Tech firm BrainHi’s virtual assistant helps hundreds of local businesses
BrainHi, a technology company founded and developed in Puerto Rico, has deployed its virtual automated messaging, call rescue, and appointment management application among more than 300 island businesses to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company’s service responds to required safety protocols and to how the pandemic has changed the way of doing business, as well as customer interaction in many small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The pandemic and its health and safety restrictions have forced many businesses to change the way they operate and receive patients, clients, and consumers,” said Emmanuel Oquendo, co-founding partner and CEO of BrainHi.
“Doctors’ waiting rooms have been turned into virtual waiting rooms, and the in-store experience is now mostly done by appointments. Many times, it’s impossible to answer all calls received,” he said.
“That’s where BrainHi’s technology comes in. BrainHi automatically texts the interested party and answers basic questions, coordinates their appointments, and establishes a virtual connection,” he added.
BrainHi is a virtual service that helps businesses avoid losing and racking up unanswered calls and messages. The program, developed by Puerto Rican engineers, rescues missed calls and answers them with automated responses via text message.
All of the information is kept on a digital portal only visible to the business owner so they can answer, monitor, and analyze the flow of calls or customer requests, BrainHi executives said, adding that the application also enables businesses to track multiple clients simultaneously in an automated way.
Through its messaging platform, BrainHi has allowed businesses to automate a high volume of calls, enable customers to request regular or necessary information about the business, make appointments, and organize waiting lists.
“We’re pleased with the reception that BrainHi has received from small and medium-sized business owners, as well as by professionals who have welcomed BrainHi as one more member of their business team,” said Oquendo.
“BrainHi’s goal is to provide a virtual assistant to offices and businesses so that they don’t miss calls and so that customers always feel cared for,” Oquendo said.
Among the businesses that have chosen to implement the system are retail companies such as La Hacienda, Party City and El Mercado de Juguetes. In the case of La Hacienda, for example, BrainHi has rescued more than 10,000 calls per week, managing to streamline customer service, shift distribution, and channel orders, he said.
“Thanks to BrainHi, we’ve managed to triple the number of customers we serve daily after the first COVID-19 lockdown order. From that moment on, BrainHi has helped us establish a new communication channel with our customers,” said Jorge Bonnet from La Hacienda.
The local healthcare industry — including general practitioners and specialists, dentists, hospitals, pharmacies, and dispensaries, use the technology — as well as businesses from other sectors including furniture stores, beauty salons, restaurants, and attractions, such as Toro Verde. Esteban Montes Salon, ConWaste, Farmacias Aliadas, and Frontiers are also on that customer roster.
BrainHi’s developers are engineers who graduated from the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez Campus. The company began as a start-up and has the support business accelerator Y Combinator — which has also financially supported start-ups such as Airbnb, Dropbox, and DoorDash in their early days — to develop their business.