedly protect their turf. As Apple's entry into phones is still new, the end result of their entrance into the space is unknown. AppleTV, so far, has not worked out according to plan, but that does not mean that new versions may not change that situation.So is Apple's entry into the space good or bad for GetQuik?
It is too early to tell, but it presents challenges and opportunties. With Apple's presence, the growth in on-line and mobile restaurant transactions will greatly accelerate. Apple will create awareness from consumers and restaurant operators. Additionally, Apple will be landing major deals with large operators such as Starbucks. Restaurants in the US generate over $500 billion in revenues. Of this $500 billion, approximatley $350 billion is spent on casual and quick service dining. The other $150 billion is spent on fine dining. With such a large addressable market comprised of single unit, francisors, regional, and national chains, GetQuik sees an opportunity to take advantage of the PR and awareness Apple creates. There is room for more than one winner in this market. There is a very good chance that Apple with their brains, resources, and passionate user base will make the final cut. The competition to join or beat them will be fierce, and that is why Apple's entry will be interesting. The race is afoot and only the strong will survive.
Happy New Year indeed.
Happy New Year indeed.
For the record, GetQuik has offered mobile food ordering solutions since May 2007 (J2ME and WAP).
Labels: apple, GetQuik, iPhone, mobile commerce, mobile ordering, online restaurant ordering
¶ 7:06 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, November 19, 2007
A New Look
The GetQuik user interface is currently being updated. Through the course of our first year, we introduced a number of features. Mobile orders, my meals (saved orders), group orders and restaurant reviews to name a few. As we added these features, our user interface was getting cluttered. We mocked up a new UI design in August/September, and are now currently refining and completing the new UI roll-out.
The GetQuik user interface is currently being updated. Through the course of our first year, we introduced a number of features. Mobile orders, my meals (saved orders), group orders and restaurant reviews to name a few. As we added these features, our user interface was getting cluttered. We mocked up a new UI design in August/September, and are now currently refining and completing the new UI roll-out.We have added tabs to the merchant menu pages to simplify menu browsing and better organize features such as group orders and reviews. We have also improved our "Guest Check" to provide better order summary views.
We are a few months out from a new customer tools revision, and will be introducing new functionality and usabilty to this section. Next up, improving GetQuik's performance and responsiveness. We have a mid-December target for this project.
Labels: GetQuik, new ui, performance, user interface
¶ 8:10 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, November 5, 2007
Happy Birthday to Us
GetQuik went live November 3rd, 2006. It has been a year of experimentation, foundation building, and rapid development cycles.
GetQuik went live November 3rd, 2006. It has been a year of experimentation, foundation building, and rapid development cycles. Year 2 is shaping up to be a growth, resourcing and scaling year. The top challenge will be to recruit talented and dedicated employees. Although we have come a long way, there are still many improvements and features that we have scheduled and will be introducing in year 2.
Wenhan has made some major improvements to our user interface, and the first release of this new UI will go live this month. We are working hard to improve the ordering process with this new design. We are also looking at ways to provide a faster site, and are looking at our hardware infrastructure and software algorithms in order to provide a faster and more responsive site.
Stay tuned for more developments.
Labels: GetQuik, new ui, one year anniversary
¶ 10:45 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, October 29, 2007
Help Our Customers GetQuik!
GetQuik is looking for an entry-level customer support professional.
GetQuik is looking for an entry-level customer support professional.GetQuik is an early stage Internet startup. Think eBay for restaurant take-out and delivery transactions and you are on the right track.
Our business is expanding and we need talented folks to keep us moving in the right direction.
Are you:
- good at problem solving,
- proficient with computers,
Are you:
- good at problem solving,
- proficient with computers,
- bright,
- hard-working,
- detail-oriented,
- positive,
- able to multi-task, and
- a good communicator?
Would you like to:
- work in a dynamic team environment,
- experience work at a fast-paced startup,
- and help a promissing startup get to the next level?
If so, we'd like to talk with you. Although this position is targeted as entry-level, we would like to bring on someone who can expand and grow as our company does.
Send resumes to hr@GetQuik.com.
- detail-oriented,
- positive,
- able to multi-task, and
- a good communicator?
Would you like to:
- work in a dynamic team environment,
- experience work at a fast-paced startup,
- and help a promissing startup get to the next level?
If so, we'd like to talk with you. Although this position is targeted as entry-level, we would like to bring on someone who can expand and grow as our company does.
Send resumes to hr@GetQuik.com.
