PURCELL’S was incorporated forty-eight years ago by the four Purcell brothers. I jumped into Purcell’s when I was 16. I was hired by one of the brothers, John Purcell. The way the story goes, I walked into the store, and big Rich, one of the brothers, said, “We don’t need you!” I was ready to leave, but John came running after me, saying, “No, no, no, come back.”
So, I started sweeping and stocking shelves at Purcell’s almost 30 years ago. I was shy, quiet, and kept my head down. I was intimidated by the older staff members because they were always busy and in a hurry.
At the time, we had three stores. Within the community, working at Purcell’s was viewed as a worthy job. Jobs like that were hard to come by, where people could work and make a good living. I got to know the family members, too. They were all involved and kind. I was happy to be a part of Purcell’s.
All through college, I worked summers and weekends at Purcell’s, really whenever they would let me. I had plans to pursue exercise physiology, but I enjoyed the physical elements at Purcell’s more—the unpredictable nature of the paint store. One minute making an espresso for a customer, the next solving problems, and not being tied to a desk all day.
About 10 years ago, John and I bought out the founding brothers, and 3 years ago, Neal (Purcell) and I bought out John. There’s a lot more weight and responsibility as an owner, and it’s been a rewarding journey to this point.
Over the years, Purcell’s has always pursued ways to improve the business, embracing the best technology for the paint industry. We were one of the first paint stores in the country to use a photospectrometer to analyze paint to color match! It’s no surprise then, with our tradition of exploring advancements, that we decided to use Rundoo. Our industry is slow, and we were excited about the state-of-the-art, modern technology that Rundoo offered.
Our POS had become difficult to deal with for several reasons. It was antiquated with limited flexibility, like needing to work with a specific computer and credit card machine, and the relationship wasn’t there. We didn’t feel the friendly partnership, a dynamic that I appreciate and value more and more with time. We’re a small business that’s had to be nimble over the years, managing a pandemic, a changing industry, and adapting to new customer needs. We appreciate the scrappiness and client service with Rundoo. Max, our salesperson, had great energy and was collaborative, so we just knew that Rundoo could bring value to our customers. There were some missing features, but the team was ready and willing to grow with us over time; that meant much more to us.
Since moving over to Rundoo, we’ve enjoyed the efficiency of a modern tool: finding colors, customers, etc., through their strong search engine, sending formulas to the computer, and using the POS mobile app to track sales in real-time. Anybody who is working the counter and using the POS for customers loves Rundoo. I’ve personally loved the screen interface and automatic launching of new tabs. This is helpful for when, for example, I want to click into and look at a product from a sale. With a new tab, I don’t lose my place and spend time hunting for the sale info again.
We are all about speed, and that simple workflow experience has made a big difference. A recent small product update that has been a welcomed experience is the new cancel button for credit card transactions, allowing us to quickly X out of transactions if we have to, so we're not waiting for a minute when it cancels. That’s been awesome!
Operationally, our back-office team meets with Rundoo’s Client Success team weekly to discuss POS experiences and workflows that we encounter on the floor and they experience as admins, understanding our pain points and prioritizing product feedback for development. It’s been a rewarding partnership so far, and we’re looking forward to upcoming releases that we’ve collaborated on, like improved statement designs and job account functionalities. Excited to see what’s next with Rundoo!
