6 month Bike "Checkout" System w/ the option to buy
Hello Friends:
Yesterday the Bike Library Checkout App that is custom built html failed to load. It won't be an easy fix as the Bike Lib. app was running on a really old version of php; a version that is no longer supported. The code is at least ten years old and likely will need to be completely rewritten. That being said, we need to decide to rewrite the code or query other operations out there.
The order of operation for the Checkout System is:
- find a bike, put down a deposit of $100-$300, sign the liability waiver,
patron takes bike
- on our end each bike has a 4-digit number that gets entered into our
system with bike specs and the 6 month "due date" is recorded with that number
- six months go by and the patron can return the bike for a refund of their
deposit minus $50 OR they simply keep the bike and we keep their deposit $.
- if they return it we make sure we have an updated mailing address, and
the app lets us know how much we need to write the check out for to send via snail mail
My questions to y'all are:
1 Do other shops operate in a similar fashion? If so, what POS system are you using?
2 Are there other shops out there who would want to replicate this checkout system? We have always wanted to make it easier to share and now would be the time to do it.
3 Have you heard of any new tech solutions that we should research? I've heard it's easier than ever to build your own app and I've fallen behind so maybe is a simple solution.
Peace & grease,
*Audrey Wiedemeier* (She/her/hers) Iowa City Bike Library, Director
700 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City *COVID Hours: *Tues. - Thurs. 10 AM - 5 PM; Sat. 10 - 3 PM Need something? Set up an appointment by email. Want to donate? Drop off anytime during these hours. Thank you!
BikeLibrary.org C: (515) 450-1651
Hi Audrey-
I like your operating model. I am not tech savvy, but I am told that a free solution (or nearly free) is to use Google forms with an add on for inventory/ item tracking. Apparently, there is no coding or special knowledge required.
Hope this helps.
Greg F. Director Brookhaven Bicycle Co-op
On Nov 6, 2020, at 11:16 AM, Audrey Wiedemeier audrey@bikelibrary.org wrote:
Hello Friends:
Yesterday the Bike Library Checkout App that is custom built html failed to load. It won't be an easy fix as the Bike Lib. app was running on a really old version of php; a version that is no longer supported. The code is at least ten years old and likely will need to be completely rewritten. That being said, we need to decide to rewrite the code or query other operations out there.
The order of operation for the Checkout System is:
- find a bike, put down a deposit of $100-$300, sign the liability waiver, patron takes bike
- on our end each bike has a 4-digit number that gets entered into our system with bike specs and the 6 month "due date" is recorded with that number
- six months go by and the patron can return the bike for a refund of their deposit minus $50 OR they simply keep the bike and we keep their deposit $.
- if they return it we make sure we have an updated mailing address, and the app lets us know how much we need to write the check out for to send via snail mail
My questions to y'all are:
1 Do other shops operate in a similar fashion? If so, what POS system are you using?
2 Are there other shops out there who would want to replicate this checkout system? We have always wanted to make it easier to share and now would be the time to do it.
3 Have you heard of any new tech solutions that we should research? I've heard it's easier than ever to build your own app and I've fallen behind so maybe is a simple solution.
Peace & grease,
Audrey Wiedemeier (She/her/hers) Iowa City Bike Library, Director
700 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City COVID Hours: Tues. - Thurs. 10 AM - 5 PM; Sat. 10 - 3 PM Need something? Set up an appointment by email. Want to donate? Drop off anytime during these hours. Thank you!
BikeLibrary.org http://bikelibrary.org/ C: (515) 450-1651
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
We use Lightspeed as our POS (popular among many retail bike shops).
We have Rental Bike (1/2 day, full day, and long term) as an inventory item that we can check out to a customer. Along with optional helmet, locks, bags etc.
During covid some customer’s bought bike (for long term rental/use) & then donated back to shop when done. :)
fyi - pvt.
Peter Van Tilburg Executive Director, Board VP Bike Clark County
Community Bike Shop:
1604 Main St., Vancouver, WA. 98660
Wed-Sat 11am-6pm, Sunday 11am-4pm
c. 503.572.9894 peter@bikeclarkcounty.org http://www.linkedin.com/in/petervantilburg http://www.bikeclarkcounty.org/ http://www.bikeclarkcounty.org/ www.bikeclarkcounty.org Bike Clark County is equipping, empowering, and connecting youth to our community.
On Nov 6, 2020, at 8:16 AM, Audrey Wiedemeier audrey@bikelibrary.org wrote:
Hello Friends:
Yesterday the Bike Library Checkout App that is custom built html failed to load. It won't be an easy fix as the Bike Lib. app was running on a really old version of php; a version that is no longer supported. The code is at least ten years old and likely will need to be completely rewritten. That being said, we need to decide to rewrite the code or query other operations out there.