Labels: customer support, GetQuik, want ad
¶ 9:30 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, October 1, 2007
You Have Our Attention
This cover letter for GetQuik's intern position was too good NOT to share. Here it is.
I'm intrigued by the premise of your company, what is it exactly that you all do? Personally, I think you deserve to wait in line for a long time if you decide to pay $4 for a latte, but that's just me--hehe. I don't know if I have the background that you are looking for. I don't have a degree. I don't have software development experience, but I do have plenty of customer service and data entry experience. I like to think I'm very creative-I love brainstorming and coming up with new ideas. I'm also an aries, does that help? I'm probably not at all what your looking for, but I am truly interested in what your company does. Currently I work for ****** which would explain my genuine interest in your company. The words "No", "I Can't" and "I don't" are not part of our vocabulary here. I'm just looking for something part-time to earn some extra bucks. If your still reading and I sound like I might just be the whip-cream on your pumpkin pie, then send me a note and I can send you my resume.
Thanks!
This cover letter for GetQuik's intern position was too good NOT to share. Here it is.---------------
Hello GetQuik!
I'm intrigued by the premise of your company, what is it exactly that you all do? Personally, I think you deserve to wait in line for a long time if you decide to pay $4 for a latte, but that's just me--hehe. I don't know if I have the background that you are looking for. I don't have a degree. I don't have software development experience, but I do have plenty of customer service and data entry experience. I like to think I'm very creative-I love brainstorming and coming up with new ideas. I'm also an aries, does that help? I'm probably not at all what your looking for, but I am truly interested in what your company does. Currently I work for ****** which would explain my genuine interest in your company. The words "No", "I Can't" and "I don't" are not part of our vocabulary here. I'm just looking for something part-time to earn some extra bucks. If your still reading and I sound like I might just be the whip-cream on your pumpkin pie, then send me a note and I can send you my resume.
Thanks!
Labels: craigslist, GetQuik, intern
¶ 9:07 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, September 24, 2007
Intern with Us!
GetQuik Who?
GetQuik is an early stage startup company in sunny Sunnyvale, CA. GetQuik is looking to improve people's lives by simplifying everyday purchases. More specifically, restaurant and cafe orders. Our Question: Why should people have to wait in line for 10 minutes to purchase a $4 latte or $5 sandwich?
Our Answer: They shouldn't.
Job Description:
Provide great ideas and work to accelerate GetQuik's growth.
Requirements:
- Positive mental attitude,
- Honesty,
- Big Brain,
- Willingness and ability to wear multiple hats,
- Excellent customer service instincts, and
- Ability and desire to work autonomously.
More on the GetQuik experience:
- Warning: Not the entire day is focused on product development, features and marketing brainstorming (although there is plenty). You WILL need to to handle customer service and heaven-forbid, data-entry work.
- If salary is your top job requirement, this is NOT your job. If you want to get paid a few bucks while getting a world-class on-the-job education, and have work responsibilty well beyond a typical intern or entry level position, consider working for GetQuik.
- Hours. If you meet all these requirements and we like you, we'll consider anywhere from 20-40 hours a week. Ideally we'd like to get close to 40 hours a week, but if this is not possible, we are open to working out a schedule that works for the right person.
Still here? Submit your resume to hr@getquik.com.
GetQuik Who?GetQuik is an early stage startup company in sunny Sunnyvale, CA. GetQuik is looking to improve people's lives by simplifying everyday purchases. More specifically, restaurant and cafe orders. Our Question: Why should people have to wait in line for 10 minutes to purchase a $4 latte or $5 sandwich?
Our Answer: They shouldn't.
Job Description:
Provide great ideas and work to accelerate GetQuik's growth.
Requirements:
- Positive mental attitude,
- Honesty,
- Big Brain,
- Willingness and ability to wear multiple hats,
- Excellent customer service instincts, and
- Ability and desire to work autonomously.
More on the GetQuik experience:
- Warning: Not the entire day is focused on product development, features and marketing brainstorming (although there is plenty). You WILL need to to handle customer service and heaven-forbid, data-entry work.
- If salary is your top job requirement, this is NOT your job. If you want to get paid a few bucks while getting a world-class on-the-job education, and have work responsibilty well beyond a typical intern or entry level position, consider working for GetQuik.
- Hours. If you meet all these requirements and we like you, we'll consider anywhere from 20-40 hours a week. Ideally we'd like to get close to 40 hours a week, but if this is not possible, we are open to working out a schedule that works for the right person.
Still here? Submit your resume to hr@getquik.com.
