All Baluu Reviews
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Zena
Arts and Crafts, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2022
Completely transformed our Art School business
We met the Baluu team at a critical turning point for our business. We were about to air on Dragons Den (where we got funding from [SENSITIVE CONTENT]) and we knew that the traffic to our website was going to go nuts. Our tiny team could have never managed the tsunami of engagement that happened on our old website. All those different systems that didn't talk to each other. All the manual work we used to do to fix people's bookings and orders for them behind the scenes. We'd have fallen over. Baluu made it possible for us to handle that huge moment in our business, totally seamlessly. And the team felt like they were by our side throughout: totally committed to our shared success. Grateful is an understatement.
PROS1. FINALLY we can do it all in one place. We sell tickets to a daily schedule of in-person & virtual Art Classes, we sell Art Kits globally, we sell Gift Cards, and we send invoices out for bespoke private corporate events. We used to have different plug-ins for each of these things: Mindbody for classes, Etsy for kits, GiftUp for gift cards, Xero for manual invoices. Each of these have their own monthly costs, and each system needed to be taught to our admin team one by one. Now we use Baluu: one dashboard for our whole business: one monthly cost, one system for our admin team to learn to use, and one system for me to look at for our monthly bookkeeping! 2. SO much more affordable: Not only have we been able to consolidate lots of different subscriptions into one (Baluu), but it's a fraction of the cost. Mindbody was costing us £££s each month on its own, let alone the rest added in on top of that. 3. We can do it all ourselves: It's so easy to use, we can now manage our whole website without the need for a web developer at all. We used to spend a few hundred pounds getting someone to help us every time we needed to load up a new class, experience, product, or if our website broke - getting someone to fix it. Now we can manage absolutely everything ourselves through a super user-friendly interface, we don't spend any money on developers any more. The Baluu team feel like our in-house tech team!
CONSWhilst you can customise each page with your own images, copy etc. you can't do things like change the page structure, change the size and shape of different components etc. But what we've lost in terms of customisation we have gained in terms of ease of use. And to be honest, the Baluu pages have been built a certain way for a reason: because they have optimised them for conversion. Sometimes less is more in that respect: just help your customer get to where they need to go: the check-out page, and keep it super simple for them to get there!
Reason for choosing Baluu
We considered building our own system using plug ins on Squarespace. But when I dug into how much this would cost in terms of getting a website developer to help us, and how limited the functionality would be in terms of giving us everything we need (tickets, products, gift cards, virtual, in person), the bill was wracking up fast. The other downside of building it yourself is, if it breaks, you need to pay someone each time to fix / maintain it. With Baluu, that's all done for you.
Reasons for switching to Baluu
1. Mindbody was insanely expensive 2. Mindbody was really tricky for my admin team to use: it's trying to be all things to all people, and give you absolute 100% control, but the result of that is something that our admin staff really struggled to get to grips with, even after 6 months of trying 3. Mindbody was really tricky for my customers to use: it forces customers to create a whole account and log in with us to buy, which is not necessary for something like ordering a Kit where we want to help our guests get in and out quickly and easily. You couldn't do things like book for yourself and your plus one, your guest would have to book themselves in separately. It looked really dated, and really separate to our core website. All in all - I'm really baffled they continue to be as huge as they are.
Vendor Response
Thank you so much Zena for the kind words. We are thrilled to work so closely with such an exciting business and hope we can continue to build products that drive meaningful change for your business and customers!
Replied May 2022
Silvie
Arts and Crafts, 2-10 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2022
Really intuitive booking system - saves me a huge amount of time in admin!
We have used Paypal buttons and had to create events for each event on our website. Using the software has saved us at least 15 hours weekly in admin time to manage bookings and has grown our business steadily.
PROSI used to spend hours managing bookings on a spreadsheet, now everything is one place - including all my payments. It works like a dream!
CONSMore calendar integration features please!
