Client: Brewers World - Great Expectations
Industry: Retail
Software:
Phil Hanlen of Brewers World, a retailer of beverage making kits and ingredients based in Lower Hutt, knows his stuff when it comes to getting the right mix to make a high quality drink.
It’s the same when it comes to getting support to transition to new business software solutions.
Phil became a home brewer many years ago, thanks to his wife purchasing a brewing kit as a birthday present. What started out as a hobby has become a successful business that supplies brewing kits and ingredients to hobby brewers across New Zealand and Australia as well as further afield.
“We send product to the Chatham Islands as well as one of the coldest places in the world Scott Base, Antarctica, where they enjoy making spirits, that is sure to warm up their cockles.”
However although Phil has been making hobby brewers happy since 2006, he has recently been frustrated by using MYOB RetailManager, a point of sale that’s been great for years but has become dated and was constantly crashing.
“I was always trying to fix it and recover data such as daily sale reports. I was at my wit’s end and I went to my accountant in search of a solution.
Phil also owns a lawn mower shop that runs SAM, an automotive front of house program and Xero. The search was on for someone to provide support to Phil, and his accountant recommended he contact Consult in Hawke’s Bay.
“I got a very competitive price, and from the very first contact with Joanna I knew that she was the right person to help us.
“She was super friendly and nothing was an issue for her. I was completely at ease and she gave me the confidence that we could set up both Vend and Xero.
Only one thing stood in the way of the project getting underway… COVID19. Just as Phil was ready to go, his business went into lockdown.
“When we were forced into lockdown Joanna offered to put the project on hold until we had some certainty around when we could operate again. She then negotiated a discount from Vend and had the new point of sale ready to go upon re-opening.”
Phil’s now raising his glass to Joanna and Consult, although as he says if she walked into his shop, he wouldn’t know her, as all the implementation and training has been done virtually and over the telephone.
“It made no difference that I hadn’t physically met Joanna and she’s always been a phone call away, it’s been that easy!