Aroma Joe’s Coffee Shops saved over $40,000 in cost and pays 50% less on monthly charges with RabbitRun SD-WAN

Aroma Joe’s is one of the nation’s leading handcrafted beverage chains

Based in South Portland, Maine, Aroma Joe’s focused on coffee and espresso drinks, unique infused blends, signature AJs RUSH® Energy Drinks and all-day food offerings served in a friendly and upbeat environment. Unlike many competitors, Aroma Joe’s proprietary coffee blends are 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified and audited annually against environmental, social and economic criteria to protect farmers, biodiversity and foster a culture of respect.

The first location opened in East Rochester, New Hampshire in 2000 and the brand is still actively expanding.

Today at over 109 locations they are a beloved community destination across Maine and New Hampshire as more people experience the Aroma Joe’s difference.

The Challenge

Meet Mike Sillon, co-owner of 20 Aroma Joe’s Locations.

Mike was experiencing Internet outages at many of his shops.

These outages would cause the Point-of-Sale system and Aroma Joe’s Loyalty cards to stop transacting.

• This was a big inconvenience to both customers and employees.

• When these outages occurred, Mike’s locations would experience longer checkout times and lineups resulting in unnecessary giveaways as the business adhered to their company policy and commitment to excellence.

Mike began looking for a solution to keep his businesses online and improve customer experience. He talked to some managed network providers and spoke to other Internet providers, but they all mostly specialized in Enterprise level solutions including SD-WAN.

• These other solutions were complex, expensive, and demanded high up-front equipment costs as well as monthly network management and licensing fees.

The Solution

Mike realized that although he had 20 sites and could be considered a small enterprise type business, his individual locations each operate more like a small business versus a larger enterprise site.

Narrowing down his search, Mike found RabbitRun Technologies Inc., the creator of an SD-WAN solution specifically designed for Small Businesses. They did not charge up-front fees for equipment and offered the solution as-a-Service through Valued Resellers and Channel Partners.

After reviewing this new Small Business SD-WAN solution and testing performance, Mike was able to address his Internet outage issues by deploying RabbitRun’s built-in multi-carrier cellular backup at each location. 

The Benefits

The RabbitRun SD-WAN solution takes over when the main Internet connection goes down and keeps the business online and transacting.

• All Point-of-Sale and Aroma Joe’s Loyalty card processing just continues, while both customers and employees are not even aware there was an outage.

• When the main Internet service provider has restored the connection, the RabbitRun system seamlessly stops using the cellular service and transactions resume on the broadband internet service.

With RabbitRun, Mike saved over $40,000 of up-front equipment costs and now spends 50% less on monthly charges compared to other solutions.