Solving the Pizza Guy Problem

Paul Bodell, VIZpin CEO

One of the most valued features of VIZpin is that it’s cloud-based but doesn’t have a local network connection.  IT guys love it because they don’t have to worry about it, and accountants love it because it is very inexpensive to install and involves no ongoing ISP charges.

The challenge is, however, that you can’t “buzz someone in” because there’s not a real-time network connection. For friends and family that’s not a problem, because you can simply download the app and send them a key.  But what about the “pizza guy”?

A property manager client was faced with this problem, because his tenants didn’t want to have to walk downstairs to let the pizza guy in each time he made a delivery. The tenants were already enjoying the convenience and security of VIZpin access to the building, but pizza guys were continually changing, and getting every new one to download the app was too much to ask.

The property manager looked at installing a telephone entry system as an option, but when he saw the $8,000+ installation cost, he nearly fainted. Then, he got creative and asked if the VIZpin PLUS system that was already installed would work with a keypad.

Fortunately for him and his pizza-loving tenants, VIZpin PLUS does work with any Wiegand Output Keypad, so he installed one on the front door and connected it to the VIZpin system. Next, he pre-enrolled a large number of random PIN numbers and began sharing a new one with tenants each week.

Now, when the pizza guy calls a tenant to say he’s at the front door and the pizza’s getting cold, the tenant can simply give him the current PIN number. Every Monday morning the property manager deletes the old PIN number from the VIZpin system by simply logging in from wherever he is, and the next time a tenant uses the app to get into the building, the old PIN is immediately deleted so the Pizza guy can’t use it again.

In the end, the property manager added five minutes of work each week, saved thousands of dollars and made his tenants very happy. Not a bad return.

(Interesting fact: The original VIZpin system was an app that sent a unique PIN number to your phone each time you wanted to open a door – Visitor PIN. You can read more about it in our very first blog post.)