BETHLEHEM, PA -UBMe is an app for the Coronavirus age...although it wasn’t always intended to be.
"We were using our technology in the event space, especially where during an event people wanted to connect with everybody (else) presently there, have fun with them, interact with them," explains UBMe CEO and founder, Val Arzunian, "But because of the COVID situation, events got put on pause because of everything that is happening. So we decided to take our existing technology we'd been using in the event space and apply it / give it to the local businesses to help them now as they need it now more than ever."
UBME Inc. is a Bethlehem based tech company that is now working with local businesses to help them communicate with customers as they continue operations in the green phase of reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"They need a system in place especially if things get worse and they need to move to 75% capacity, 50% capacity,' UBMe Co-Founder and VP of Growth, David Bougard says, "So a lot of the time, their customers are outside and they have to put up a poster board in their window or they are really struggling to communicate with customers in their parking lots."
Arzunian tells PBS39, "Everything that has been happening with the Coronavirus, it looks like it is not going away for quite some time and we really want to help businesses adapt to their current situation and not only help them make their employees feel safe but the customers visiting as well."
The world’s first curbside communication platform allows employees to make contact with customers when they arrive. Developers say with social distancing restrictions and regulations, UBMe is especially helpful to restaurants using curbside pickups or businesses like hair salons that only allow people in by appointment. It allows customers to check-in from their car and safely communicate with staff from a distance.
"Right now we are working with all retail locations so it could be a salon, restaurants, a doctor’s office," Arzunian explains, "And they get a dashboard and then they instruct their customers when they arrive at the business to use a free UBMe app to check in and when they check in, upon arrival, it’ll show up on the dashboard and allows them to communicate." The CEO tells PBS39 News Tonight reporter, K.C. Lopez, "So it’s useful in cases where food might be five minutes running behind and they want to let the customer know to wait five more minutes before coming inside. We have salons in New Jersey that are using it and in there you have to sign a liability waiver prior to coming inside so if somebody arrives at their business, they check in with the app and then the salon can let them know your station is being cleaned, please wait for five minutes and while you wait here’s a liability form that you can fill out to make it more efficient and easier for us."
While UBMe has been test launching the app at a New Jersey hair salon, they are looking to launch fully in the Lehigh Valley soon and are planning to work alongside local municipalities too.
"We are actually working with the Bethlehem Health Department to run their vaccinations for school aged children," Bougard tells Lopez, "So there are children who still haven’t been vaccinated and they need to run their clinics in a safe way where parents can drop their kids off to get vaccinated. So we’re really excited about that."
For more information on how to download the free app or get your business up and running on the platform, visit UBMe's website here.