Automating Form Processing in Whitewater Rafting Business

• Marine & Shipping

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• Time Sensitive Networking

Kern River Outfitters, a family-owned whitewater rafting business, was facing a significant challenge in managing its day-to-day operations. The company, which provides guided rafting tours in Idaho, Oregon, and California, generates thousands of online waivers for its adventure activities. These waivers are not just simple forms; they include detailed information such as allergies, emergency contact info, and more. The process of manually entering this data into their Customer Relationship Manager (CRM), Streak, was time-consuming and monotonous. The adventuring season, which lasts from April or May through the entire summer, meant that the number of waivers the company had to process was in the thousands. This tedious task was taking away valuable time that could be spent on other aspects of the business.

Kern River Outfitters is a family-owned whitewater rafting business founded in 1978 by Bob Volpert. The company provides guided rafting tours in Idaho, Oregon, and the Kern River in California. The business is now owned by Bob's three sons, Matt, Will, and Skip, each managing a different river in each state. The company offers a variety of trips, from easier, Class II rapids to wild Class Vs, and customers can spend as little as two hours or as much as two days adventuring with Kern River Outfitters. The company generates thousands of online waivers for its adventure activities, which include detailed information such as allergies and emergency contact info.

The solution to Kern River Outfitters' challenge came in the form of Zapier, an app automation tool. The company now uses a 'Zap', a bridge between two or more apps, to connect Formsite, the platform where customers fill out waivers, to their CRM, Streak. When a customer fills out a waiver through Formsite, Zapier automatically takes their information and creates a new box in Streak. This box contains customer data, including important information such as allergies or emergency contact details. This automation has made the process of processing waivers instant and automatic, saving the company hours of manual data entry. In addition to this, Kern River Outfitters also uses Zapier to build its newsletter lists. Any visitor to their website can opt in to join the newsletter by filling out a quick form. When the visitor enters their email, Zapier automatically adds the customer's email address and name to a MailChimp list. A second Zap then takes these new MailChimp subscribers and creates a box for them in Streak, allowing the company to track the customer's journey from newsletter sign-up to a booked adventure.

• The implementation of Zapier has brought about significant operational improvements for Kern River Outfitters. The automation of form processing has not only saved time but also eliminated the monotony of the task, improving employee satisfaction. The automatic addition of customer information to the CRM has streamlined the company's operations, making important information readily available for the river guides. The automation of the newsletter list building has also improved the company's marketing efforts, making it easier to track the customer's journey from newsletter sign-up to a booked adventure. Overall, the use of Zapier has allowed Kern River Outfitters to spend less time on paperwork and more time on their core business of providing exciting and safe adventure experiences.

• Significant reduction in time spent on processing waivers, freeing up hours for other business operations.

• Automated addition of customer information to CRM, eliminating manual data entry.

• Automated building of newsletter lists, increasing efficiency in marketing efforts.