The order of operation for the Checkout System is:
- find a bike, put down a deposit of $100-$300, sign the liability waiver, patron takes bike
- on our end each bike has a 4-digit number that gets entered into our system with bike specs and the 6 month "due date" is recorded with that number
- six months go by and the patron can return the bike for a refund of their deposit minus $50 OR they simply keep the bike and we keep their deposit $.
- if they return it we make sure we have an updated mailing address, and the app lets us know how much we need to write the check out for to send via snail mail
My questions to y'all are:
1 Do other shops operate in a similar fashion? If so, what POS system are you using?
2 Are there other shops out there who would want to replicate this checkout system? We have always wanted to make it easier to share and now would be the time to do it.
3 Have you heard of any new tech solutions that we should research? I've heard it's easier than ever to build your own app and I've fallen behind so maybe is a simple solution.
Peace & grease,
Audrey Wiedemeier (She/her/hers) Iowa City Bike Library, Director
700 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City COVID Hours: Tues. - Thurs. 10 AM - 5 PM; Sat. 10 - 3 PM Need something? Set up an appointment by email. Want to donate? Drop off anytime during these hours. Thank you!
BikeLibrary.org http://bikelibrary.org/ C: (515) 450-1651
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
I can't suggest https://myturn.com/ enough for what you are describing. The only downside is kind've high fees if you want to use their built in card processing. We only take cash as the deposit for our rentals so don't have any experience with the card side of it.
On Fri, Nov 6, 2020 at 12:18 PM peter@BikeClarkCounty.org < peter@bikeclarkcounty.org> wrote:
We use Lightspeed as our POS (popular among many retail bike shops).
We have Rental Bike (1/2 day, full day, and long term) as an inventory item that we can check out to a customer. Along with optional helmet, locks, bags etc.
During covid some customer’s bought bike (for long term rental/use) & then donated back to shop when done. :)
fyi - pvt.
Peter Van Tilburg Executive Director, Board VP Bike Clark County
Community Bike Shop: 1604 Main St., Vancouver, WA. 98660 Wed-Sat 11am-6pm, Sunday 11am-4pm
c. 503.572.9894 peter@bikeclarkcounty.org *http://www.linkedin.com/in/petervantilburg http://www.linkedin.com/in/petervantilburg* http://www.bikeclarkcounty.org/ www.bikeclarkcounty.org *Bike Clark County is equipping, empowering, and connecting youth to our community.*
On Nov 6, 2020, at 8:16 AM, Audrey Wiedemeier audrey@bikelibrary.org wrote:
Hello Friends:
Yesterday the Bike Library Checkout App that is custom built html failed to load. It won't be an easy fix as the Bike Lib. app was running on a really old version of php; a version that is no longer supported. The code is at least ten years old and likely will need to be completely rewritten. That being said, we need to decide to rewrite the code or query other operations out there.
The order of operation for the Checkout System is:
- find a bike, put down a deposit of $100-$300, sign the liability waiver,
patron takes bike
- on our end each bike has a 4-digit number that gets entered into our
system with bike specs and the 6 month "due date" is recorded with that number
- six months go by and the patron can return the bike for a refund of
their deposit minus $50 OR they simply keep the bike and we keep their deposit $.
- if they return it we make sure we have an updated mailing address, and
the app lets us know how much we need to write the check out for to send via snail mail
My questions to y'all are:
1 Do other shops operate in a similar fashion? If so, what POS system are you using?
2 Are there other shops out there who would want to replicate this checkout system? We have always wanted to make it easier to share and now would be the time to do it.
3 Have you heard of any new tech solutions that we should research? I've heard it's easier than ever to build your own app and I've fallen behind so maybe is a simple solution.
Peace & grease,
*Audrey Wiedemeier* (She/her/hers) Iowa City Bike Library, Director
700 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City *COVID Hours: *Tues. - Thurs. 10 AM - 5 PM; Sat. 10 - 3 PM Need something? Set up an appointment by email. Want to donate? Drop off anytime during these hours. Thank you!
BikeLibrary.org http://bikelibrary.org/ C: (515) 450-1651
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
If you are going to rebuild it, consider laying out how you want it to look and behave in something like Axure, Adobe XD, or even MarvelApp and play with it before jumping into the coding.
On Fri, Nov 6, 2020 at 12:51 PM David Oliver nowhere3@gmail.com wrote:
I can't suggest https://myturn.com/ enough for what you are describing. The only downside is kind've high fees if you want to use their built in card processing. We only take cash as the deposit for our rentals so don't have any experience with the card side of it.
