Every time I see something like this that's what I think of.
"Stop making an app for everything" = https://medium.com/@bsemaj/stop-making-an-app-for-everything...
"Innovation: the virtuous cycle of efficiency and the vicious cycle of laziness" = https://medium.com/p/64d6b091c455
If you don't mind, I'd like to ask, do you think having customer testimonials eases some of your fears of clunkiness? Or do you tend to think, well anyone can "make up" a testimonial? I ask because what you're pointing out is a very real concern of mine. Once people have tried our service, they LOVE it (we have near perfect 10s on NPS across the board), but there is a bit of hesitancy at the beginning, which could be caused by many different factors I'm trying to isolate.
I also kind of wonder how many people out there are making these last minute camping trip where they need to be able to get things requested in less than 60 seconds, etc... I've went camping many times and it's always something that's been planned out at least a few days in advance. My suggestion would be to focus less <60 seconds and make the site more informative, user friendly, etc...
(I think this is a really cool idea! You're going to be asked the above, though, so this might be a good time to practice your answer among friends.)
1) Would you rather spend an extra 60 minutes renting gear from REI or having gear arrive at your place when all your friends do and then leave all together?
2) We're cheaper than REI
3) REI is not open 24/7 like we are. This is actually why we're so focused on being a last minute business, because people today are really really last minute. There are numerous instances where this happens:
Coworker A: "Hey really psyched about Tahoe trip this weekend!"
Coworker B: "Oh crap, can't go, and forgot to tell you earlier, I'm the worst!"
Coworker A: "What?! We're leaving in 2 hours!!"
Coworker B: "Yeah, don't worry I'll find my replacement, hey Coworker C, want to go on this trip? It'll be super fun and I already paid!"
Coworker C: "Yeah sure!"
Coworker C: ~oh... don't have any gear~
Also, if you're calling yourself a "camper" already and have an REI account, we're probably not right for you because you probably go frequently enough to make buying gear worth it. Check out this calculator we built on that: www.lastmingear.com/protips/buy_vs_rent
2) Make your pricing model more obvious. When I can't see prices before checkout, and you're heavily marketing last minute delivery, I assume I'm about to be sticker shocked.
3) That's a great point! You should emphasize that up front, because that use case hadn't occurred to me. My first thought was "they cater to poor planners", not "they'll help me be the spontaneous guy I want to be!"
Maybe instead just use a floating div to appear, say xyz has been added, and then fade away after a second.
p.s.
Please never come to Arizona. That will remove my last excuse for not going camping (purchasing a bunch of stuff, that I may never use more than once).
> A: It's never happened yet!
I don't think that says what you mean it to say.
Internally, make it your policy to go above and beyond to make sure even if there's a huge corporate event, that you still have the necessary gear for everyone else that has paid. Your job is to deliver and have the gear. Making it happen in unusual circumstances is part of the business.
Promising unlimited internet certainly never put most ISPs out of business, and having a business so wildly successful that you're out of stock is a great way to attract investment.
Edit: Case in point. I was looking to get a Sparkfun Kit[1] but they were out of one item that made the whole "kit" out of stock. Down at the bottom they have a link to a "wish list"[2] that lists all the individual items in the kit. And a big button at the bottom of that page that says "add it all."
And for sleeping bags, different bags are rated to different temperatures. I've got two bags, one for warm weather camping and one for cold weather camping.
Is all of this suppose to go in Optional Specifications?
I do agree though that this part of the flow isn't perfect, so we'll work on this. Perhaps for different items, giving examples of what optional specifications people COULD write in? E.g., temperature for sleeping bags, capacity for backpacks, etc.
Of course this is different. I like the idea. Good luck.
I know there are a lot of businesses sprouting in this arena, many of which are focused on the p2p aspect. One of the reasons we've so shied away from that is because we're worried that the very underlying behavior we're incentivizing is buying more stuff--once you figure out you can monetize it and make a profit. Not everyone can buy an apartment as an income generating property, but everyone can buy a tent.
At some point it might equilibriate out and have a net impact of lower consumption anyway, but it's harder to go this route when our mission is purely focused on reducing unnecessary consumption and changing cultural perception of need to buy.
Thanks for your thoughts!
1. How about a shopping cart or something to show what's in your order across the top?
2. Something that gives an idea of cost much earlier on for each item, even if it's just suggested.
3. How do you manage hygiene?, e.g. if a sleeping is delivered and it's musty/whatever - what happens, do I still have to pay? How are things cleaned after use? Is there a deposit?
4. Other items for sale as well as hire, like charged power packs, a magazine or two?
5. Random game/sport items - frisbee, inflatable beach ball etc.
6. Jerky?
2) This one is hard. Ultimately we have a pay what you want model, so I worry that having suggested prices up front turn people away before they get to the final page and realize it's pay what you want. Will test further
3) There's no deposit because we want as a side goal to not hinder access, and deposits do that (especially for our gear, since it can be quite high). That said if you return something in bad condition, you are liable for repair and/or replacement cost, depending on how bad it is. We will have BIG warnings up for Burning Man =) (and may do deposits then...) Generally speaking for hygiene, all of our gear that you might actually have an "inner" part of your body up against is well shielded. For example: sleeping bags we have liners that we can wash. For snowsports gloves, we only carry the kinds that have liners and outer layers.
4) We actually include this whenever you rent something that needs it! For example, the grill has a propane, the headlamps have batteries
5) Yes definitely! We want to start with bigger ticket items first and then hopefully expand to lots of other goods even in other categories. Right now these items are too "cheap" for many people to consider renting. As in, they'll feel awkward renting it.
6) Like... free jerky for every rental? We do surprise some customers randomly with free chocolate =) But jerky might be too limiting since there might be vegetarians. (I guess, sorry vegans about the chocolate)
First, the pop-up dialogs are annoying. Just show the number next to the + button (and add '-' and 'x' buttons to decrement and delete, respectively), and update it whenever I + or -. That's all the feedback I need.
Second, there's mention of product images, but they're not showing up for me on the latest Firefox.
Third, there should be a price estimate for each product I add in the product selection screen.
Hmm... will test the images problem.
Third point is one we're thinking about how to address in the context of our pay what you want model.
May also want to check out growth opportunities with other charities. Used to participate in an annual event called Kayak for a Cause with a couple of hundred people. 85% of them needed a kayak for one day... not exactly something everyone is going to purchase.
Good luck!
Re: kayaks, if we expand there, we're loving this folding kayak http://www.orukayak.com/ (no affiliation in any way, and we're not getting kick backs! =P)
