Courier Magazine recently interviewed Shane Broussard and found out how his company has succeeded and thrived throughout the years.

--

Courier Magazine: Could you give me some background on your company?  When and how was it founded?

Shane Broussard: I founded The Bike Waiter in September of 2011 in San Antonio, Texas. I had another bicycle-based business that integrated large signs for interactive advertising solutions in the downtown area of San Antonio. In working with local businesses, I found that there was a huge demand for delivery to the downtown businesses and nobody was offering it. I originally created Bike Waiter to just be open for lunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday through Friday. Even though I was ahead of the development and revitalization of downtown and the residential growth was just starting to push into our urban core, the demand quickly grew and I have been open seven days a week from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. since January 2012.

CM: Could you fill me in on how your company has survived/thrived over the years?

SB: We have always been prideful in sticking with locally owned and community favorite restaurants. We have great partnerships with the restaurants that we do work with and really get to know them. We are immersed in our communities and get involved with neighborhood resident associations, downtown organizations, and anything and everything that helps support sustainability. We do a lot of SEO, print marketing and social media, donations to events, and we are highly visible on the streets with our yellow and black jerseys, and gear. The idea of delivering by bike was at first perceived as a novelty of sorts, but consumers and restaurants quickly learned that it was, in fact, a more efficient way to deliver in the downtown areas and more urban neighborhoods

CM: How has the company expanded over the years?

SB: I’m always seeking out new opportunities to grow and develop The Bike Waiter into a national brand. Whether it’s an acquisition of an existing delivery business like St Louis, or building a new market from the ground up like Kansas City, Mo., I’m always working on new business development. We are actively seeking established courier partners with a proven track record of executing deliveries accurately and on time.

The most recent development has been in talks for over a year now, and it looks like we will finally move forward this summer. The Bike Waiter plans to enter the Providence, R.I. market with DASH as a strategic partner to execute the deliveries. Leo LaBelle started DASH in 1996. The company has speed and accuracy, and can get parcels delivered from A to B via bicycle. This type of partnership allows The Bike Waiter to utilize its expertise in restaurant marketing and its online ordering platform to assist DASH in generating more deliveries, which allows their couriers to make more money.

CM: What are some of the unique challenges you face as a food delivery company that delivers via bike. Are issues specific to locations?

SB: There are unique challenges via bike and in the different locations. Certain things like the heat in San Antonio during the summer. Our bike waiters have to take care of their bodies and make sure they are staying hydrated and supplied with enough calories throughout the day for the longer deliveries that we do. In St. Louis, we have to deal with a large delivery area, along with rain and snow. Kansas City, although a much smaller delivery area for us, has some nasty hills that can be brutal after a long day of deliveries. We do a good job of keeping food safe and hot, or cold. But mainly, the challenges our riders have to overcome deal with the conditions of the road, and weather, and the maintenance of their bikes and of course, their bodies.

CM: How has the company grown since its start?

SB: The first two years we focused strictly on growth within our existing San Antonio market. In August of 2013, we had an opportunity to acquire Griffin Delivery, a bicycle-based service in St Louis, Mo. Although we both focused strictly on food delivery on bicycles, Griffin had a traditional courier-type model. The previous owner had generated good traction in his core neighborhood, but struggled to become profitable. After being presented with a career opportunity with Washington University in alternative transportation, he opted for the steady paycheck and we accepted the challenge of turning around a market in a city over 900 miles away from home.  

CM: How have you diversified your business to stand out?

SB: First and foremost, we build partnerships with each of the restaurants. We provide an unbeatable value to our customers, which allows them to enjoy our service on a regular basis without breaking their bank account. We do not mark up menu prices. We do not charge any premiums or fuel surcharges, and our delivery fee is usually set at a fixed rate of $4.99 or less (below any of our competitors). We are a premium delivery service with high-end software that allows our customers to enjoy real-time delivery updates, advanced ordering, and if that's not enough, we have a full staff in-house that can help anyone place orders or walk them through the process of ordering. We do caterings to large offices, work with pharma reps, private parties, and can set up just about anything a customer might need.

CM: What are some of the new ideas your company is using to make it competitive?  What tech do you use to help keep everything running and on time?

SB: In addition to the traditional call center for customers to place phone-in orders, we have a mobile responsive website to accept orders, along with Android and iPhone apps for the customers, and Android and iPhone apps for our riders. Our dispatchers can locate riders with real-time tracking and our customers can stay in loop by receiving text updates throughout the order process.

CM: What is the one key to your company’s success?

SB: Amazing relationships. Amazing relationships as a family business, with our office staff, our riders, our restaurant partners, and the communities we service.  

CM: Comment on customer service with your company. How important is it?

SB: Customer service is THE most important element of our business. It doesn't matter if you get food delivered in 5 minutes -- if you've got horrible customer service, they will not return. We take the time to get to know our customers. We remember names, remember dog names, baby names, send flowers on birthdays, give discounts to VIP customers, take orders patiently and respectfully when people have difficulties with the site or technology, and we hate the word no. We always say to talk with a smile so that you will sound like you are happy on the other end of the line -- that goes a long way with our customers. And when it comes to mess-ups, which we all know happen, we act immediately. We take care of the customer, the restaurant, and find the best solution. Then, we do a little something extra that they might not expect.

CM: Talk about the importance of your employees. How do they go above and beyond in your operation?

SB: Our independent contractors are amazing. They complete deliveries every day regardless of distance, weather conditions, or physical pain. They are always pushing themselves and they have a code between them. We are a family of sorts. A bunch of rogue misfits that have found a passion for bike delivery.