Speaker: Case R., Owner, ACE Inspections
Tell us about yourself and why you chose OptimoRoute for your business.
Case R.: In 2018, I started my own business of doing home inspections for banks and lenders, and insurance companies. I've slowly transitioned into insurance companies only. A standard day would until anywhere from 10 to 15 jobs in a day. Sometimes I could get into 30-40 jobs. At first we were using just free software. It was the MapQuest and it worked fine as long as you stayed within a certain amount and then it started getting clunky. We chose OptimoRoute because after giving it a try, we had heard from a friend that used it and it was just so easy. It made our life so much easier to be able to put in all these addresses. It was so user friendly that we're able to find addresses that we frankly couldn't even find on on Google Maps and Apple Maps sometimes. So it gives you better options to pinpoint and, sometimes we get addresses that don't exist, but we're able to put in latitude and longitude. And so it really helps me map out my day and put it into the way that I'm back home much sooner than I used to.
How did you plan routes before OptimoRoute?
Case R.: Before using OptimoRoute, we used pretty much any free version, web based, that we could find using different maps. One of the ones that we used the most was MapQuest because you could put in a lot of different addresses and create a loop and come back. But we were finding a lot of the addresses were incorrect. It was a little bit clunky. It was hard to use sometimes, especially if we got like over 10 addresses or so. And it just, it started getting a little complicated. OptimoRoute has really streamlined how we can put our addresses together, create a route, we can change it on the go and we can adapt it as the day changes and I can use it. I use it on both ends as creating the routes and I am the one and only driver. So I really get to see it work both directions and see the benefit of being in the field and having those real up to date, timed out, changes that can be made from the web based version and pushed through to the app almost immediately. So it's really helps as things change throughout the day.
How has OptimoRoute helped your business?
Case R.: OptimoRoute has helped us to be able to put a route together that definitely uses the best use of time where we can create time slots because a lot of my scheduling I can't do in order. So I need to schedule out one person here, one person here, one person here and then start filling in the blanks. With OptimoRoute, you have the option of creating a time period of what time you need to be at a spot, how long you're going to be there and then start building our around that. And it's just amazing how well it can put a loop together, where I would have it in my head that I'm going to go here here here here, but then the routing software just gives me a completely better option. Even going directions and roads that I didn't know existed. So that certainly has helped a lot in that sense. I can end my day sooner and of course, the gas savings is great. I'm not doubling back and I'm not wasting time and gas going wrong directions. And so, of course, me being on time has certainly helped with my customers and has helped with my business to be able to grow and expand because it has made me more dependable.
How easy is OptimoRoute to use?
Case R.: From the driver's point of view, the app is extremely easy. It basically runs itself. You just push the buttons as you're getting to your destination, starting your job. The first thing I do when I open OptimoRoute on the app is, I can see and get a good idea of what my day is going to be like. And it's, almost always extremely accurate. The only determination that changes, that is how much time I spend at the jobs. But as far as getting me to my jobs on time, it's been absolutely great. I don't do the other side of it as much - the dispatch side, my wife does that. But she knows it very, very well. She's used it enough. There have been times I've had to get in there with very little training at all, but it is so user friendly of just knowing you just put in your address, the time you wanna be there and how long you're gonna be there. So right off the bat, it's very easy, very user friendly. The UI is very easy to use, but what's neat about it is the more you use it, the more you learn these little tricks and you can get a little more playing around with, it can even make it even better. So, but even just for not really knowing what you're doing, it still works just really well.
How important are speed and flexibility for your business?
Case R.: The flexibility is why I started this job. I quit my career in a completely different field because I needed something more flexible. So flexibility was one of the most important things, but OptimoRoute has made it also flexible and has made it to where I can create my day in a way that I'm actually even home sooner than I would have expected. So a lot of times we would create a route and it would say that it's going to be about a 10 hour day of just driving all day long with, you know, maybe 25-30 stops. With OptimoRoute, we're able to determine which stops or what times and then make the route around those. And so that there's not as much doubling back. And because of the way that the the dispatching software side of it is, it has made even a flexible job even more flexible. Somebody calls last minute, even during the day, we can add them in, we can see how it fits in the schedule and immediately push it to the app and then myself as the driver can see how it's going to fit and see what time I'm going to be there and let them know. So of course, that helps with the speed too. Instead of having to pull over and try to gauge where everything is and see what time I can make it to a different appointment that was last minute - we let the software do it and immediately I have it and I just go on and I click my button and go to the next job. So it has taken already flexible job and made it so much more flexible and it has greatly improved the speed that I can get to my jobs.