Labels: GetQuik, intern, opportunity, startups
¶ 10:51 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Plug and Play Tech Center Expo 2007
Today's Plug and Play Expo comes on the heels of the the TechCrunch40. Saeed Amidi, the mastermind behind Plug and Play, has positioned the Plug and Play Expo as the venue for early stage companies in contrast to TechCrunch40's later stage startup presenters.
Today's Plug and Play Expo comes on the heels of the the TechCrunch40. Saeed Amidi, the mastermind behind Plug and Play, has positioned the Plug and Play Expo as the venue for early stage companies in contrast to TechCrunch40's later stage startup presenters.Another twist is that Plug and Play Expo used a rapid-fire 2-minute turbo pitch format for its 37 presenters (GetQuik was one of the presenters). It is an interesting exercise to distill long hours and lots of sweet into a 2-minute pitch format. All 37 companies finished were presented over a 2-hour period. Four companies, Twiki, Zipidee, Gigya, and BlueGem Security were choosen to present encore 10-minute presentations.
My personal picks:
- ScreenerKey: Interesting Idea Award. USB device that allows parents to set time limit for watching TV, using a computer, etc. Interesting idea. Many questions left unanswers:
- How do you get your kid from pulling out the USB device?
- How easy it is to override?
- How do you configure the settings?
Seems to be an interesting way to assist a parent in enforcing house rules for kids and teens. Kids are really good at technology to the point where they can probably outsmart the device. ScreenerKey is early stage, so it will be interested to see if the marketplace will welcome this device.
- TechDirt: Best Preso Award. Subterranean Homesick Preso. Mike Masnick, CEO of TechDirt, quickly demonstrated why he is smarter than 99.9% of the bloggers out there. He zigs while others zag. Mike has figured out a way to monetize the blogsphere and give an entertaining preso that defies conventional wisdom. Hopefully Mike's preso was captured and will be available for people to see for themself.
- Xpree: Most Innovative "Wisdom of Crowds" Award. Tons of sites now have voting mechanisms to understand best photos, videos, etc. Xpree brings this methodology to the mystical art of financial planning. Can the collective knowledge of a corporation provide superior financial forecasting than traditional Financial Planning & Analysis methods? Xpree is betting on this. The challenge for Xpree will be in getting early corporate adopters to get their employees to participate in the surveys in order that this corporate wisdom is accessible.
- Twiki: Now We Just Need to Monetize Award. Twiki is a corporate wiki solution that has gained widespread adoptions due to its starting price point: free. They are now monetizing their customer base with premium and professional services. Looks promising. They should be able to turn a fair share of loyal customers into loyal, paying customers.
- Gigya: Simplicity Award. Gigya offers a simplified way for software developers to distribute widgets. Although dragging and dropping a little JavaScript is not too hard, Gigya's "click to add" tool (think Feedburner RSS feed interface) makes it that much easier to add widgets to a multitude of platforms (Facebook, MySpace, iGoogle, etc.). Gigya also offers a revenue share solution if user's endorse sponsored ads.
The event was quick, clean, and professional. The Plug and Play team did a great job in hosting this event. Thanks to Plug and Play for allowing GetQuik to participate.
Labels: bluegem security, GetQuik, gigya, mike masnick, plug and play expo, saeed amidi, screenerkey, techdirt, twiki, xpree, zipidee
¶ 9:44 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Restaurant 2.0...Coming Soon
Restaurant owners and operators are hard-working, entrepreneurial, and optimistic. In order to survive in this competitive food service industry, operators must provide good food and excellent customer service. To thrive, operators must also operate efficiently and market effectively. The problem that many restaurant owners and operators face is that many do not have the time or energy to look beyond the day to day operations.
Restaurant owners and operators are hard-working, entrepreneurial, and optimistic. In order to survive in this competitive food service industry, operators must provide good food and excellent customer service. To thrive, operators must also operate efficiently and market effectively. The problem that many restaurant owners and operators face is that many do not have the time or energy to look beyond the day to day operations.GetQuik is launching a blog dedicated to providing restaurants with the ABC's of online marketing. We have reserved the domain name (restaurants20.com) in order to provide operators with the necessary tools to inexpensively and easily get online and command a robust online presence. The Restaurant 2.0 blog launch is schedule for early September.
Labels: GetQuik, online marketing, restaurant, restaurant20
¶ 9:52 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
GetQuik with BooRah
GetQuik and BooRah are working together to help restaurants increase their awareness, revenues and profitability.
