Why Pearl Blonde switched to Timely

In 2016, I had 15 years of experience and was getting close to being 30. I thought it was time to work for myself, so I started renting a chair at a friend’s salon.

At first, Tyson was using his Google Calendar for his appointment management but it wasn’t cutting it. Next, he tried a free software platform. “I was a little apprehensive at first because it’s free – it’s sending texts and it has all of my information, but I needed an immediate solution, so I gave Shedul a shot”. The T&C’s worried him though, “I had a read-through of the terms and conditions and it was a bit sketchy about who owned the data”. 

To protect his customers and his business, he took understandable precautions. “I only put in names and phone numbers, not any colour notes or further information. I was very careful!”

In the end, Tyson decided that if he was to open his own salon, he would need to switch to a new salon software.

“When you’re getting something for free, it’s often too good to be true. When you look at the nitty-gritty, it’s just that – too good to be true. I can’t trust something that doesn’t tell me where my client data is going. I’ve worked hard to build up my client base. Free software is not worth the risk.”

Shopping for salon software

When it came time to open his own location, Tyson immediately looked elsewhere for software. Having been in the industry for almost 2 decades at that point, Tyson had a fair amount of experience with salon systems and had an idea of what he was looking for. Salons that he had previously worked at used Kitomba, Shortcuts or Salon Viewer. “When it came close to opening my own salon, I met up with Kitomba and told them what my goals were and they gave me a quote of $300 a month for one person. My jaw dropped!”

So, the search for a good and affordable salon software continued. “I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and I saw a sponsored Timely ad.” Tyson went on to do some research and signed up for a 14 day trial.

I had a look and it was amazing. It looked and did exactly what I wanted it to do and I could start using it immediately.

Shortly after starting his trial, Tyson started experiencing the Timely customer service that we are so proud of. “I got a little message while I was looking around the app, asking if I needed any help! The staff were so friendly, it was such a great experience to have someone messaging me while I was online and answering my questions. This differed from the customer experience I had been getting and made it an easy decision. Timely is so worth the money. ”

Transitioning between softwares

We were able to move Tyson’s information from his previous free software, over to Timely easily and quickly which sealed the deal. We know moving business software can be daunting so we make it as seamless as possible.

They moved all of my data from Shedul over to Timely. They rang me saying, ‘Just so you know I’m moving you over to Timely and as of tomorrow, just use Timely.’ It was amazing. He was such a nice dude!

Our Customer Support team kept on helping Tyson whenever he needed it. “In the first two weeks, when you get used to a new system, you’ll have teething issues. You don’t know how to use everything yet. So, the first few weeks the extra support was phenomenal. I had quite a few questions and the Support Team answered them so quickly. It was so seamless.”

Tyson’s Must Use Timely Features

Pearl Blonde is on our Elevate plan and takes advantage of the allocated SMS that comes included with this plan. “I love the ability to send an ad-hoc text message. If I’m running 15 minutes behind I can get my apprentice to do that quickly.”

The following are Tyson’s most used features:

• Reminder Messages
• Confirmation SMS
• Reports 
• Dashboard
• Stock Management 

Tyson also has his appointments emailed to him by Timely every night. “The night before my appointments, I get a PDF of what I have on the next day, so if my internet is down or if my computer crashes (it actually crashed last year) I have a PDF of my day and my phone to use as a back-up!”

Being able to check in on his business from anywhere is also crucial to Tyson.

“The ability to access Timely anywhere is amazing! Having a dedicated app on my iPhone and iPad at home is great – it’s so accessible! The data is all mine and I know when I grow to multiple locations, which is my goal, I will be able to see everything that’s happening across them.”

With a great brand image, premium clientele and an extremely successful business under his belt, Tyson’s influence in the Australian beauty industry is on the rise. With any growing business, it is essential to have software that can support your staff and systems. At Timely, we’re here to make your booking, payment and planning systems as simple, streamlined and secure as possible. Whether you’re opening your eighth location or you’re just starting out, we’re here to help!

Have any questions? Get in touch today.