for cafés, restaurants and pubs
Your team stops texting you about shifts.
They text HeyEugene, a shifts agent, about days off, swaps and sick calls. It asks around by your rules. You tap OK.
$29 a month per venue, whole team included · first month free, no card
Works by text and in your café's app
why I'm building this
The schedule ate hours of my manager's week.
I worked behind the counter in a café in Gibsons, BC. My manager and the owner kept the schedule alive by hand: teenagers asking for Saturdays off, swaps, 6am sick calls, and not everyone can close alone.
So I built HeyEugene. When someone calls in sick or wants a swap, it asks around by your rules. You just tap OK.
It has my name on purpose. Staff write to it like they'd write to a person: “hey, can't make Saturday.” And when it gets something wrong, there's a real person whose name is on it. Me. It's an agent, not a person, and its first text to anyone says so.
If your place needs something it doesn't do yet, tell me and I'll add it.
Eugene
want to see it first? start hereour first venue
We just started. Mike's Place was first.
Gelato, sourdough and a deck on the water in Gibsons Landing, BC. The whole team's schedule runs on Shifts since Oct 30.
- on the team
- 25
- on the team
- shifts scheduled
- 138
- shifts scheduled
6:10am, Saturday
One sick call, start to finish.
Your team texts a number, like they text you. HeyEugene finds cover by your rules: who can close, who's new, BC's rest hours. You tap OK.
Text Message · Today 6:10 AM
Text Message · Today 6:11 AM
Harbour Bean
Today
Saturday
Emily 7–3 · Owen 7–1 · Connor 4–10
once a month
Next month, drafted for you.
No more “what days do you need off?” in the group chat. HeyEugene asks everyone, builds the month on your usual week, and you approve it.
It asks each person
Days off next month, how many days they want. It gets “same as always” and reminds the quiet ones once.
It drafts the month
On your usual starts and your rules. Days off stay off, busy days get an extra person.
You approve it
Change what you like, tap Approve. Everyone gets their own shifts, and you get the month as a picture for the group.
Starting out? Send a photo of your paper schedule. HeyEugene reads it in and asks you about anything unclear.
Your café
HeyEugene · owner app
MONTH DRAFT
December 2026
for teams that change every season
A new hire is in on day one.
Apps don't stick when half the team is new by summer. HeyEugene works wherever your people already write, with the same agent and your same rules everywhere. When someone leaves, you remove them in the app and the texts stop.
- Works today
for everyone on the team
Text messages
In Canada, staff can text your venue's number like they'd text you: “can't make Sat”.
- Joins from your team link, confirms their mobile with a code
- Only staff who joined are asked by SMS
- SMS in Canada today; the US is next
- Works today
for staff who'd rather tap
Your café's staff app
Your name and logo on their home screen. It opens from a link.
- Their shifts this week
- Day off, swap or sick in a few taps
- Clock in, team posts, call for backup
- Works today
for you, phone or computer
Manager app
One list of what needs you. Tap OK, and HeyEugene tells everyone.
- The schedule, the team, your rules
- Hours for payroll
- Write to HeyEugene like your team does
- In the works
for teams that live in it
WhatsApp
The same agent in the chat app your team already uses. Coming once Meta approves it.
- Sign up now, I'll tell you the day it's on
- Text and the app keep working meanwhile
make it yours
Paste your café's link. We'll set up the rest.
Your website, Instagram or Google Maps. HeyEugene reads your name, logo and address, and your café gets its own app with them, for you and your team.
what I promise
You stay the boss.
HeyEugene does the asking, and every call stays yours.
By default, every replacement needs your OK.
HeyEugene asks, you approve. Nothing is booked until you tap OK. You can switch on auto-OK in Settings.
Nobody is texted without saying yes
Each person joins from your link and confirms their own mobile. Anyone can text STOP and it stops. Only they can turn it back on.
It never asks why
Saying they can't come in is enough. Coworkers asked to cover see whose shift and when, never the reason.
