Public Rec

ublic Rec is a Chicago-based menswear brand founded by Zach Goldstein. The company was launched with a Kickstarter campaign in 2015, and has been rapidly growing ever since. Their mission is to make technical leisurewear for everywhere: “It’s indoor comfort meets outdoor style.”

When Goldstein first started Public Rec, he was a solo founder, running the company completely on his own. That meant he also dealt with all of the customer service issues personally. His customer support system consisted of answering inquiries via Gmail and Google Voice. That was simply not sustainable for a fast growing company. It quickly became apparent that he couldn’t grow the business without help. He needed a solution that would scale, and he needed it quickly.

Based on a personal recommendation from Ministry of Supply, a high-performance business wear clothing brand, Goldstein took a chance on Peak Support in 2017. Fast forward to 2020, the Public Rec customer support team based in the Philippines fully manages the customer support function and averages about 4,500 tickets a month, with a customer satisfaction score never dipping below 91%.

“When I was considering outsourcing my customer support, I was worried that no company could respond as fast as I did, or answer with the same tone of voice, but Peak Support learned the business very quickly.”

At the start of the partnership, Goldstein and Peak Support set a broad goal of covering every ticket within 24 hours. Peak Support also had an internal goal of reaching a CSAT score of 88 or higher. The benchmark for this industry was 85, and Peak Support aimed to surpass that. Just two years later, the numbers speak for themselves.

Since the partnership, Public Rec has seen triple digit percentage revenue growth, driven in part by its reputation for excellent customer service. In addition, it’s been able to scale the customer support team in a highly efficient way. Though the number of tickets has grown 15X, the team has only grown 5X.

As Peak Support got to know Public Rec’s business and customers more, they started to implement changes that ended up significantly boosting the quality and efficiency of Public Rec’s support operation.

By integrating a reporting dashboard, and designing a custom Excel model for staffing and ticket forecasting, Peak Support was able to better track the team’s performance, drive improvements, and plan for the future.

They also added additional channels of support such as:

• Inbound & Outbound Calls: Google Voice to Talkdesk
• Social: Gorgias
• Product Review: Trustpilot and Stamped.io
• Help Center: Zendesk Guide

A major challenge of any company is customer retention. With the help of Peak Support, Public Rec saw significant customer loyalty. Says Goldstein:

“The customer experience and customer support is how we keep customers coming back and how we convert them from lookers to buyers. It’s an integral part of our business. We constantly hear how great the support team is and how happy they are with the support, and that stuff really matters. It gives comfort to people who are otherwise shopping from a newer brand.” – Goldstein

Just take a look at what some of Public Rec’s customers are saying…

“Beyond any expectations, went the extra mile! Unbelievable support and product.”

“I like your pants a lot and with customer service like this you could very easily have a customer for life!!”

“Amazing turn around time with the reply and the action. Also…the person, Marichel, might have been the most efficient yet friendly support rep I have dealt with.”

“Amazing customer service. Quick, accommodating, courteous, and hard-working. I got what I had hoped would happen. Thank you!”

“You won’t regret the decision to hire Peak Support. Their team members in the Philippines are world-class experts in customer support. They are flexible and really willing to work with you and help you scale up or down, depending on what’s needed during that time. They’re constantly thinking about forecasting. They’re not just support, they’re strategic partners.”

Today, Public Rec has nine employees, and Goldstein is pretty much hands off when it comes to managing the customer support team. The Head of CX, Kristin Diaz-Rodriguez, and Head of Operations, Garrick Gan, manage the Peak Support partnership, so he can focus on building and leading the next billion-dollar apparel brand.