Customer Story: Kelly Bain, Director/General Manager Bird on a Wire
Kelly Bain is the first to admit that she is not overly technically savvy – but with Aider she’s getting progressively hooked.
There are two reasons for that – Aider gives her instant answers, on her mobile phone, on what’s happening in her business; and Aider saves time – a precious commodity for anyone juggling a career and a family.
Her business partners at Bird On A Wire, a group of 3 restaurants in Auckland, are Brad Jacobs and Andy Lucas. They’re the business duo that brought The Coffee Club to New Zealand so they’re no slouches when it comes to running businesses.
But it’s Kelly who has her shoes on the ground as director/general manager of Bird On A Wire and she needs to be up with the play every day.
“Aider gave me the ability to zip through my business data and get answers on the go. Decision-making has never been easier.”
– Kelly Bain, Director/General Manager, Bird on a Wire
“Aider gave me the ability to zip through my business data and get answers on the go. Decision-making has never been easier.”
“We were meeting with some business colleagues the other day they asked for sales numbers on a product line we have in all three restaurants,” Kelly says. “Normally you would have to run three separate reports to get that data. Usually, it would take 10-15 minutes, but I just got out my mobile, went into my Aider app and asked the question. I had the answer immediately, in total and then broken down across all three locations. Everyone was pretty impressed with the speed and accuracy of Aider.”
Aider is an artificial intelligence (ai) powered digital assistant that connects data from apps like Kounta, iPayroll and Xero, social tools like Facebook and Instagram and delivers Google Analytics. “Aider gave me the ability to zip through my business data and get answers on the go. Decision-making has never been easier.”
Kelly says she knew she would have to have digital tools to help her work smarter at Bird On A Wire. Her background as a qualified chef, barista and then a national sales manager for a coffee brand meant she was familiar with systems. But as the GM of Bird On A Wire with locations in Takapuna, Ponsonby Central and Orakei Bay Village – and plans for another in Auckland in Newmarket and one in Tauranga – she was very excited to test Aider when the opportunity presented itself.
“I am still learning how to use Aider, but it already helps me with things like sales data and the effectiveness of promotions,” she says. “For instance, I get a daily sales report from all three locations between 9 – 11pm. But if I need to know outside of those times I can just ask, and I get real data in real time. That means I can react quickly if we need to change things like stock or staffing.”
“Aider is not a report builder. It gives me instant access to data on the go when I want answers now.”
With new business apps integrating into Aider all the time, Kelly is keen to explore more. Aider has just launched its weather and events bolt on, so businesses affected by weather or the extra foot traffic events might bring can fine tune staffing and inventory.
“Just show me how to combine those things. Anything that gives me instant access to real time information, gives me better insight into the business – and buys me more time for life outside of work – has my attention.”