GetQuik and BooRah are working together to help restaurants increase their awareness, revenues and profitability.BooRah is a Palo Alto based-company providing restaurant reviews and information for over 75,000 restaurants. BooRah has found great partners in newspapers looking to provide a robust restaurant review section for their online properties. BooRah technology drives the restaurant search, information and reviews sections for Palo Alto Online and the San Francisco Bay Guardian, in addition to numerous others.
For restaurants in the GetQuik network, customers and readers of Palo Alto Online and the San Francisco Bay Guardian will be able to place take-out and delivery orders using the "Order Online" button from BooRah's restaurant reviews search engine.
GetQuik is looking forward to working with BooRah and expanding the reach and sales of our restaurant partners.
Labels: boorah, GetQuik, palo alto online, restaurant reviews, san francisco bay guardian, www.paloaltoonline.com, www.sfbg.com
¶ 10:00 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Friday, July 13, 2007
Be an Early Adopter & Earn - Get an iPhone, Tiffany Diamonds
GetQuik is looking for early adopters. Make your food orders through GetQuik and earn towards great prizes. You can earn towards an iPhone, Tiffany Diamonds and more.
GetQuik is looking for early adopters. Make your food orders through GetQuik and earn towards great prizes. You can earn towards an iPhone, Tiffany Diamonds and more.For as little as $500 spent through the GetQuik service (http://www.getquik.com/), you can earn an iPod Shuffle. This is a limited time promotion running from July 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007.
GetQuik offers e-commerce and mobile-commerce for restaurant & cafe take-out and delivery orders. There are no service fees for using the GetQuik service. Program details.
For question on this program, email support@GetQuik.com.
Labels: Early Adopter, GetQuik, iPhone, ipod shuffle, Tifffany diamonds
¶ 10:03 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, June 18, 2007
10 Meetings a Week
Technology has simplified connecting with business contacts. Email, IM, text-messaging, and tools like LinkedIn are great ways to stay in touch. However, there is still NO substitute for the face-to-face meeting. In my previous job (sales), one of the metrics the sales team had to maintain was meeting with 10 prospects face-to-face each week. The meetings were critical to understanding a prospective clients business needs. Equally imporant was to get to know a prospective customer. After a face-to-face meeting, the email and phone calls to prospects are exponentionally more effective than a straight cold-call or email.
Technology has simplified connecting with business contacts. Email, IM, text-messaging, and tools like LinkedIn are great ways to stay in touch. However, there is still NO substitute for the face-to-face meeting. In my previous job (sales), one of the metrics the sales team had to maintain was meeting with 10 prospects face-to-face each week. The meetings were critical to understanding a prospective clients business needs. Equally imporant was to get to know a prospective customer. After a face-to-face meeting, the email and phone calls to prospects are exponentionally more effective than a straight cold-call or email.For GetQuik, the goal of business meetings tend to be more business development and partnership oriented. However, the 10 meetings a week goal is still applicable. The challenge is in maintaining this high level of contact and still being able to get everything else done. Fortunately, there are a ton of networking events in Silicon Valley and San Francisco that provide opportunities to meet new people. From these networking events, you can setup a few weeks of meetings with interesting potential partners and advisors. For enterpreuners, I recommend looking into the following networking groups:
- SVASE: Early Stage Startups
- Startup Epicenter: Early Stage Startups - Workshops
- Stirr: Networking Event for Technology Startup Founders
- SDForum: Technology Focused Networking Group
- Churchill Club: General Business Networking Group
- FountainBlue: Seminars Geared towards Early Stage Startups
There is a saying that business is a contact sport. This saying may be old, but still holds true.
Labels: GetQuik, networking
¶ 9:13 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Thank You for Complaining
"Your service doesn't work" read the Subject line. This is an email I received today from a GetQuik customer. With our new "no fee" policy implemented June 1, we sent our registered users an email notification of the changes. As well, we requested feedback on ways to further improve the GetQuik service. This customer explained his GetQuik mis-experience in gory detail. The problem began when our customer placed an order in the GetQuik system, and somewhere in the process, it did not post successfully in our system. This in turn created a situation where the customer showed up at the restaurant to pick up his order, and our restaurant partner was totally clueless about the order. You can imagine that this customer was not happy.
To make matters worse, this customer is not only the coveted "early-adopter", but also an "influencer". He was preparing to get all his colleagues to use the system, but obviously could not endorse the GetQuik system after his disasterous customer experience.
Now if we had the transaction record posted, and we knew about the problem at the time or order (approximately 2 months ago), we may have been able to work on a damage-control situation. We had a day or two of posting irregularities during the time of this order error. However, although our restaurant partner mentioned a ticked off customer, we were not clear on who it was... till we received this email.