Your team's data stays yours
Used only to run your schedule. Never sold, no ads. Our copy of the messages is deleted after 90 days.
Easy to leave
No contract. Tell me and I stop it. Delete your venue's staff list, schedules and messages yourself, in Settings, any time.
What isn't ready yet: it's new. Texting works in Canada, the US comes next. WhatsApp is in the works and comes when Meta approves it. When a message is odd, it asks the person instead of guessing.
try it yourself
Hand Jen's texts to HeyEugene.
Three texts just came in. Tap once, and they go to HeyEugene instead of her.
Who can close Saturday?
"now hiring"
"Put an agent on the shift texts."
Without it, you open the group chat and chase people. With HeyEugene, they text it, it asks around, and you tap OK.
Hiring
Shift coordinator
an agent, and it tells everyone that
- Pay
- $29 a month per venue, whole team included, no per-person fee. First month free, no card.
- Hours
- Replies to texts day and night, weekends too. Cover waits for your OK.
- Duties
- Days off, swaps and sick calls. Finds cover by your rules: who can close, who's new, who not to pair, BC rest rules.
- Doesn't
- Decide for you. It can draft next week, and you change it and approve it.
- Reports to
- You. By default, every replacement needs your OK. Switch on auto-OK in Settings if you want it. Cancel any time, no contract.
Founding venue: CA$249 total for 12 months at one location. No GST or PST is added at checkout. Full refund on request within 60 days. No automatic renewal.
keep what you use
Already use something for the schedule or payroll? Keep it. The agent works either way. Tell me what you use, and I'll build the link to it.
Rather talk first? Leave a few details.
Rather ask a question?
Questions you might have
Will my staff actually use it?
In Canada, if they can text you, they can text it. They write normally, “can't make Sat”, and it answers like a person would. Its first text says it's an agent, not a person, and each person joins once from a link you share.
What if it gets something wrong?
If someone calls in sick, it starts asking around right away, but nobody takes the shift until you tap OK, unless you switch on auto-OK yourself. If it isn't sure what someone means, it asks them or texts you. And you can always text your team yourself, like before.
Do my staff need an app?
Each person joins from a link you share and confirms their mobile with a code. In Canada, they can text your venue's number; only people who joined are asked by SMS. Your café also gets its own app with your name and logo, for you and anyone on the team who'd rather tap than text. It opens from a link and sits on their home screen.
Text, app or WhatsApp: which one?
Whichever each person likes. It's one agent with your rules, so a swap asked by text and an OK tapped in the app are the same conversation. SMS works in Canada today; the apps work today too. WhatsApp is in the works and waits on Meta's approval, and I'll tell you the day it's on.
What if nobody says yes?
It tells you which shift is still open and who it asked, so you know where things stand without scrolling the group chat. A sick call opens the shift right away. A swap stays with the person until someone says yes. Need someone right now? Ask HeyEugene to flag the best fit. By default, every replacement needs your OK; you can switch on auto-OK in Settings.
We already use 7shifts or a paper schedule.
Keep it. Put one week in, and HeyEugene handles the sick calls and swaps on top. If you like it, it can draft next week from your usual week too. Tell me what you use, and I'll build the link to it.
Is it AI?
It reads messages with AI so people can write normally. It won't offer cover that breaks your rest rules or hour limits, and it flags overtime for you. When it isn't sure what someone means, it asks them.
How long does setup take?
Sign up asks for your café's name, your name, and whether you're the owner or the manager. About a minute. Then put your team in (or send a photo of your schedule and HeyEugene reads it in) and share one link: each person taps their name and confirms their mobile with a code. Email and mobile for you come later, in the app.
What happens after the free month?
If you added a card, it keeps going at $29 a month. If not, HeyEugene pauses and nothing is charged. Staff who text it are told to message you directly.
What if HeyEugene shuts down?
I'd tell you ahead and send you your team list and schedules as a file. Your group chat keeps working the whole time, nothing depends on us.