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Thomas Mirmotahari is the Founder and CEO of PerkUp.
PerkUp is how cool companies (like Atlas) send employees incredible swag, gift cards, and experiences. One thing is for sure: Thomas knows a thing or two about delivering remarkable experiences. So when he was emphatic about Atlas being a great product experience, we were thrilled.
PerkUp has been operating for three years now. For the first couple of years, they were on Intercom. They began with the free startup program and moved onto a paid plan once the offer ran out. While Thomas said Intercom was a great product, it wasn’t making sense financially. PerkUp had to pay separately for add-ons to deliver the quality of support they wanted.
So, Thomas and the PerkUp team explored several other products in the market - Zendesk, Hubspot, and Olark, to name a few. But they weren’t happy with the overall experience, and neither were their customers.
Discovering Atlas
It all began with the chat interface on Loops (an email platform for SaaS). “I was like, this isn't Intercom, but it feels like Intercom.” And that’s how Thomas discovered Atlas after circumnavigating the globe for a support solution that delivered on wow without breaking the bank.
Switching from Intercom to Atlas
We were curious to know why PerkUp switched over from Intercom. "Atlas has comparable features to Intercom, but we got access to the entire platform versus just the base features." An example Thomas quickly pointed out was CSAT, a paid add-on in Intercom.
Here at Atlas, our offerings are straightforward. You get everything you need to deliver top-notch support without requiring separate add-ons. It was pretty clear to Thomas. Their support tool needed a closer fit with their growth journey.
The Atlas Experience
PerkUp had to migrate two years’ worth of interactions over to Atlas. While it was grueling, Thomas was delighted with the process and even commended our team's technical prowess.
“We’d love to say everything was smooth sailing, but, as with any new product, it took a short while for the team to get moving smoothly.” A few weeks in, he truly found that aha moment - keyboard shortcuts.
If you’ve ever used Superhuman or Linear, you’ll likely have fallen in love with the simplicity of getting things done. That’s Atlas - a tool built for modern teams that want to deliver superhuman customer support.
“With Atlas, our team felt at home with the intuitive user interface, and so did our customers.”
Thomas is quick to admit that, while he and the product manager have taken to it quickly, the three support agents are yet to unlock levels of efficiency that aren’t achievable otherwise. Nonetheless, it has made things more efficient, and the major surprise was that PerkUp hasn’t heard customer complaints.
Features are nice, but roadmaps are more exciting
More than what’s already on offer, Thomas was excited about some of the features released this quarter. He wants PerkUp to be more efficient in handling responses since many queries don’t require complex interactions. He particularly mentioned the Generative AI capabilities we’re adding to the product as something to look out for.
You Can’t Shrug Us Off
PerkUp went from Intercom to Zendesk, Hubspot, and other tools before deciding on Atlas. The chat experience at Hubspot left much to be desired, and he didn’t quite like the idea of interactions being tickets. Support should be for solving customer problems, not ticket resolution.
Our integrations with the tools PerkUp used internally - Linear, Sentry, Segment, and many others - helped them build a richer context of their customers’ needs.
When picking the right support tool, ask yourself, “Can I delight my customers while helping them out?”. Go for the tool that allows you to do it for each customer as you grow. No compromise.
When delivering customer delight, we don’t take any shortcuts.
“I hope more companies try Atlas,” said Thomas just before we signed off. “That was a key reason I was happy for PerkUp to be your first case study.”
Thank you, Thomas. We love PerkUp, too, and recommend every company use it to boost engagement, retention, and culture.