One of the things that GetQuik should have implemented earlier is our "Customer Satisfaction" survey, which we are now using to get a regular pulse of our user community. We are using Survey Monkey. In fact many of the recent changes we have made are a direct result of our survey responses. We currently have a 75% positive response for our survey question: "Would you go out of your way to refer GetQuik to a friend?" We have not been running the survey that long, so we probably would have had a more critical response if we had begun our survey from day 1.
So why air our dirty laundry in a blog format? Because the more criticism we collect, the quicker we can address our shortcomings. It is not realistic to expect our customers to tell us every thing they dislike about our service, but the more we ask, the more we receive. For each unhappy customer that speaks out, there are many more that simply vote with their feet. Every company asks for feedback, suggestions and complaints, but the ones that I admire most are the ones that do more than give lip-service to their customer's feedback. If GetQuik can emulate the customer service experience of industry-leaders like Nordstroms, Whole Foods, Amazon, eBay; hopefully we can also produce their results. We still have our work cut out for us, but we are making strides in this area. Who wants to build a company that is despised or simply tolerated by their customers?
We are working to try and patch our customer relation with the customer who sent the email. We have provided him some store credit to give our service a second try. Hopefully, he will take us up on our offer.
If you have a suggestion or comment, we welcome your feedback.
"Your service doesn't work" read the Subject line. This is an email I received today from a GetQuik customer. With our new "no fee" policy implemented June 1, we sent our registered users an email notification of the changes. As well, we requested feedback on ways to further improve the GetQuik service. This customer explained his GetQuik mis-experience in gory detail. The problem began when our customer placed an order in the GetQuik system, and somewhere in the process, it did not post successfully in our system. This in turn created a situation where the customer showed up at the restaurant to pick up his order, and our restaurant partner was totally clueless about the order. You can imagine that this customer was not happy.
To make matters worse, this customer is not only the coveted "early-adopter", but also an "influencer". He was preparing to get all his colleagues to use the system, but obviously could not endorse the GetQuik system after his disasterous customer experience.
Now if we had the transaction record posted, and we knew about the problem at the time or order (approximately 2 months ago), we may have been able to work on a damage-control situation. We had a day or two of posting irregularities during the time of this order error. However, although our restaurant partner mentioned a ticked off customer, we were not clear on who it was... till we received this email.
One of the things that GetQuik should have implemented earlier is our "Customer Satisfaction" survey, which we are now using to get a regular pulse of our user community. We are using Survey Monkey. In fact many of the recent changes we have made are a direct result of our survey responses. We currently have a 75% positive response for our survey question: "Would you go out of your way to refer GetQuik to a friend?" We have not been running the survey that long, so we probably would have had a more critical response if we had begun our survey from day 1.
So why air our dirty laundry in a blog format? Because the more criticism we collect, the quicker we can address our shortcomings. It is not realistic to expect our customers to tell us every thing they dislike about our service, but the more we ask, the more we receive. For each unhappy customer that speaks out, there are many more that simply vote with their feet. Every company asks for feedback, suggestions and complaints, but the ones that I admire most are the ones that do more than give lip-service to their customer's feedback. If GetQuik can emulate the customer service experience of industry-leaders like Nordstroms, Whole Foods, Amazon, eBay; hopefully we can also produce their results. We still have our work cut out for us, but we are making strides in this area. Who wants to build a company that is despised or simply tolerated by their customers?
We are working to try and patch our customer relation with the customer who sent the email. We have provided him some store credit to give our service a second try. Hopefully, he will take us up on our offer.
If you have a suggestion or comment, we welcome your feedback.
Labels: customer service, GetQuik, survey monkey
¶ 9:22 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Friday, June 1, 2007
You Asked, We Listened - No More Fees
Thank you for all the GetQuik customers who responded to our user survey.
We have updated our site and made the following improvements:
- NO MORE CONVENIENCE FEES!: GetQuik is now fee free for all users.
- Simplified User Accounts: Get a GetQuik user account in less than 1 minute (email and password requirement). That's all that you need to get started.
- Improved Group Order Tool: Invite your friends colleagues to participate in your to-go or delivery orders.
- Beta Mobile Client: We have 71 handsets supported for Cingular Wireless customers. We also have a universal WAP-client available for mobile ordering.
Check out our site, and let us know what you think. Please send us your thoughts.
Thank you for all the GetQuik customers who responded to our user survey.
