I severed ties in 2015 with SinglePlatform (SP) after trying it out for a few months. The charge was $70/mo to manage multiple online menus for our restaurant, which is admittedly a real hassle. Zomato, Trip Advisor, Yelp, FourSquare, FB, Google, and many other travel sites had our menu but when we updated it on our website, none of these other sites got updated. It seemed important to have a complete profile in lots of places.
I decided to delete all our menus entirely and invest the $70/mo in other marketing. When I called to cancel, the price got lower and lower until it was $30/mo. I was left to assume that I was overcharged initially and that the compnay overvalued its services. I cancelled immediately feeling worse about the company's service. It took a lot of work to get all or our online meus redirected away from SP's claws. See other reports here about that. We had to contact the other sites directly to change the menus, just as I would have done without SP
In Winter 2017, customers found us on our Google Business listing and were upset when the checkout was substantially higher.
They showed me the published prices which were from 2015. Minimum wage had been raised in Calif twice in that time so the prices were very diferent. I honored what was published and then logged into my Google business listing and found I could not access the menu link. Online discussions about this issue pointed to it being an issue with SP.
I contacted them and the company politely fixed the problem, but then the calls started. SP called the cafe a couple weeks later and requested a long, drawn out pitch in which they asked tons of sensitive questions about my business, finances, operations, etc. The initial caller did not identify themself as SP. After setting an appointment for an online seminar, I declined what I considered an aggresvie pitch. The price had again dropped substantially. The call ended with both of us being rude to one another.
May, 2018 same call to the cafe. The salesperson tried not to identify themselves as SP. This lead to another long-winded appointment with tons of sensitive questions and demands for me to rationalize my marketing decisions. I was a salesperson some years ago and I always try to hear the entire pitch so that I can consider the offer and be respectfu of the person's time and efforts. The circuitous questions were too much so I cut the person short and explained my history. The call again ended with us being rude to one another. The sales person disconnected.
I feel like so much of my time has been wasted by SP. I am a sole proprietor of a small operation and i do everything myself. The compane seems geared toward themselves and not toward the businesses they serve. The software they use it very simple and no way does it cost what they charge to manage a range of online menus.
The marketplace is changing in regards to online menus, no doubt as a reaction to SP. Many social and trave sites have taken menu links away and/or allowed direct links to our own website menus to ensure the information is always accurate. These sites want visitors to stay on their site as much as possible to increase page views and visit duration, but they risk losing entire listings.
Do not use SP unless you are a big outfit that needs to outsource simple tasks like coordinating online menus.
If you use them, demand rock bottom pricing and tell them you know of places getting their service for half what they quoted. Play hard.
If they pitch you, decline to answer questions and force the point. The have searched you out online and already know more than enough to make their pitch. Demand they be respectful of your time.
SinglePlatform Reviews
I severed ties in 2015 with SinglePlatform (SP) after trying it out for a few months. The charge was $70/mo to manage multiple online menus for our restaurant, which is admittedly a real hassle. Zomato, Trip Advisor, Yelp, FourSquare, FB, Google, and many other travel sites had our menu but when we updated it on our website, none of these other sites got updated. It seemed important to have a complete profile in lots of places.
I decided to delete all our menus entirely and invest the $70/mo in other marketing. When I called to cancel, the price got lower and lower until it was $30/mo. I was left to assume that I was overcharged initially and that the compnay overvalued its services. I cancelled immediately feeling worse about the company's service. It took a lot of work to get all or our online meus redirected away from SP's claws. See other reports here about that. We had to contact the other sites directly to change the menus, just as I would have done without SP
In Winter 2017, customers found us on our Google Business listing and were upset when the checkout was substantially higher.
They showed me the published prices which were from 2015. Minimum wage had been raised in Calif twice in that time so the prices were very diferent. I honored what was published and then logged into my Google business listing and found I could not access the menu link. Online discussions about this issue pointed to it being an issue with SP.
I contacted them and the company politely fixed the problem, but then the calls started. SP called the cafe a couple weeks later and requested a long, drawn out pitch in which they asked tons of sensitive questions about my business, finances, operations, etc. The initial caller did not identify themself as SP. After setting an appointment for an online seminar, I declined what I considered an aggresvie pitch. The price had again dropped substantially. The call ended with both of us being rude to one another.
May, 2018 same call to the cafe. The salesperson tried not to identify themselves as SP. This lead to another long-winded appointment with tons of sensitive questions and demands for me to rationalize my marketing decisions. I was a salesperson some years ago and I always try to hear the entire pitch so that I can consider the offer and be respectfu of the person's time and efforts. The circuitous questions were too much so I cut the person short and explained my history. The call again ended with us being rude to one another. The sales person disconnected.
I feel like so much of my time has been wasted by SP. I am a sole proprietor of a small operation and i do everything myself. The compane seems geared toward themselves and not toward the businesses they serve. The software they use it very simple and no way does it cost what they charge to manage a range of online menus.
The marketplace is changing in regards to online menus, no doubt as a reaction to SP. Many social and trave sites have taken menu links away and/or allowed direct links to our own website menus to ensure the information is always accurate. These sites want visitors to stay on their site as much as possible to increase page views and visit duration, but they risk losing entire listings.
Do not use SP unless you are a big outfit that needs to outsource simple tasks like coordinating online menus.
If you use them, demand rock bottom pricing and tell them you know of places getting their service for half what they quoted. Play hard.
If they pitch you, decline to answer questions and force the point. The have searched you out online and already know more than enough to make their pitch. Demand they be respectful of your time.