Reason for choosing Baluu
ease of use and amazing customer service from a team that is always interested in optimisation and feedback
Reasons for switching to Baluu
The service has enabled us to have a fully functional back to front end experience, easily to teach anyone in our team
Vendor Response
This is so great to hear. We love hearing this feedback and so pleased we save you so much time. We love seeing you grow and keen to see how that continues!
Replied May 2022
Pam
Food Production, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed June 2022
Just what we needed.
Very happy with the support we receive.
PROSWe were at a stage where we needed help managing our growing bookings and Obby came at just the right time. We are hoping it will grow with us and eventually we will be able to use Obby to also manage our website etc.
CONSWe are quite a niche business so sometimes it doesn't do exactly what we want it to. Having said that, most of our suggestions have been implemented when we have asked. I would prefer the classes to integrate into our website, rather than being re-directed, but it does work well as it is.
Reasons for switching to Baluu
Any support from Wix was very time consuming.
Vendor Response
Thanks so much Pam for your lovely review. We certainly want to grow with you too and add the functionality you need to full move away from Wix for good!
Replied June 2022
Sian Van Beek
Health, Wellness and Fitness, 1 employee
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed January 2024
A service that helps my small business thrive!
Some of the best customer service I've received anywhere! Ever! The team truly care and are here to help - which is just the service and support I need as a single-person start-up business. Stress and hassle-free help. Love the product for end-user. Can't rave about this service enough.
PROSBaluu has created a sleek, accessible and easy-to-follow interface for my clients so that booking classes and events is effortless. I love the quick set up of events and how they look to my end user. There are so many features of baluu that help to make my job easy, such as optional private payment links so clients can have option to pay in instalments, gift vouchers and discount codes. I'm a small start-up business with no experience, support or investment - and baluu has been such immense help in my first 12 months and has provided opportunity for business growth. I love the service so much and the customer service has been exceptional whenever I've needed it - fast replies and meaningful interaction (not just a bot!) which really takes stresses out of issues that arise. Can't recommend the service enough. In a year I've gone from Baluu's basic plan all the way to their Growth service - and it's really helping my business to thrive.
CONSI don't have anything worth noting - in just under 12 months of using the platform I've had no major issues.
Claire
Food & Beverages, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed June 2023
New user review
Easy booking system and good calendar.
PROSThe system is really easy to use and add events, edit etc. All of the team we have been in contact with have responded speedily and been great at assisting with all issues that have come up. The site itself is really easy for our customers to use, which we hope will increase sales!
CONSSo far no complaints.
Reason for choosing Baluu
Price was more favourable
Reasons for switching to Baluu
Our previous site was difficult to manage and complicated for customers to place orders.
Vendor Response
Thank you so much - great to hear that you like our functionality and unrivalled customer support!
Replied June 2023
Amelia
Entertainment, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed May 2023
Simple, visual booking system with versatile functionality
Baluu runs my entire booking system, schedule and payments - I couldn't run the business without it!
PROSThey take an incredibly complicated back end of information and present it visually and simply to customers. The customer UX is better than all other competitors, and the functionality for clients is ever improving. Customer service for clients is excellent - thank you Chris!
CONSThere have been a few tech hiccups along the way, and a couple of missing features for what I needed, but the Baluu team respond quickly to fix things and take on feedback to inform development.
Reason for choosing Baluu
I wanted a booking system which could be integrated into my own website. The alternatives to Baluu were functional but not customer friendly / didn't look great visually.
Vendor Response
Thank you so much for this review it is lovely to see that we are able to help you with the running of your business. Big praise to Chris and his team for the excellent support!
Replied May 2023
Darren
Arts and Crafts, 2-10 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed June 2022
Love the product
Helps with all events transactions in a professional way which impacts our customers and staff experience
PROSAll helps things be more seamless and takes away a lot of headaches from event bookings
CONSNothing to mention more about. No issues
Vendor Response
Thanks Darren - really appreciate the feedback and glad that we are able to help you guys on your exciting growth journey!
