Ancona’s Wines Success with ZoomShift

Ancona’s Wines and Liquor Store is spread across three corners of Connecticut. With a team of about 17 folks (and even more during busy times), Ancona has been in the business since 1933.

While a large team is a good sign of business success, it’s a nightmare for scheduling. And Monique used to spend what felt like forever sorting out schedules.

But things have changed. Thanks to some experimentation, Monique has gone from spending entire days on schedules to knocking them out in under three hours.

She calls this a “game-changer for her life”, and in this post, we’ll take a look at what exactly happened (small hint: it’s ZoomShift).

Ancona’s Unique Scheduling and Communication Needs

Ancona’s business model is based on close collaboration between its three stores, which function as a single entity despite their separate addresses.

Monique not only oversees operations but also distributes important information to ensure smooth running across all locations. Whether it’s sharing instructions on how to manage specific store tasks or coordinating the rotation of staff between sites

With staff members regularly moving between the three stores, there’s a need for constant communication and knowledge sharing. Each team member must remain up-to-date about the shift schedule to avoid accidental absences.

This means Monique needed a scheduling solution that:

• Can help her create multi-location schedules
• Can show her the big picture about how staff is distributed across the three locations
• Offers strong communication features to keep everyone updated

Did she find one? Not without a bit of experimentation.

Monique’s Life Before ZoomShift

Let’s rewind a bit and talk about Monique’s scheduling struggles before ZoomShift entered the picture. She was initially using Deputy, which offered a similar visual scheduling approach to ZoomShift but was missing a key feature: a newsfeed for team communication.

Now, this might not sound like a big deal, but for Ancona’s, it was crucial. For example, picture this: a customer orders something from Store A, but it needs to be picked up and delivered from Store B. Without a solid communication system like ZoomShift offers, passing on this info smoothly was time-consuming and inefficient.

So, they switched gears and tried out Sling. It had some communication features, but scheduling? That was a different story.

Monique couldn’t see all three locations at once, which meant a lot of toggling between screens. Imagine having to use your laptop, the store computer, and maybe even resorting to good old pen and paper just to figure out who’s doing what and when. That was the scheduling nightmare Monique was going through.

She was also struggling with Sling’s visual layout. Deciphering who was on delivery duty, who was receiving shipments, or who was managing the website was almost impossible. No wonder Monique was spending entire days just trying to untangle the scheduling mess.

Enter ZoomShift—Monique’s Game-Changer

ZoomShift stepped onto the scene as the solution Monique needed to untangle scheduling at Ancona’s Wine Store. She can’t stop raving about how it changed her life, and for good reason.

With ZoomShift’s easy-to-use interface and multi-location support, Monique went from spending days on schedules to just three hours for half a month’s schedule. How? Well, ZoomShift gave her a clear view of everything, making it simple to see who’s available and who needs a break. Here’s how comprehensive it is:

But that’s not all. ZoomShift comes with a wide range of helpful scheduling features that take team communication and collaboration to the next level, which is exactly what Monique was looking for. You get:

• The ability to share schedules via text, push notifications, and email. ZoomShift also automatically reminds team members when their shift starts, meaning you never have to deal with accidental absences. Remember that missed shifts not only disrupt operations but also cost you money.
• Shift bidding, which lets your employees choose their shifts. This increases employee satisfaction as they’re made part of the scheduling process.
• Shift swapping, which improves flexibility at your business. According to a recent survey conducted by McKinsey among more than 1,000 frontline retail workers in the US, employees cited flexibility as the main factor influencing their decision to remain in a job. This means offering an efficient shift-swapping system helps you retain top talent.
• The ability to manage time-off requests within ZoomShift, which means you won’t have to juggle uncomfortable calls and messages anymore.

Even that’s not all—these are just the scheduling features ZoomShift offers. You also get so much more when you sign up, such as time tracking, free Android and iOS applications, and payroll integration for faster processing.

Be Like Monique and Schedule Smarter

Monique’s experimentation with scheduling software means you don’t have to do it. Use her experience to save time and sign up for the right tool in ZoomShift if you:

• Operate a multi-location business
• Need robust communication features in addition to scheduling tools
• Don’t want to rewind to paper-and-pen days for scheduling

Be like Monique—start your free ZoomShift trial and save days on scheduling.

JD Spinoza

JD enjoys teaching people how to use ZoomShift to save time spent on scheduling. He’s curious, likes learning new things everyday and playing the guitar (although it’s a work in progress).