How Swoop uses targeted OpenPhone numbers to support its two-sided marketplace

Who are they?

Back in 2018, Swoop CEO Amir Ghorbani was working as a consultant for Deloitte when he decided to help his parents with their small transportation company on the side. While working with them, he noticed that nothing in their business was automated: from dispatching to customer management, every process was managed manually.

And so the idea for Swoop was born.

Swoop is an all-in-one transportation solution that helps individuals and companies organize everything from commuter shuttling to event and executive VIP transportation. As a two-sided marketplace, Swoop services both the companies and individuals requesting private shuttles as well as the independent transport companies that provide those rides.

Industry
Logistics
Use Cases
Operations
Customer support
Founded
2018
HQ
Los Angeles, California
Previously using
Aircall, an in-house solution

"It’s just a no-brainer to use OpenPhone."

Amir Ghorbani

CEO at Swoop

The challenge

As a marketplace SaaS business, Swoop needed a phone system that would allow them to interface with ride operators, provide support to end customers, and run onboarding and operations smoothly. They wanted different phone numbers for distinct types of client requests, the ability to share phone numbers across team members, and a way to communicate with clients via text message.

Swoop first tried using Aircall and several other alternatives, but they couldn’t find a provider that met their diverse needs. In fact, the providers were so far off the mark that Swoop created their own internal solution.

"We were just frustrated with what was out there. The quality of service and the experience through their product was not tailored to our needs."

Amir Ghorbani

Amir Ghorbani

CEO at Swoop
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While Swoop’s solution worked better than alternatives like Google Voice or Aircall, it had its own limitations. Users were able to set their business hours on Swoop’s phone system (a definite plus), but calls could only be directed to a single user. If that user didn’t answer the call, then it was denied, rather than passed on to a coworker — which wasn’t the best client experience.

Fortunately, Amir discovered OpenPhone as an alternative.

“It was almost hilarious when I did the product demo,” he says. “I was like, ‘Wait a sec, did you guys steal my product vision? Did you go into my internal workflows?’ It was obvious that this was exactly for us.”

"If you have a team that has to answer phone calls all day, transparency and communication between teams becomes impossible without having some sort of automated lines of communication for your business phone."

The solution

Switching to OpenPhone allowed Swoop the flexibility it needed to serve both end customers and ride operators in a fast-paced industry. With OpenPhone, Amir’s teams were able to set up multiple business numbers that could be used to address distinct issues — from onboarding to operations to support.

inboxes-swoop

“We really can enhance the customer experience by having targeted phone lines that are based on if there’s a ride today or a ride in the future,” says Amir. “We’re then able to delegate and have more tailored and targeted lines of communication for our end customers and our marketplace business.”

The fact that OpenPhone’s numbers can be shared by multiple employees means customers never have to wait long to reach a Swoop employee. Thanks to OpenPhone’s round-robin call distribution feature, any employee with access to a shared number can pick up the call. If one employee declines the call, it will simply get passed on to another employee in the group.

OpenPhone’s messaging features have also allowed Swoop to meet end customers where they are — which is, most of the time, texting. While some customers prefer calling, 74% of customers say they like being able to text businesses, and that’s certainly the case for Swoop customers. With OpenPhone, Swoop’s dispatch team can text message and call customers directly from their computers or phones.

Teammates can also use internal comments — attached to text messages or call logs — to resolve any issues or make client notes. For example, if a customer texts them saying a driver is late, Swoop's dispatch team can discuss the issue through comments that are only team-visible. These comments, along with all text messages and recorded calls, are saved in conversation threads within OpenPhone, ensuring that any Swoop employee can pick up an existing conversation with a customer without missing a beat.

These features give Swoop the flexibility they need to support their diverse customers quickly and seamlessly.

“Especially if you have business lines that are external-facing and you have multiple people answering phone calls or texting — it’s just a no-brainer to use OpenPhone,” Amir says.

Bottom line

OpenPhone allows Swoop to be more responsive and provide customers with a tailored experience, despite the many moving parts that make up their marketplace business.

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