Barx Parx

Americas

And for its human clientele, the facility offers free Wi-Fi, USB chargers, over a dozen TVs, with a bar serving beer, cider, wine, and snacks. Whether you are watching the game on the overhead TVs or plugged into charging stations with your phone or laptop computer, the Barx Parx concept is all about creating an environment that is conducive with the modern pet owner’s lifestyle.

Clearly, the company has tapped into a widespread and unmet need among the dog community. In each of the four years it’s been in business since opening in 2018, Barx Parx has topped the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s “Best of Vegas” list in multiple categories—including Best Pet Grooming, Best Pet Daycare and Boarding, and Best Dog Training. Most recently Barx Parx was voted one of Las Vegas’ best places to work for 2022 by the business press.

A business with a unique phone challenge

With awards, media coverage, and positive word-of-mouth increasing every year, Barx Parx has grown significantly since opening its doors just a few years ago. But Troy Freet, who co-owns Barx Parx with his wife Jen, points out that inbound phone calls pose an interesting challenge that few other businesses face.

“At any moment, we might have 80 dogs barking in the background, and you can block out only so much of that noise behind an office wall,” Troy says.

“One reason we were so eager to upgrade our phone system was to find a solution with built-in SMS texting. That way, we could easily and more efficiently answer basic questions about the facility, sign up dogs for training classes, schedule grooming appointments—without the risk of mishearing an important detail.”

Doing business more efficiently with RingCentral texting

When Barx Parx rolled out RingCentral’s cloud-based unified communications solution, Troy explains, they gained the all-important ability for Barx Parx employees to communicate by SMS text with clients. “Now we have people texting our main business phone number, and our ‘Park Rangers’ respond to those messages right from their computers and tablets.”

SMS capability, Troy explains, is helping Barx Parx improve its operations in several ways. As one example, Troy points out that the company’s dog-grooming clients are taking advantage of a key texting feature to improve their experience. “Clients text us photos of what they want their dogs to look like, which makes it easier for our groomers to nail the look perfectly.”

“Texting also gets us bookings much more quickly,” Troy adds. “When clients had no choice but to call one of our numbers, those calls could take 10 minutes—between navigating our phone menus, small talk and having to repeat themselves over barking. But now, they can text us a request for an appointment and that takes 30 seconds, which frees up our employees and helps us book more services. The asynchronous nature of texting also means that our staff can check their texts every few minutes rather than dropping what they are doing to answer a ringing phone.”

Streamlining operations with other RingCentral capabilities

As Troy explains, the Barx Parx team also uses other components of the RingCentral unified platform to improve their daily workflows.

“We use the automated phone menus to help our callers get connected to the right people quickly,” he says. “Because the RingCentral admin portal is easy and intuitive, anytime I need to change some part of our menu—say, to add a new employee’s extension or update holiday hours on the recorded greeting—I can do that easily online, from anywhere.”

The Barx Parx team also stays connected using RingCentral’s video conferencing solution. “We use RingCentral Video for internal team calls and for meetings with partners and vendors,” Troy says. “We’ve even used RingCentral Video to let our clients see their pup while they are vacationing on some tropical beach. The tool is extremely flexible, and I know we’ll keep finding uses for it.”

Improving the client experience with a HubSpot integration

Barx Parx has also found a way to add both familiarity and efficiency to its client calls, with the RingCentral for HubSpot CRM Integration.

“With RingCentral integrated into our HubSpot account, our trainers and groomers can now text and call clients directly from their HubSpot interface, where we have our detailed client profiles and histories,” Troy explains.

“And when we receive calls or texts from clients, essential details such as the dog’s name and account status show up on our caller ID immediately. This tight CRM integration ensures that we have important details about that client right in front of us without having to look things up or ask unnecessary questions. The integration of our CRM and phone system allows us to provide the best possible experience for our members and their four-legged family members.”

Encouraging better work-life balance

Finally, Troy notes, several of Barx Parx’s employees have told him that having RingCentral on their computers and mobile phones has improved their sense of work-life balance.

What is next for Barx Parx?

Having an enterprise grade telecommunications platform that is integrated with other systems will help facilitate Barx Parx’s future expansion plans within their current and nearby markets. While Barx Parx does not currently franchising, they do consult with other similar concepts.

“We recognize that we’ve identified a need and concepts like Barx Parx are sprouting up around the country,” Troy says. “My wife and I have a uniquely complementary background when it comes to building brands and growing and scaling recurring-revenue businesses. We’ve been able to help dozens of concepts get off the ground and add predictable recurring revenue to their bottom line. The RingCentral video conferencing platform allows us to have meaningful sessions with our clients and collaborate on documents like business and marketing plans and financial models.”

Nearly one in five American households adopted a pet during the pandemic and more than 67% of US households currently own pets. This new era of pet owners wants to socialize, and they expect to be able to do it with their dog.