By Darryl Stewart, Head of the Herd
I phoned Monica, the controller for one of our customers, today. I asked her to do me a favour using her connections and begged her to let me take her out to lunch in return.
She did not want to go for lunch. I thought maybe it was me!
Much to my relief she sent me an email a short while later…
“It’s all good – just pay back for how good Kevin is to us – I really appreciate knowing he’s on the other end of the phone when I need him!”
By Darryl Stewart, Head of the Herd
We recently converted a large customer from our old web payroll, scheduling and time tracking system to our new completely integrated Everest platform.
This was one of the first customers to use all aspects of our new system, well beyond just payroll. There were some rough spots and one of the things we did to get over the issues was spend time with our customer, at their office. This allowed us to see first hand what we needed to improve and also allowed us to figure out together how they should best use the new system.
It the midst of all this we came to realize that our main contact at this organization could really use a bigger monitor. This was a chance for us to plant one of our world famous IBEXseeds.
Yesterday morning Peregrin, our Head of Herd Geeks, dropped off IBEXseed #10. It was an organizer basket with some cheerful flowers, a card, a bottle of “Everest strength” pain relief (Skittles) and a brand new 21″ monitor. The seed was put together by Peregrin and Susan, our Herd Culture Queen.
Thanks for everything Toni!
IBEXseed #10 - Also Included a 21" Monitor
by Lisa Tachan, Head of Spreading the Herd Word
Here at IBEX Payroll, we are striving to become one of the best places to work in Canada. Our unique work culture, along with a passion for great customer service, are what we pride ourselves on. We were reminded just how different we are from our competitors when we had a former employee of theirs join our ranks and become a member of the Herd. Nick has been with us for just over a month now, and with his experience in the payroll world, he’s been able to give us some insight into just how different it is to work at a place like IBEX.
“It’s like night and day,” Nick explained. “I think people are set up to expect less from the big companies. When you compare what the big companies do to what the Alpine Crew does here, it’s just a whole different philosophy.”
Nick explained that in most cases, if you use a large company to do your payroll, and there comes a time when you need some assistance with the payroll system, your phone call will go to a call centre setting where it is filtered through to a customer service rep. These reps are heavily monitored. The company will keep track of how many minutes their reps are on the phone with you, how many number of rings it takes before they pick up, how long a customer is waiting on the other line, and the number of calls they take in a day.
When Nick joined the team at IBEX, he had a few other things to get used to aside from the morning Herddle and “Go IBEX!” cheer that happens daily in the IBEX Herdquarters.
“I don’t mean to be rude or anything when I say this, but, sitting in on training with Kevin and Susan, there were just some things that they were doing for customers I was wondering to myself, ‘why are you doing this? Shouldn’t they [the customer] be doing it themselves?”
Nick went on to explain how he witnessed Susan error-proof a payroll for several of her customers. If something looked off to Susan, she would call the customer to double check that the information provided was correct before she sent it off to be processed. Kevin received an e-mail from a customer who wanted very little to do with the whole payroll process. This customer would just list the first name of their employees and how many hours each of them had logged for that pay period. Kevin would then enter that information into the IBEX system himself. At witnessing this type of service, Nick was amazed.
“That just doesn’t happen at the bigger companies,” Nick said. “Usually, they just run a payroll as soon as it is submitted. If there are any errors, the customer is out of luck and will probably be charged a fee to run another payroll. The type of customer service at IBEX . . . . it’s just . . . it’s the kind of service you think of when you think of great customer service. It’s like going back to the old days.”
Chalk 1 for the goats with the most, and zip for the guys in the suits. Smaller companies can do it better by challenging the way things have always been done.
Share some of your excellent (or not so great) customer service stories with us by commenting below!
Interested in becoming an IBEX Payroll customer? Visit this link for a free trial with our system!
by Lisa Tachan, Head of Spreading the Herd Word
At only 2.5 years old, Salon Pop possesses a vibrant atmosphere that not only comes from its sleek and elegant salon interior, but also from a happy, talented team of stylists and their very-happy-to-be-there clientele.
At this specific salon located in Winnipeg by Grant Park Shopping Centre, there is plenty to be happy about. Aside from awesome staff and loyal customers, Salon Pop has bragging rights to using only Eco-friendly and organic products by Aveda; a company with a mission statement claiming they “strive to set an example for environmental leadership and responsibility, not just in the world of beauty, but around the world”.
Providing the best possible experience while offering high quality hair styling services and products to customers is just the beginning of what owner Mark Braun and his team of stylists strive for at Salon Pop.
