Alan Herdman Pilates Studios operates out of two locations in London. They approached us to improve their system for booking personal training sessions and group classes. Prior to contacting us they were using a spreadsheet to store bookings and had looked at existing solutions but found none to fit their complex needs. Using a spreadsheet meant trainers spent too much time on admin instead of teaching pilates, and the studio didn't have a client database, making it difficult to communicate with clients. We helped transform their booking process into an online booking platform.
The trainers at Alan Herdman Pilates wanted to spend less time managing client bookings and more time focussing on teaching Pilates. They also had their sights set on building up an easy-to-use client database so that they could easily notify clients by text or email about events or changes to their bookings.
During our initial consultation with Alan Herdman Pilates, it was clear that they knew there was a better solution out there. In fact, they named a few that they had looked at. The main challenges for Alan Herdman Pilates were that none of the existing systems quite fit the way that the studio had been working for years, and the ones that did exceeded their budget. Shaping existing software and building new systems molded to fit our clients is at the heart of what we do, and we enjoy this type of challenge.
Our solution involved taking a hybrid approach. We took an existing booking system that was within the client's budget and would solve most of the client's issues. It allowed clients to make accounts and book sessions and allowed the Pilates studio to communicate with their clients easily. Due to the quirks of the business, there were still some scheduling issues that the studio had struggled with in the past with other systems. To ensure that our solution was a perfect fit, we used our technical expertise to work within the system's constraints and devise innovative ways to fix the remaining issues and allow the new booking system to work for them effectively within their budget.
