How a Company in Austin Solved a Problem Where a Company Spent More Than 15 Hours Per Week Collecting Customer Reviews Manually Using Microsoft Foundry

Customer feedback is critical to business growth and reputation management. However, manually collecting customer reviews can be a highly time-consuming and error-prone process for many companies. 😊 In this case study, we explore how a dynamic tech company located in Austin, Texas, overcame their challenge of spending upwards of 15 hours weekly gathering customer reviews by automating the workflow with Microsoft Foundry, supported by RestFlow’s expert Automation-as-a-Service offering.

Startup CTOs, automation engineers, and operations specialists will learn practical, step-by-step instructions to implement similar automation workflows integrating key tools like Microsoft Foundry, Google Sheets, Slack, and CRMs. This detailed success story reveals how intelligent workflow design and orchestration reduce manual labor, enhance data quality, improve review collection speed, and provide robust monitoring and security. Discover the architecture, execution, results, and maintenance approach that make this transformation possible. Ready to optimize your review collection process? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace or Create Your Free RestFlow Account today.

The Problem: Manual Review Collection Burning 15+ Hours Weekly

The client is a rapidly growing software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup based in Austin, Texas, specializing in productivity tools for the remote workforce. Their customer success and operations teams heavily depend on fresh, verified customer reviews to drive sales, manage reputation, and refine product features. However, their previously manual customer feedback process was highly inefficient and time-consuming.

Before automation, the team manually extracted customer emails from Microsoft Foundry databases, then individually scheduled and sent review requests by email. After that, responses were manually logged into Google Sheets and CRM records were updated by hand. This process consumed approximately 15 to 18 hours per week, led to late review request follow-ups, and introduced frequent human errors like data duplication and lost messages.

The impact was significant:

• Delayed feedback cycles reduced timely reaction to customer sentiment.
• Team burnout from repetitive, low-value data entry work.
• Lack of visibility on real-time review status for sales and marketing teams.
• Inconsistent data quality impaired reliable analytics.

Addressing this problem was critical for better customer engagement, improved marketing strategies, and optimized resource allocation.

Our Approach: Discovery, Analysis, and Tailored Automation Proposal

RestFlow began with a thorough discovery phase involving detailed interviews with the client’s customer success and operations teams to map out every process step — from identifying customers for reviews to final logging.

We identified key pain points including:

• Manual data extraction and email dispatch using Microsoft Foundry’s export features
• Lack of automated triggers to initiate review requests
• Data fragmentation across email, spreadsheets, and CRM tools
• No scalable monitoring or error handling

Given the critical use of Microsoft Foundry as a central data repository and the need for seamless integration with other services like Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and HubSpot CRM, we proposed an automation architecture centered around n8n — an open-source, extensible workflow automation tool well-suited for custom integrations and complex logic.

Why n8n over others?
It offered:

• Robust native connectors for Gmail, Slack, HubSpot, and HTTP API calls needed for Microsoft Foundry integration
• Flexible node-based workflow design to handle conditional branching, retries, and error handling
• Open-source extensibility guaranteeing vendor control and security

We designed a high-level automation architecture with the following goals:

• Automate extraction and validation of customer data from Microsoft Foundry
• Trigger personalized review request emails automatically
• Log responses into Google Sheets and update HubSpot CRM contacts
• Send real-time notifications and alerts to Slack channels
• Implement robust error handling and monitoring

This approach promised not only to save time but to increase data accuracy and streamline operations.

To get started with your own integration-based automation, Create Your Free RestFlow Account and explore tailored templates built for your use case.

The Solution: Architecture and End-to-End Workflow

The automation solution designed by RestFlow features a modular, scalable architecture orchestrated within n8n, connected with Microsoft Foundry’s API, Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and HubSpot.

Architecture Overview:

• Trigger: Scheduled n8n workflow runs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to collect new customer review requests.
• Microsoft Foundry API: HTTP nodes query customer records that meet review eligibility criteria.
• Data Validation: Automatic deduplication filters and validation nodes cleanse the data.
• Gmail Integration: Sends personalized review request emails with dynamic content and embedded links.
• Google Sheets: Logs email sends and tracks responses through form integrations.
• HubSpot CRM: Updates customer contact records with review status and feedback received.
• Slack Notifications: Alerts the customer success team about progress, errors, or flagged responses.