“Aveda looks at beauty and wellness from a holistic standpoint, and that transpires into what we do. We’re not about beauty trends or fads, we’re about taking care of each person that comes through our door as a whole. We’re not just about the hair cut. We want to help with the daily beauty regime of every individual. “
Salon Pop started as a team of 3 stylists and has quickly grown into a fully staffed salon with a flourishing list of clients. On top of running the salon, Mark is also behind the chair and in high demand, checking up on his staff and interacting with customers to ensure every individual leaves the salon completely satisfied. That being said, there isn’t a lot of time in the day to commit to much else.
“When I opened Salon Pop, I knew that I wanted to get away from everything to do with payroll. I wanted to find someone else to do it. IBEX made my life so much easier. It’s been a huge time saver for me.”
Mark Braun keeps Salon Pop running using Mac computers, which makes him and his business somewhat unique to the IBEX customer experience. Before changes were made to our payroll system, IBEX wasn’t compatible with the Apple products. To get his payroll done, Mark would have to call in his numbers and speak to our support staff, who would then key all of his information in for him. When the software became available to use on a Mac system, Mark had the opportunity to have the hands-on experience with the IBEX Payroll system himself.
“The transition has been fantastic. I love the fact I am able to do direct deposits and the reporting system is easy to go on. I’m able to calculate holiday pay or make deductions. If I’m ever not sure – I do 90% of my payroll and then call Kevin to double check my numbers, and he’ll either talk me through it or run it himself. My relationship with IBEX has been awesome.”
The ability to access IBEX Payroll both online and through the hardware of his choice has been a huge plus for Mark and his business. He has been able to get his payroll done at a time that is convenient to him, and hasn’t had to put his life on hold to rush back to the office to make sure his employee’s get paid.
With a ‘blooming’ business focused on the ultimate customer experience, IBEX is happy to give Mark and his team a Mac-friendly service that makes payroll the last thing on their minds!
Looking for a wicked new stylist with Eco-friendly values? Visit Salon Pop’s website for more information on their products and services.
Interested in learning more about IBEX and our customers? Find us on Twitter @IBEXPayroll
by Lisa Tachan, Head of Spreading the Herd Word
Noble Locksmith began as a one man business started by George Noble over 100 years ago. Since then, this company located in the heart of downtown Winnipeg has grown to house 20 employees, a fleet of about 10 service vehicles, and a small retail operation that provides a variety of locksmith products and services.
Over the past century, Noble Locksmith has changed hands and stood the test of time with different owners and management. At present, Noble Locksmith is a family business, co-owned by brothers Brian and Frank Senden. They are the first to be 2nd generation owners in all of Noble Locksmith history, as they purchased the company from their parents over 18 years ago.
As the company established itself and became a permanent fixture in Winnipeg’s history, Noble Locksmith grew and evolved while staying true to their business purpose. With values focused on quality locks, safety, and peace of mind (and not to mention the 100 years of experience under their belts), Noble Locksmith promises efficient, courteous service and top-of-the-line hardware products to provide their customers, both residential and commercial, with whatever they require to meet their security needs. They also make it a point to go above and beyond for their customers.
Brian and Frank Senden
“We offer a 24 hour emergency service, since we know from experience that emergencies or people locking themselves out happens at all hours. Our guys are dedicated and know that when they get hired on they need to make themselves available at all times in case something does happen.” – Brian Senden, President
When a small business like Noble Locksmith starts getting bigger, needing to staff more employees, expand their products and services, and continues to build and grow their clientele, the workload of everything involved with payroll really starts to weigh on the company.
“The biggest problem with payroll was the time it took me away from my business. I did it all myself, so it was one morning a week and unfortunately I’d make a lot of little mistakes, so a lot of the time was spent on the back and forth of fixing those mistakes.”
Brian and Frank turned to IBEX Payroll to help them out with their growing small business. So far, the partnership has been the perfect lock-and-key match.
“With IBEX, there are no mistakes. T4′s were once a full-day job, now it’s a matter of minutes to submit my information. It’s been a real time-saver. It takes me about an hour a week to punch my numbers in and get my payroll done. Any questions I have, the support staff always gets back to me quickly and it’s so easy to get someone on the phone.”“
IBEX is all about helping small business owners keep the government and their employees happy by providing a quick and painless online payroll service. We want companies like Noble Locksmith to focus on what has kept them around for over 100 years; their business, and their customers.
Looking for a good locksmith? Check out Noble Locksmith’s website for more information about their products and services.