Replied June 2022
Hayley
E-Learning, 1 employee
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed July 2022
very easy to set up, I was up and running and taking bookings in no time and team are so helpful
Runs smoothly in the background, I don't really have to think much about that aspect of my business now.
PROSI am not the most technically savvy person so I was worried it would be tough to integrate. In the end it was just a simple line of code. What is amazing is that if I have a query an actual person emails me back not a BOT. The team are just amazing, they went above and beyond to make sure my business was up and running. Can’t thank them enough!
CONSI would like to see a bulk event add feature for when I am creating lots of events with similar criteria
Vendor Response
Thanks so much Hayley - we have just added a new bulk add/edit feature, so would love to talk you through it!
Replied July 2022
Jane
Health, Wellness and Fitness, 1 employee
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed March 2023
Great product, easy to set up and use
In less time that I thought I have a website and booking system. It has given be back time and taken away stress of booking people into classes. The feedback from my users has been really positive too, so win win!And I love the "write a review" section which is already being used.
PROSI needed a little help which I revived from the team at Baluu but they process of setting up my website and booking system was much easier than other platforms I've tried to use.
CONSMostly everything is good, sizing images for the website was a little problematic but again the Baluu team helped me with that too and also explained perhaps why a certain pic would not work
Reason for choosing Baluu
Ease of set up, value for money and great customer support
Vendor Response
Its great to hear we have helped you on your journey Jane, and that your customers like it too!
Replied March 2023
Gemma
Arts and Crafts, 1 employee
Used monthly for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed May 2023
Baluu review
Baluu has been great at supporting my small business.
PROSI was looking for a platform to host bookings for my art workshops. Baluu is perfect for me as someone with very limited tech knowledge as it's intuitive and simple to use. It does exactly what I need and the customer support has been extremely good. Every query I've had, no matter how small has been answered promptly by a friendly support team. I'm really happy with the product and service.
CONSThere are a couple of small things that could be tweaked e.g. when people book my workshops they are prompted to tick whether they would like to receive a newsletter. I can't find the functionality to add the newsletters (if there is a function on here) and also can not see on the dashboard where i can find out who has selected this option without clicking through to each customer individually.
Vendor Response
Thanks so much for the lovely review and the great product feedback. We will get the experience team to look at this straight away!
Replied May 2023
Ian
Sports, 1 employee
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2023
Baluu Review
Really happy. Excellent service and really helping to bring in bookings and streamline our online booking process.
PROSGreat service and the right event management system for my daily mountain bike skills courses.
CONSBe great to be able to add additional participants without them having to purchase full price tickets. Be good to have access to a few more of the features on the cheapest plan but that's just me being tight!
Reason for choosing Baluu
Offer the services I was looking for and felt that as a booking provider it would be right for me.
Vendor Response
Thanks Ian - happy to hear that we are able to help with your business. I will get the team to follow up about additional participants too as I think we have a work around for you!
Replied May 2023
Elizabeth
Farming, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2023
Thank goodness for Baluu
Brilliant, I am very happy
PROSBaluu was easy to set up and easy to use on a daily bases, any problems or things I didn't understand how to do customer services helped immediately. Takes the stress out of manually taking bookings frees up my time.
CONSWe'd like to try the gift voucher option but that is another tier that's not worth it for us at the moment
Vendor Response
Thanks for the review Elizabeth and wonderful to know we make such a difference. Even better to see you now trialing our gift cards!
Replied March 2023
Sam
Marketing and Advertising, 1 employee
Used monthly for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed May 2022
Easy to use booking software with an out of the box website!
I love the platform, it's very intuitive and everything you think you need and more is just there in the dashboard. It's easy to get setup and start take bookings. The team are also very helpful
PROSThe embeddable booking tools are a must for me. I want my customers to feel like they never leave my website. Baluu did this with ease.
CONSI feel the visual customisation features could be expanded but it really does look great so it's not a huge issue.
Vendor Response
Thanks Sam - this is great to hear and really useful feedback about customisation, definitely something we can add to our product roadmap!
Replied May 2022