We have updated our site and made the following improvements:
- NO MORE CONVENIENCE FEES!: GetQuik is now fee free for all users.
- Simplified User Accounts: Get a GetQuik user account in less than 1 minute (email and password requirement). That's all that you need to get started.
- Improved Group Order Tool: Invite your friends colleagues to participate in your to-go or delivery orders.
- Beta Mobile Client: We have 71 handsets supported for Cingular Wireless customers. We also have a universal WAP-client available for mobile ordering.
Check out our site, and let us know what you think. Please send us your thoughts.
Labels: GetQuik
¶ 9:23 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
June/July GetQuik Sweepstakes - Win an iPod Shuffle
GetQuik is launching a June/July Sweepstakes. We will be giving away 8 iPod Shuffles during this period. One a week. If you place a GetQuik order during a sweepstakes period, you are registered to win! It is as simple as that. GetQuik offers simple restaurant ordering for take-out and delivery orders in the San Francisco Bay area.
Contest Rules (Acrobat Format).
Good luck everyone.
GetQuik is launching a June/July Sweepstakes. We will be giving away 8 iPod Shuffles during this period. One a week. If you place a GetQuik order during a sweepstakes period, you are registered to win! It is as simple as that. GetQuik offers simple restaurant ordering for take-out and delivery orders in the San Francisco Bay area.
Contest Rules (Acrobat Format).
Good luck everyone.
Labels: GetQuik, ipod shuffle
¶ 9:44 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, May 14, 2007
Simple Surveys with Survey Monkey
Getting feedback from your customers is critical to any business. It is even more important for a web-based company, as you cannot depend on face-to-face interactions to get a sense for your customer satisfaction.
Thanks to Evan from Liftopia for recommending Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey is an excellent tool to help with customer satisfaction and market research surveys. Although GetQuik has just begun using Survey Monkey, we have already received important customer feedback that will translate into a new, improved web-site. Stay tuned for details. We are currently receiving approximately 50% of our survey requests back completed.
I am sure that there are other excellent survey tools, but Survey Monkey is one of the better known ones, and it is extremely easy to setup. For our short 6 question survey, it took less than 10 minutes to set it up. The cost for Survey Monkey's basic plan is $20 per month. A small price to pay to get insight in order to get the skinny on what your customers really think about your product or service.
If you are just getting your surveys going, be prepared to make some changes, as you will get honest feedback from your customers.
If anyone has any tips on survey tools or using survey feedback successfully, please comment.
Getting feedback from your customers is critical to any business. It is even more important for a web-based company, as you cannot depend on face-to-face interactions to get a sense for your customer satisfaction.
Thanks to Evan from Liftopia for recommending Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey is an excellent tool to help with customer satisfaction and market research surveys. Although GetQuik has just begun using Survey Monkey, we have already received important customer feedback that will translate into a new, improved web-site. Stay tuned for details. We are currently receiving approximately 50% of our survey requests back completed.
I am sure that there are other excellent survey tools, but Survey Monkey is one of the better known ones, and it is extremely easy to setup. For our short 6 question survey, it took less than 10 minutes to set it up. The cost for Survey Monkey's basic plan is $20 per month. A small price to pay to get insight in order to get the skinny on what your customers really think about your product or service.
If you are just getting your surveys going, be prepared to make some changes, as you will get honest feedback from your customers.
If anyone has any tips on survey tools or using survey feedback successfully, please comment.
Labels: GetQuik, liftopia, survey monkey, surveys
¶ 9:53 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, April 30, 2007
Are You a Connector? Earn an iPod Shuffle!
GetQuik is making a call-out to you connectors out there. If you have read "The Tipping Point" by Malcom Gladwell or "never eat alone" by Keith Ferrazzi, you will have heard of these terms.
Here is the challenge. Starting from today - April 30th, 2007, the first 10 people to successfully refer 10 new GetQuik members will earn an iPod Shuffle http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/.
How it works: In order to "refer a friend" into the GetQuik network, you must first be a registered GetQuik user. Go to www.GetQuik.com and sign up. Once you are signed up, you can use the "Refer a Friend" link to invite your friends (for a video tutorial, go to http://www.getquik.com/RunTime/Common/Demo.aspx). Once 10 of your friends have successfully registered, we will send you out an iPod Shuffle.
We are still looking for our "Tipping Point" and experimenting with ways to make it happen. If you have any questions about this promotion, please email support@GetQuik.com.
Here is the challenge. Starting from today - April 30th, 2007, the first 10 people to successfully refer 10 new GetQuik members will earn an iPod Shuffle http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/.
