Welcome to the Team, Jordan!

Jordan Boesch is the latest addition to the 24hrAssistant family!  Jordan will be working part-time with us as a developer and he couldn’t be happier!  Jordan was born and raised in Regina, SK and his starry eyes for web development only flourished when ran away to Ottawa after High School.  There, he attended Algonquin College and received his Interactive Multimedia Developer diploma.  While going to school, he worked part-time at a web development firm and as he puts it, “getting acquainted with my new-found friend, PHP.”

Jordan’s passion is anything web-related. He is responsible for the web app, TaxiMe, the website that allows you to estimate your cab fare from your starting location to your desired destination. In May 2010, Jordan released the TaxiMe iPhone app.  Jordan is also the owner of 7shifts, an online employee scheduling application.  Jordan and his girlfriend decided to pack up and leave Ottawa and venture to Reims, France. After they were done dashing around Europe for four months, they chose Saskatoon as their next place to call home.  He is more than excited not only to be in this beautiful city but also to work with a great company and talented people.

“24hrAssistant is something that’s easy to get excited about because it’s all about making things easier for the customer and for management.  Having something simple and accessible for your customers makes them happy, and having happy customers is, without a doubt, a good feeling,” Boesch says.

The rest of the group at 24hrAssistant would like to give a warm welcome to Jordan and we promise to keep the rookie pranking to a minimum.  So wait, what constitutes minimum? 2, 3 times daily? Welcome to the team, Jordan.

Day Spa sweetens clients with online appointment option

Desirae Halyk, massage therapist at Brown Sugar Tanning and Day Spa in Regina, Saskatchewan, finally feels like she can breathe now that she has 24hrAssistant, the web based appointment schedule system.  She says the online system benefits her business by filling in the gap between phone calls and call backs.

“I am happy that clients can book online and choose a time to suit their schedule at any time of the day!” Halyk says.

Halyk admits she is not a technologically savvy person and 24hrAssistant has made the transition into online scheduling very smooth.  She says the system is not only super quick and easy to use but also effortless to set up.

“Our clients are loving the option of online booking! Many clients that are business owners are considering the option of adding 24hrAssistant to their business too!”

The automatic confirmation email is Halyk’s favourite tool on the system because it makes her time management more flexible.  Often when a potential client calls a spa to make an appointment and the phone is busy or no one answers he/she will hang up and call the next available spa.  Not with online booking though!

“Once a client books online they are in fast, without hanging up and calling another place for their needs.”

Brown Sugar Tanning and Day Spa is fairly new to 24hrAssistant and already most to all of its clients are booking appointments online instead of calling.  We are so happy 24hrAssistant is benefiting Brown Sugar Tanning and Day Spa! With most to all clients booking online, this is proof that every appointment based company needs this online scheduling system!

Book an appointment with Brown Sugar Tanning and Day Spa by visiting www.brownsugartanninganddayspa.com/

The Times They Are A-Changin’

By Tricia Hrycan, Marketing Coordinator for 24hrAssistant

Technology. Rapidly changing, never a stand still moment.  Anyone has the ability to change the way people communicate these days. For example, Lady Gaga just released Polaroid Sunglasses that take pictures and have a built-in USB stick to transfer to your mobile phone.  Just like Gaga’s sunglasses, every consumer’s possible wants are just an app away.  This is why it only makes sense for companies to have the majority of information and options on their websites and with mobile access.

With Twitter and Facebook replacing our face-to-face communication, marketing presentations and door to door sales have taken a back seat. I think this is a great transition from what was expected in marketing positions 5 years ago.  Although some people believe face-to-face communication is better and more personal, I think when it comes to marketing, it becomes more convenient for everyone involved as well as it doesn’t make the customer feel uncomfortable.

2010 marked a big year in technology and how people continue to communicate.  The Apple iPad was launched, Android becomes an iPhone competitor and Groupon changes the way people save money.  These are all great new tools for marketing and communicating because they continue to add to a different, yet effective, way of selling and interacting.

The Kindle and e-Books have changed the way people read, although I still prefer reading an actual paper copy book.  Despite that, I can still appreciate the convenience the Kindle offers and convenience and speed is everything to the modern consumer.

Technology has increased the flow of how we live our lives which is why anything that can provide a faster and better experience for us is A-ok in our books.  Erik Qualman, author of “Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way we live and do Business,” talks about the preference of instant messaging instead of email because it seems more personal.  Allison Bahm of Response Mine Agency reveals in Qualman’s book that her sales have not decreased with the lack of face-to-face interaction with potential clients.

“I’ve started relationships and signed contracts exclusively within social networks.  It is revolutionary for sales; it’s much easier than telephone calls and emails,” Bahm mentions.

So as worried as people are about losing communication skills with the rapid changes of technology, this shows that we are networking and interacting more than ever, just in a different way.