Two years of phone systems that never stuck
Honeybold is a design, print and branding studio. It makes the things small businesses put in people's hands and on their storefronts: silk and raised foil business cards, letterhead, vehicle magnets, A-frames, signage, plus branding and websites. Its clients are tattoo studios, real estate agents, movers and local shops, and every order plants a tree through a partnership with One Tree Planted.
Most of that work runs on email and messaging, with the phone a growing part of it. For almost two years Travis looked for a phone system that fit. He trialed plenty of them, including the ones people recommend most, and every one came with a limitation that made it hard to live with long term.
We were in the exact same situation for almost two years and tried multiple services that were highly recommended. We trialed a lot of them, but each one came with major limitations that made them hard to stick with long-term.
A trial that ended early
Travis started on a temporary number Allo provided, and by his own account he was skeptical going in. Allo was newer and did not have a huge pile of reviews behind it yet. The trial did not run its course. Within a few days he was confident enough to port Honeybold's main business number over.
Within just a few days, before the trial even ended, I felt confident enough to port our main business number over to Allo.
Every call recorded, summarized and logged
What changed the day-to-day was that the admin around a call stopped being a task. Every call is recorded, transcribed and summarized automatically, then pushed into HubSpot with no one touching it. Every SMS conversation is tracked and logged the same way.
Allo also reads what was actually discussed and suggests the next step, whether that is a follow-up text or a calendar reminder. The rest of the phone system is there too: IVR menus, business hours, an AI receptionist that can be toggled on or off, and an automatic SMS reply when a call is missed. Travis takes calls from the mobile app, the web app, or straight from inside HubSpot.
Even weeks into using Allo, I'm still surprised by how much time it's saving us. There's essentially zero admin work. No manual logging, no copying notes, nothing.
How a Honeybold client call runs now
- 1
Take the call anywhere
Mobile app, web app, or directly from inside HubSpot. IVR menus and business hours route it, with an AI receptionist available for overflow.
- 2
Let it record itself
Every call is recorded, transcribed and summarized automatically. There is nothing to start, stop or write up afterwards.
- 3
Get the next step suggested
Allo proposes what to do next, a follow-up text or a calendar reminder, based on what was actually said on the call.
- 4
Find it all in HubSpot
The call, the summary and the full SMS thread land in HubSpot on their own. No manual logging, no copy-paste.
Wired into a custom CRM through the API
Honeybold does not stop at the HubSpot integration. Travis connected Allo's API to the studio's own custom CRM, so calls surface where his team already works. He calls that one a total game changer.
The pace of shipping is part of why it stuck. Features he did not expect to see so quickly, like putting a call on hold to dial someone else, arrived within months of signing up.
Being able to place a call on hold and call someone else is such an amazing feature, and honestly not something I ever expected to see implemented so quickly. Being able to connect the Allo API to our custom CRM has also been a total game changer.
What changed at Honeybold
Leaning further into the phone
Seven months in, the phone has gone from the channel Honeybold used least to one Travis is deliberately building on as the studio grows. The admin that used to make calling expensive is simply gone, so picking up the phone costs nothing but the conversation. He has been recommending Allo to his own clients and to peers in the print and design industry ever since.