How it works: In order to "refer a friend" into the GetQuik network, you must first be a registered GetQuik user. Go to www.GetQuik.com and sign up. Once you are signed up, you can use the "Refer a Friend" link to invite your friends (for a video tutorial, go to http://www.getquik.com/RunTime/Common/Demo.aspx). Once 10 of your friends have successfully registered, we will send you out an iPod Shuffle.
We are still looking for our "Tipping Point" and experimenting with ways to make it happen. If you have any questions about this promotion, please email support@GetQuik.com.
Labels: connector, GetQuik, ipod, never eat alone, tipping point
¶ 2:59 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Pizza My Heart - Winning Customers One T-Shirt At a Time
I had an opportunity to speak with the "Big Cheese" from Pizza My Heart - Chuck Hammers a few months back. Pizza My Heart is a Bay Area favorite (12 locations, soon to be 13) for pizza by the slice.
One thing that Pizza My Heart is well known for is their t-shirt deal. You can get a slice of pizza, a soda and a t-shirt for $5! If you are relaxing downtown in Santa Cruz, Palo Alto or Los Gatos; there is a high likelihood that you will see someone wearing one of these shirts. All told, they have sold 425,000 shirts and counting. Pizza My Heart sells so many of these shirts annually, that this meal/t-shirt deal is no longer a loss leader. You can get t-shirts seriously cheap if you buy in bulk. You can bet the original goal of the t-shirt promotion was not to make a quick buck, but rather to create brand awareness and customer loyalty. This campaign has achieves this desired result and then some. Pizza My Heart is not the only pizza by the slice option in the Bay Area, but it is the best known. Pizza My Heart focuses on a quality product, premiere locations, and the t-shirt promotion. Unlike other pizza shops, they hardly do any coupons or print advertising. Having a cute baby or a cute babe wearing your logo can be a powerful brand building strategy.
In the spirit of Chuck Hammer's brilliant campaign, if you are a registered GetQuik customer and would like one of our t-shirts (lime green), email support@getquik.com with your mailing address and GetQuik user name. We will send you a t-shirt (M, L, XL).
One thing that Pizza My Heart is well known for is their t-shirt deal. You can get a slice of pizza, a soda and a t-shirt for $5! If you are relaxing downtown in Santa Cruz, Palo Alto or Los Gatos; there is a high likelihood that you will see someone wearing one of these shirts. All told, they have sold 425,000 shirts and counting. Pizza My Heart sells so many of these shirts annually, that this meal/t-shirt deal is no longer a loss leader. You can get t-shirts seriously cheap if you buy in bulk. You can bet the original goal of the t-shirt promotion was not to make a quick buck, but rather to create brand awareness and customer loyalty. This campaign has achieves this desired result and then some. Pizza My Heart is not the only pizza by the slice option in the Bay Area, but it is the best known. Pizza My Heart focuses on a quality product, premiere locations, and the t-shirt promotion. Unlike other pizza shops, they hardly do any coupons or print advertising. Having a cute baby or a cute babe wearing your logo can be a powerful brand building strategy.
In the spirit of Chuck Hammer's brilliant campaign, if you are a registered GetQuik customer and would like one of our t-shirts (lime green), email support@getquik.com with your mailing address and GetQuik user name. We will send you a t-shirt (M, L, XL).
Labels: GetQuik, pizza my heart, t-shirt promotion
¶ 9:23 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Go Chicken, Egg Later
As a start-up company, you have to deal with "chicken or the egg" problems everyday. Here are a few examples:
You: "I believe this business can be huge. Having some external funding would really help us aggressively address this opportunity."
Investor: "Sounds interesting, but I need to see some serious tractions before we would be interested in investing."
Your Friend: "Sounds like you have a chicken or the egg problem."
You: "I need to get some business partners to support our business in order that I can attract some significant customers."
Business Partner: "I would need to see some customer testimonials and successes before we would be interested in participating in a business partnership."
Your Friend: "Sounds like you have a chicken or the egg problem."
You: "We are needing to drive user awareness and adoption in order to grow this business faster."
Marketing/PR Advisor: "Your story would be much better if you had some significant "unique visitors" and "registered users."
Your Friend: "Sounds like you have a chicken or the egg problem."
