OUR STORY begins with my dad and his brothers. They were well-known painters in Southern California before relocating to Southwestern Oregon for a change of scenery. Once they got settled, they restarted their painting business, now based in the forests of Oregon. For one of their first jobs, the homeowner requested Benjamin Moore paint. However, as my dad called around, he discovered there wasn’t a single store in the valley that sold it. Committed to his customer, he hopped in his truck and drove four hours to Portland. Then another customer requested Benjamin Moore. And another. And another. My dad and uncles quickly decided two things: they did not enjoy that drive, and someone should open a Benjamin Moore store in Medford. Thus, Drake’s Paint & Supply was born. They initially thought they would be the only customers, but it quickly gained popularity among homeowners and contractors in the area. By 2005, my dad and his cousin John recognized the store’s success and decided to focus on it full-time. I grew up around the business, and now paint is in my blood!
Technology has been at the heart of our business ever since. Investing in technology has enabled us to provide fast, accurate service. I have found that if a contractor knows they can rely on us consistently to get what they need, we will earn their loyalty. I initially developed our core technology independently. I collaborated with a team in India to develop a custom system for work order management. We could take orders by phone or online, input the product and color, and track its status. My next project was integrating it with our point-of-sale system. I contacted our point-of-sale provider regarding these integrations. There appeared to be some promising options, but unfortunately, the company was acquired by a large conglomerate. Once that happened, all communication ceased. We began exploring other systems with the goal of finding a partner that was growing and adding new features.
During this search, I met Joe from Rundoo, the person on the right with the hat. Joe and the team were well-versed in computer systems, an area I was not as familiar with. They were eager to learn the intricacies of the paint industry, which I know well. It was exciting to be on the ground floor! I had found what I was looking for. The switch to Rundoo was incredibly smooth. Nick (in the black shirt) and Joe came out here to help us with it. It took approximately two days. Rundoo is quite intuitive: minimal training was required. There are always growing pains, but their customer service response time is nearly instantaneous. I know I am in good hands.
My favorite aspect of Rundoo is its speed. It loads incredibly fast, nearly instantaneously. I can search at the press of a button and find anything. My checkout process is faster. The lag time of our old system was considerable, and I didn’t realize how much it was slowing us down until I switched to Rundoo. During the contractor rush, I know that speed drives loyalty. I highly recommend that those looking to switch to Rundoo begin their search soon. When we joined, it was still in development, but now Rundoo is truly state-of-the-art. If you examine the functionalities they offer and the team they have, you will see they are building a system unlike anything else in this industry. Rundoo is the future of the industry.