On Fri, Nov 6, 2020 at 12:18 PM peter@BikeClarkCounty.org < peter@bikeclarkcounty.org> wrote:
We use Lightspeed as our POS (popular among many retail bike shops).
We have Rental Bike (1/2 day, full day, and long term) as an inventory item that we can check out to a customer. Along with optional helmet, locks, bags etc.
During covid some customer’s bought bike (for long term rental/use) & then donated back to shop when done. :)
fyi - pvt.
Peter Van Tilburg Executive Director, Board VP Bike Clark County
Community Bike Shop: 1604 Main St., Vancouver, WA. 98660 Wed-Sat 11am-6pm, Sunday 11am-4pm
c. 503.572.9894 peter@bikeclarkcounty.org *http://www.linkedin.com/in/petervantilburg http://www.linkedin.com/in/petervantilburg* http://www.bikeclarkcounty.org/ www.bikeclarkcounty.org *Bike Clark County is equipping, empowering, and connecting youth to our community.*
On Nov 6, 2020, at 8:16 AM, Audrey Wiedemeier audrey@bikelibrary.org wrote:
Hello Friends:
Yesterday the Bike Library Checkout App that is custom built html failed to load. It won't be an easy fix as the Bike Lib. app was running on a really old version of php; a version that is no longer supported. The code is at least ten years old and likely will need to be completely rewritten. That being said, we need to decide to rewrite the code or query other operations out there.
The order of operation for the Checkout System is:
- find a bike, put down a deposit of $100-$300, sign the
liability waiver, patron takes bike
- on our end each bike has a 4-digit number that gets entered into our
system with bike specs and the 6 month "due date" is recorded with that number
- six months go by and the patron can return the bike for a refund of
their deposit minus $50 OR they simply keep the bike and we keep their deposit $.
- if they return it we make sure we have an updated mailing address, and
the app lets us know how much we need to write the check out for to send via snail mail
My questions to y'all are:
1 Do other shops operate in a similar fashion? If so, what POS system are you using?
2 Are there other shops out there who would want to replicate this checkout system? We have always wanted to make it easier to share and now would be the time to do it.
3 Have you heard of any new tech solutions that we should research? I've heard it's easier than ever to build your own app and I've fallen behind so maybe is a simple solution.
Peace & grease,
*Audrey Wiedemeier* (She/her/hers) Iowa City Bike Library, Director
700 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City *COVID Hours: *Tues. - Thurs. 10 AM - 5 PM; Sat. 10 - 3 PM Need something? Set up an appointment by email. Want to donate? Drop off anytime during these hours. Thank you!
BikeLibrary.org http://bikelibrary.org/ C: (515) 450-1651
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
Hi Audrey,
Is the code for the Bike Library Checkout App available anywhere?
Regardless, I should be able to provide a resolution for this issue. The easiest solution would be to run the app in a virtualized container that has the correct libraries. Exactly like with the reuse of bikes, you can reuse code.
-Jonathan
On Fri, Nov 6, 2020 at 11:17 AM Audrey Wiedemeier audrey@bikelibrary.org wrote:
Hello Friends:
Yesterday the Bike Library Checkout App that is custom built html failed to load. It won't be an easy fix as the Bike Lib. app was running on a really old version of php; a version that is no longer supported. The code is at least ten years old and likely will need to be completely rewritten. That being said, we need to decide to rewrite the code or query other operations out there.
The order of operation for the Checkout System is:
- find a bike, put down a deposit of $100-$300, sign the liability waiver,
patron takes bike
- on our end each bike has a 4-digit number that gets entered into our
system with bike specs and the 6 month "due date" is recorded with that number
- six months go by and the patron can return the bike for a refund of
their deposit minus $50 OR they simply keep the bike and we keep their deposit $.
- if they return it we make sure we have an updated mailing address, and
the app lets us know how much we need to write the check out for to send via snail mail
My questions to y'all are:
1 Do other shops operate in a similar fashion? If so, what POS system are you using?
2 Are there other shops out there who would want to replicate this checkout system? We have always wanted to make it easier to share and now would be the time to do it.
3 Have you heard of any new tech solutions that we should research? I've heard it's easier than ever to build your own app and I've fallen behind so maybe is a simple solution.
Peace & grease,
*Audrey Wiedemeier* (She/her/hers) Iowa City Bike Library, Director
700 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City *COVID Hours: *Tues. - Thurs. 10 AM - 5 PM; Sat. 10 - 3 PM Need something? Set up an appointment by email. Want to donate? Drop off anytime during these hours. Thank you!
BikeLibrary.org C: (515) 450-1651
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
participants (6)
-
Audrey Wiedemeier -
David Oliver -
greg -
Jonathan Rosenbaum -
peter＠BikeClarkCounty.org -
Robert Grossman