So my advice to other business founders dealing with the same problem is to focus on the chicken. In the case of GetQuik, we have the challenge of needing restaurant partners to get customers, and customers to get restaurant partners. So rather than trying to solve both problems, we choose ONE and only one battle. We focused all our energy on getting restaurant partners. We are closing in on 100 restaurant participating on our site. Now we have the chicken or at least a chick, we now have to figure out how to get this chicken to lay eggs. We are switching gears to drive increased user traffic to our site (THE EGG).
It is amazing how many "chicken and egg" problems you can solve by taking action, focusing, and simply overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.
We have solved a good chunk of our "chicken and the egg" challenges, and have many more to go.
Keep this in mind. The answer to "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" is not the most important thing. What is important is that there are both chickens and eggs. In fact there are 35 million chickens in the US alone! Good luck on your chicken/egg quest.
You: "I believe this business can be huge. Having some external funding would really help us aggressively address this opportunity."
Investor: "Sounds interesting, but I need to see some serious tractions before we would be interested in investing."
Your Friend: "Sounds like you have a chicken or the egg problem."
You: "I need to get some business partners to support our business in order that I can attract some significant customers."
Business Partner: "I would need to see some customer testimonials and successes before we would be interested in participating in a business partnership."
Your Friend: "Sounds like you have a chicken or the egg problem."
You: "We are needing to drive user awareness and adoption in order to grow this business faster."
Marketing/PR Advisor: "Your story would be much better if you had some significant "unique visitors" and "registered users."
Your Friend: "Sounds like you have a chicken or the egg problem."
So my advice to other business founders dealing with the same problem is to focus on the chicken. In the case of GetQuik, we have the challenge of needing restaurant partners to get customers, and customers to get restaurant partners. So rather than trying to solve both problems, we choose ONE and only one battle. We focused all our energy on getting restaurant partners. We are closing in on 100 restaurant participating on our site. Now we have the chicken or at least a chick, we now have to figure out how to get this chicken to lay eggs. We are switching gears to drive increased user traffic to our site (THE EGG).
It is amazing how many "chicken and egg" problems you can solve by taking action, focusing, and simply overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.
We have solved a good chunk of our "chicken and the egg" challenges, and have many more to go.
Keep this in mind. The answer to "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" is not the most important thing. What is important is that there are both chickens and eggs. In fact there are 35 million chickens in the US alone! Good luck on your chicken/egg quest.
Labels: chicken, egg, GetQuik, startups
¶ 9:23 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Friday, March 30, 2007
Vote for Your Next American Admin! Winner Receives a $250 prize.
Admininstrative Professional Day or "R E S P E C T" day for folks keeping the engine of businesses running is coming. Wednesday, April 25th to be exact.
We at GetQuik are looking for the next American Admin (actually Bay Area Admin). If you or someone you know is deserving of this recognition, please submit your "audition" or "nomination" here. Your "audition" or "nomination" needs to include the candidate's full name, company name, and the reason they should be "the Next American Admin". We will take auditions through Tuesday, April 17th. We will provide a list of the top candidates and conduct an audience-based vote to determine the winner. You can vote for your favorite American Admin from Wednesday, April 18th - Tuesday, April 24th. The winner will be announced, April 25th.
The winner will receive a $250 bonus from GetQuik. GetQuik provides on-line ordering to restaurants - http://www.getquik.com/. May the best "Admin" win.
Contest rules:
- Candidates must reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- One vote per person.
- The winning "admin" must have a valid business email address.
Admininstrative Professional Day or "R E S P E C T" day for folks keeping the engine of businesses running is coming. Wednesday, April 25th to be exact.We at GetQuik are looking for the next American Admin (actually Bay Area Admin). If you or someone you know is deserving of this recognition, please submit your "audition" or "nomination" here. Your "audition" or "nomination" needs to include the candidate's full name, company name, and the reason they should be "the Next American Admin". We will take auditions through Tuesday, April 17th. We will provide a list of the top candidates and conduct an audience-based vote to determine the winner. You can vote for your favorite American Admin from Wednesday, April 18th - Tuesday, April 24th. The winner will be announced, April 25th.
The winner will receive a $250 bonus from GetQuik. GetQuik provides on-line ordering to restaurants - http://www.getquik.com/. May the best "Admin" win.
Contest rules:
- Candidates must reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- One vote per person.
- The winning "admin" must have a valid business email address.
To Register: Click the "comments" button at the bottom of the posting. Then leave your "comment" with your audition or your nomination.
If you have any questions regarding this contest, please email support@GetQuik.com.
If you have any questions regarding this contest, please email support@GetQuik.com.
Labels: admin day, American Admin, GetQuik
¶ 10:54 PM 1 Comments Links to this post
