How FitnessKing gets 80% of its appointments confirmed digitally

FitnessKing is the largest specialty retailer of fitness equipment in the Benelux, and their services go beyond just sales. The family-owned company aims to schedule installations, maintenance, and repairs at customers’ homes as quickly, efficiently, and customer-friendly as possible. The manual scheduling process was time-consuming, and communication with customers was often cumbersome. To improve this process and enable more digital appointments, FitnessKing turned to Movetex.

Scheduling service: a time-consuming challenge

At FitnessKing, customer satisfaction has always been the priority, but efficiently scheduling installations, repairs, and deliveries was a complex puzzle.
“When scheduling appointments, we lost a lot of time on communication,” explains Nikolas Van der Veken, General Manager. “Customers are not always reachable by phone, and back-and-forth emails take a long time.”

FitnessKing’s four technicians handle tasks of varying lengths, sometimes requiring two technicians per job. Previously, the back office manually searched the calendars for available time slots and called the customer with a proposal. Often they reached voicemail or ended up in prolonged email exchanges, making the planning process stressful and error-prone.

“When scheduling appointments, we mainly lost a lot of time on communication. Customers aren’t always reachable by phone, and emailing back and forth takes too long.”Nikolas Van der Veken, General Manager, FitnessKing

Movetex Services: overview and smart automation

FitnessKing chose Movetex Services, fully integrated with Odoo. Once a task is approved in Odoo, a ticket is automatically created in Movetex. All requirements – job type, duration, customer preferences, and the number of technicians needed – are taken into account in the scheduling. Movetex automatically generates the best combinations, factors in travel time and working hours, and provides planners with smart suggestions for additional tasks.

Customers automatically receive a digital appointment proposal through FitnessKing’s Customer Portal. They have 48 hours to accept or decline. If they decline or don’t respond, the planner is immediately notified and can offer an alternative. As a result, over 80% of appointments are confirmed without phone calls.

Technicians use the Mobile Workforce App to access their schedule, carry out tasks, collect photos and signatures, and provide feedback. Materials and inventory data are automatically synced with Odoo, ensuring administration and invoicing are always up-to-date.

“Movetex Services is integrated with our ERP. Once a job is accepted in Odoo, the entire planning and execution process takes place in Movetex.”Nikolas Van der Veken, General Manager, FitnessKing

Greater efficiency and a better customer experience

Since implementing Movetex, scheduling has become much more efficient. The back office can plan quickly and clearly, resolve unexpected issues, and combine multiple tasks optimally. Technicians have full insight into their schedules, can communicate with the back office on the go, and no longer need to call for details or materials.

According to Nikolas, the biggest advantage is the drastic reduction in phone calls. Over 80% of appointments are now confirmed digitally, and customers can track their technician in real-time via the Customer Portal. This has increased customer satisfaction while freeing planners’ time for other tasks.

“With just a few clicks, we can now schedule our appointments efficiently and send an invitation to the customer. Over 80% of them confirm digitally, without any phone contact.”Nikolas Van der Veken, General Manager, FitnessKing