In a world ruled by instant gratification, consumers today increasingly expect online shopping to rival the in-person experience. And thanks to the delivery speeds of larger corporations like Amazon and Walmart, 75% of consumers today want all online retailers to offer same-day shipping — an expectation many smaller retailers can’t meet.
Fortunately, in 2019, Carry co-founders Jason Ovryn and Aaron Walters noticed this growing appetite for fast delivery. Wanting to bring the same competitive shipping edge to smaller retailers, they launched Carry: a low-cost, same-day delivery service for businesses in New York.
"There are a few apps and services that if we didn't have them, we legitimately couldn't run our business. OpenPhone is one of them."
Jason Ovryn
Carry aims to stand out from other delivery companies by offering clients and their end-customers a seamless delivery experience.
Before moving to OpenPhone, Jason had no way to automate the initial text sent to customers that contained delivery information. "I had to write out each message individually and make sure I was getting both the customer and store’s name right. I was so mistake-prone," says Jason.
Jason Ovryn
Jason and his team knew delivering a high level of customer service required a more robust communication platform.
Unfortunately, Carry’s experience with Verizon OneTalk left much to be desired.
“The functionality was lackluster,” says Jason. “It was an app on iOS, but we weren’t able to do much with it. We certainly couldn’t have integrations, and there was no real way to break down that phone line into different numbers. We also couldn’t access it from the web. That was a nightmare.”
The service also came with far too large a phone bill.
“On month two, we had a $935 phone bill,” says Jason. “I went into the Verizon store and spent the entire next day trying to figure out what was going on. The following day, we switched to OpenPhone.”
Jason first heard about OpenPhone in the platform’s early days, but the solution seemed custom-built for Carry’s needs even then.
“I really love talking about OpenPhone because it’s just that good,” says Jason. “It’s our way of communicating all throughout our organization and outwards.”
Today, Carry uses OpenPhone to streamline their customer service, support operations, and keep their teams in sync.
Carry now has dedicated phone numbers on OpenPhone for the different groups they serve — including one for drivers, one for clients, and one for end customers.
“We use multiple phone numbers to decipher who's calling in, so we can tailor our response to that call,” says Jason. “That’s a huge benefit to us because it compartmentalizes who we’re talking to, and people know what number to use for what.”
Every Carry driver also accesses their own business number through OpenPhone’s mobile app, so they can easily communicate with end-customers as needed. And because those numbers belong to Carry, Jason and his team can review all of those driver to end-customer conversations.
Now when a shopper places a same-day order with one of Carry’s retail clients, they immediately receive a text from Carry. Thanks to OpenPhone’s Zapier integration, they can automatically send customers a text message after a completed transaction. This saves Jason two hours per day.
“I can’t overemphasize enough how important it is that we can automate that first initial message in a personalized way. Customers love receiving SMS confirmation the moment they check out,” says Jason.
Since Carry can assign multiple team members to the same phone number, no customer or driver is ever waiting too long for assistance. All teammates on shared numbers can access the call and text history of the line, as well, giving them the proper context to deliver seamless client communication — even if they’re picking up where another colleague left off.
Within each number’s inbox, coworkers can also create internal, private threads on calls or text messages to triage or problem-solve.
“Another great feature is the ability to communicate inside your team with different comments and emojis on a specific conversation,” Jason says. “You can have team collaboration with a specific conversation right in OpenPhone.”
For a fast-paced business with many moving parts like Carry, Jason says OpenPhone is a “lifesaver.”
“If you haven’t switched to OpenPhone, I definitely recommend doing so ASAP,” says Jason. “It’s a great platform. It’s super convenient, really easy to use, and inexpensive. I couldn’t go on without it — nor could our whole company.”
OpenPhone works as the backbone of Carry’s communication system, allowing their teams to better support customers, automate repetitive text messages, and collaborate seamlessly.
Join thousands of businesses already using OpenPhone to communicate better with their customers.
