How Ottawa Valley RV turned a revenue drop into a smarter customer portal that remembers their clients

About Ottawa Valley RV

Company: Ottawa Valley RV
Industry: RV repair & mobile seasonal services
Location: Ottawa Valley, Canada
Use case: Customer portal, memory forms, client journey personalization: new vs. returning, online payments

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Ottawa Valley RV is a family-run mobile RV repair and seasonal services business operating across the Ottawa Valley. William Makort built it with his son – who had been on the roofs of RVs with William since he was 10. Today, they run two service vans: one for propane, electrical, and plumbing; one for structural repair. The vans go to the customer. Clients never have to come to them.

Their work follows the rhythm of the seasons — opening-season prep, repair visits, winterizing – and most of their clients come back year after year. Which is exactly why the admin had to work as hard as they did.

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The challenge: a form that was quietly driving clients away

Ottawa Valley RV has gone through every stage of the admin evolution. It started with pen and paper – phone calls, writing down job details, handing a paper work order to the team. Then spreadsheets. Then JotForm.

JotForm worked well in year one. Year two, William noticed something: revenue dropped. They were just as busy, but their returning clients weren't coming back.

"We have new clients, but we don't have our old clients. What's happening?"

Then it clicked.

"Every time they need a service, they've got to fill out all their information. So if I was a client, would I want to have to redo my home address, the type of RV it is? It's like, hell no. So that's obviously why we lost a number of clients."

For a mobile service business built on repeat seasonal customers, asking loyal clients to re-enter the same name, address, and RV details on every single request wasn't just inconvenient — it was a leak. A slow, invisible one that was costing real revenue.

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The road to Formaloo

After diagnosing the problem, William knew the solution needed a client portal – something where clients could log in, have their data remembered, and come back without starting over.

A no-code platform he tried first started well enough, but as the complexity grew, the support disappeared.

"The support was the poorest ever. In the beginning they would respond in a day, day and a half. But then as I was encountering issues, it was like — well, this stuff is beyond me. I'm paying money for something I can't properly use."

So he kept looking. Found Formaloo. Reached out.

"Very quickly realized that we'd made, in our opinion, the right choice."

What sealed it wasn't only the feature list. It was the communication.

"(Formaloo's) response time is amazing. It's definitely better than my response time with my clients. With JotForm, sometimes it would be like two days waiting for an answer. And then all I would get would be 'your inquiry has been answered.' Where's the answer?"

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What was built

Through Formaloo's Concierge service, Ottawa Valley RV got a fully custom client portal, built, delivered, and launched for them.

✔️ Clients sign up and log in via the Ottawa Valley RV website

The portal opens from a button on their site. New clients create an account with a one-time code – fast, no password friction. Returning clients log back in.

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✔️ Profile details entered once – pre-filled automatically on every future request

On first use, clients fill out their essential information in their Profile: their name, contact info, address, RV details. That's it.

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Every service form they open after that has those fields already in. They only fill out what's actually situational: where they are currently, what's going on, what they need done. No asking for the same details again and again.

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✔️ A menu of services within the portal – each with its own form

Once logged in, clients see a sidebar with all available service types. Initial assessment, winterizing, opening season, and others. Each leads to its own tailored form with the right questions for that job.

✔️ Smart routing between new and returning clients

When a client completes their first order, the team marks them as Returning in the backend. From that moment on, the portal shifts automatically – the initial service request disappears, and the returning client view appears. No initial admin fee, no confusion, no frustration.

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William described the first time he saw this work in practice:

"We received an order two days ago from an existing client. When he went into his account, he no longer saw initial service request. He saw a returning client. So automatically it gives them peace of mind knowing that they're not going to have to pay extra fees again. Even though they were told it was a one-time fee – automatically seeing that builds confidence with your client."

✔️ Payment by credit card or e-transfer

Clients can pay either way – and the option matters. Not everyone is comfortable putting card details online. The e-transfer option removes that barrier.

The result was immediate:

"We're finding that people are actually sending in their e-transfers faster than they did last year. I think it's because they're feeling comfortable that they can come back whenever they want. Their information is safe in the database, and they're not forced to put in a credit card. I don't have a single one that I'm waiting on an e-transfer for."

✔️ New order notifications for the team

Every incoming order triggers an email notification. The team can immediately see who it's from, what kind of job it is, and what they'll be facing – giving them advance preparation for the day or the next. William, who plans to eventually hand over more operational management to his team, is already laying the groundwork.

✔️ Automatic confirmation emails for clients

‍The moment a client submits a service request, they get an email confirmation with a summary of what they asked for, a cost breakdown, and clear next steps — whether that's waiting for a scheduled appointment or a reminder to send the e-transfer. No manual chasing.

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What changed

Ottawa Valley RV's clients no longer re-enter their details repeatedly. The ones who went quiet on JotForm now have a reason to come back – their account is there, their information is there, and sending a service request in takes minutes instead of the full re-entry they dreaded.

• Payment collection tightened up immediately. E-transfers arrive without chasing. Cash flow is healthier.
• The team has visibility into what's coming before it arrives. And the new/returning distinction — the one that used to require manual management – now runs itself.

For a family business working until 7:30 at night with paperwork still waiting when they get home, that's not a small operational change. It's time and mental load they get back.

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William's take

"With Formaloo, you gave me a timeline for the project. We worked together. The communication all the way through was always right there. And that's what gives me confidence.

If you have a dish on your plate and it's the best darn spaghetti and meatballs, I don't need to go to another restaurant for spaghetti and meatballs. I come back to this one. This is my spaghetti and meatballs.

You delivered as you said you would, and you've been there with me ever since. I can't ask for more than that."

William Makort
Founder, Ottawa Valley RV

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Built with Formaloo Concierge

Ottawa Valley RV's portal was built through Formaloo's end-to-end Concierge service. William came with a problem and a vision; the Formaloo team built a solution and delivered it right into Ottawa Valley RV’s workspace.

If you run a service business that depends on repeat customers – and you're still making them start from scratch every time – there's a better way.