Bangkok Rolled Ice Cream
Bangkok Rolled Ice Cream is a well-recognised dessert spot, nestled on Auckland’s popular and bustling locality – K’ Road. With a brand story that showcases innovation, creativity and quality with a personal touch, this quick-service food & beverage outlet has been creating a name for itself since its inception.
We had the chance to meet the enterprising owner and operator, Mohamed, who recently made the switch to Smartpay EFTPOS. He shares his experience with us along with a generous taste of their delicious desserts.
Tell us about your business and products
Being from a culinary background, Mohamed worked as a chef and always kept an eye out for innovative food that he could delight customers with. He proudly talks about how his inspiration was roused during his travels in Thailand where he discovered rolled ice cream, giving him the idea to bring this to New Zealand and start his business.
Often also called “stir-fried” ice cream, he was amazed at the efficiency and creativity of this popular street food, which has been consumed across South East Asia since its invention in the early 2000’s.
Bangkok Rolled Ice Cream began in 2016, when they became the first shop in New Zealand to offer rolled ice cream. Since then, they have expanded their menu to include other delectable treats like bubble waffles, crepes, ice cream burgers (delicious!!) and bubble tea.
They take pride in offering a wide range of delicious and unique flavours made with homemade bases that are stabiliser-free and egg-free. They also do dairy-free options for those with dietary restrictions. To create the Rolled Ice Cream, they use a cold plate that is maintained at -30°C and the liquid ice cream mixture is poured onto the cold stone. This method of quick freezing produces smaller ice molecules, resulting in the freshest and creamiest ice cream possible, all in less than 3 minutes.
With over 30 flavours to choose from, customers can customise their ice cream by mixing different flavours together and adding their choice of toppings and sauces.
Working with a team of six staff, they serve up these delicious delights until the wee hours of the morning and have built a strong fan base for their fares on a very busy K’ road, often packed with party-goers on a fun night out.
What sets Bangkok Rolled Ice Cream apart is their commitment to creating unique and exciting flavour combinations, like their popular mango and lychee flavours. They also prioritise using fresh, high-quality ingredients to create their delicious ice cream.
What prompted you to switch from your previous EFTPOS provider?
“When I started my business, I didn’t know much about EFTPOS and how it works in NZ,” recalled Mohamed. This led him to choose one of the first providers he found online.
“It didn’t fully occur to me to shop around as they seemed fairly forthright and knowledgeable about EFTPOS and didn’t quite bring up the importance of the service element behind the payment solution,” he said. Mohamed signed up for a contract term that locked him in for four years.
“Not only were they expensive on their monthly rental, but the lack of service and support was also appalling,” according to Mohamed. He recounts spending hours on the phone trying to get hold of their technical support and was charged additional dollars every time assistance was provided. He added, “They also did not cover any damages and were unable to provide timely technical assistance when it was needed.”
Due to their long auto-renewal terms, Mohamed was in contract until last month. He did not renew any further and started to look around for other EFTPOS providers in the market.
Among the options you considered, what made you choose Smartpay?
“When looking for alternatives, I asked one of my friends who recommended Smartpay to me,” said Mohamed. He also learnt about the first 12 months free EFTPOS rental that Smartpay offers to new customers. When he reached out to Smartpay, he was quite clear about his requirements, which included integration with his POS system.
“When I spoke to the rep at Smartpay, they explained the whole process to me clearly and I wasn’t quoted any extra charges for the POS integration, unlike other EFTPOS providers”, said Mohamed. This was a deciding factor in choosing to go with Smartpay.
Once he signed on with Smartpay, our technicians went above and beyond his expectations to get his system working which had some initial challenges, navigating the complications that come with integrating an older till system. It required coordination with the POS company as well as the Internet Service Provider (ISP), which Mohamed says the Smartpay tech team coordinated seamlessly.
“No one asked me for extra money. The team took an impressive amount of ownership of the situation and coordinated with internal and external parties until they got the system going! I was so impressed with the teamwork and professionalism they showed”, he said. “Really great service, no hidden charges and most of all, they even helped me avoid additional fees that my ISP was wanting to charge us. Thanks, guys!”
How easy was it for you to get the information you needed about EFTPOS from Smartpay?
“It was an absolute piece of cake!”, said an overjoyed Mohamed. “The sales rep took their time to simplify the process of getting EFTPOS with Smartpay, and I was impressed at how easy it was to make the switch. After our chat, I received documentation online that made it easy to sign up. Most of all, I was impressed with the swiftness and transparency from the team. No hidden charges, no back and forth wasting any extra time. The EFTPOS machine arrived the next day after I signed the contract at 4pm!”
“After calling the service team to help me logon, the Smartpay crew were on the job getting the terminal integrated with my POS system and after a bit of effective communication and coordination, I was ready to go,”, said an impressed and thankful Mohamed.
What features did you find most useful in the EFTPOS solution we provided?
“The integration with my POS of choice was the most important feature for me as it makes transactions easier and quicker for my business and I am able to serve customers more efficiently,” said Mohamed.
Mohamed also accepts payWave transactions with a surcharge that our team configured remotely onto his terminal. This helps him offset the additional costs associated with accepting contactless payments. This feature is not only free of charge to configure but also configurable remotely with no downtime for the business. Within minutes after his request was actioned, the terminal was adding the advised surcharge amount to the relevant transactions.
“The EFTPOS terminal configuration is also very useful for me to take payments quickly from customers without the need to pass on the terminal to them every time.”
How do you find the integrated POS solution from Smartpay? Can you tell us how it benefits your business?
Being a quick-service restaurant that focuses on delivering freshly prepared desserts quickly to their customers, it is very important to Mohamed that his POS is seamlessly integrated with the EFTPOS terminal.
During rush hours (and this can be everyday!), his staff doesn’t need to manually key in transactions on the EFTPOS terminal, which helps avoid manual keying errors. This helps business run smoothly, as errors can potentially happen when serving customers in a hurry. Given the desserts they churn out are based on fresh, quality ice creams – and the frequently long line of eager customers – it is necessary to keep up the pace in their outlet.
Using the POS, staff simply ring up the transaction, which is seamlessly sent to the EFTPOS terminal for the customer to pay. Not only are errors avoided but checkouts are much quicker, end-of-day reconciliation is easier and customer satisfaction is improved with the efficient service.
What do you like best about your Smartpay EFTPOS solution?
“I would say the number one most important and pleasing thing for me is the customer service I received. I am absolutely impressed with the way Smartpay has delivered their payment solution for my business. I am also very happy with the competitive pricing and the fact that the terminal works seamlessly with my POS and has had no downtime or technical issues so far which is something I have really struggled with in the past. I am very happy with Smartpay,” said Mohamed.
What would your advice be to other businesses looking to accept payments for their business?
“I would tell them to just choose Smartpay without thinking about it too much or wasting your time with other options. There is no need to shop around when you have an amazing EFTPOS provider that can provide you with a great product, customer service and competitive prices. I will surely be recommending Smartpay EFTPOS to all my friends who are business owners,” said Mohamed.
As a local Kiwi business, we understand the importance of providing excellent customer service and supporting our local community. That’s why we are proud to work with businesses like Bangkok Rolled Ice Cream, who are committed to delivering outstanding products and experiences to their customers.
If you’re in Auckland city and find yourself on K’ Road, we highly recommend checking out Bangkok Rolled Ice Cream and their amazing selection of desserts! You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram to check out the latest on their ice cream flavours and desserts.
If you’d like to learn more about how POS integrations can help your business, check out our blog post explaining the advantages. If you are considering accepting payWave and want to add an automatic surcharge, you can learn more about surcharging here.
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