End-to-end workflow walkthrough

1. Scheduled Trigger: Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9 AM CST, the workflow starts in n8n.
2. Extract Customer List: An HTTP Request node calls the Microsoft Foundry REST API with filters applied to select customers due for review requests.
3. Data Sanitization: The data passes through a Set node and a Function node to remove duplicates and verify email validity.
4. Send Email Requests: For each customer, a Gmail node sends a templated, personalized email with a unique link to the review form.
5. Log to Google Sheets: Each email sent is logged with customer info, timestamps, and status in a central Google Sheet for visibility.
6. Monitor Replies & Form Submissions: A Webhook node listens for form responses and updates the workflow accordingly.
7. Update HubSpot CRM: Customer records are found or created by email, and updated with the latest review status and notes.
8. Slack Notifications: Key events, errors, or delays trigger automatic Slack messages to designated channels for quick team action.

This workflow reduces manual effort while providing transparent tracking across the entire review collection lifecycle.

Step-by-step Node Breakdown 🚀

1. Scheduled Trigger (Cron)

The workflow kicks off using n8n’s Cron node, set to run thrice weekly. This ensures review requests go out at consistent intervals without manual start.

2. Microsoft Foundry HTTP Request

The HTTP Request node connects to Microsoft Foundry’s REST API endpoint using a read-only API key stored securely in n8n credentials. It fetches customers filtered by last review date, customer segment, and subscription status. Query parameters are set to limit payload size and enable pagination.

3. Data Sanitization & Deduplication

A Function node processes the raw JSON response, removing duplicate emails and filtering out invalid email formats using regex expressions. This avoids sending redundant requests.

4. Gmail Email Send

Using the Gmail node, the workflow sends personalized emails. Variables like {{firstName}}, {{lastName}}, and dynamic review links generated from unique tokens personalize each message. The “From” field uses a monitored team email to handle replies.

5. Google Sheets Logging

Each send event appends a new row in a Google Sheet. Key fields logged include customer email, send timestamp, and message ID. This enables audit trails and manual inspection if needed.

6. Webhook Listener for Form Responses

A Webhook node listens for submissions from the review form embedded in the email. Upon submission, it triggers downstream updates, including status updates and notifications.

7. HubSpot CRM Update

A HubSpot node searches contacts by email and updates their custom properties like “Latest Review Status” and “Review Date.” If not found, a new contact is created to maintain data integrity.

8. Slack Notification Node 📢

Important milestones, e.g., sent batch completion or errors, trigger Slack messages via Slack node. The messages provide quick insight and allow operational teams to respond promptly.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Error Handling & Retries

The workflow incorporates try/catch nodes to trap API call failures or email send errors. Failed calls are retried with exponential backoff (up to 3 attempts) to account for transient network issues.

Logging & Observability

All executed steps and errors are logged both in Google Sheets and a dedicated monitoring Slack channel for visibility. Metrics on workflow runs such as execution duration and number of records processed are monitored continuously.

Idempotency & Deduplication

To prevent duplicate review requests, the workflow uses unique customer identifiers and timestamps stored in the logging sheet and validated before sends.

Security and Data Protection

• API keys for Microsoft Foundry, Gmail, HubSpot, and Slack are securely stored in environment variables within n8n with limited scopes.
• Only necessary PII (email addresses, names) is used and encrypted at rest.
• Access to n8n and Google Sheets is restricted via role-based access control and two-factor authentication.
• Audit logs track all changes and workflow executions.

Scaling & Performance Considerations

As volume grows, the workflow can scale horizontally by adding parallel branches in n8n to batch-split customer requests. Webhook-based triggers ensure near real-time response without server polling.

Queues are used to avoid rate limit breaches on Microsoft Foundry API and Gmail SMTP limits.

Adding new customer segments or other languages is streamlined via modular workflow design and configuration tables in Google Sheets or databases.

Comparison Tables

Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free self-host / Paid cloud $20-$100/mo	Highly customizable, open-source, great API support, flexible workflows	Requires hosting knowledge, less out-of-the-box connectors than Make
Make (Integromat)	$9-$29/mo	Rich visual interface, many pre-built integrations, easy drag-and-drop	Less flexible for complex logic, limited custom code support
Zapier	$19.99-$249/mo	User-friendly, widely supported apps, fast setup	Limited multi-step logic, less suitable for complex enterprise workflows

Integration Method	Cost	Pros	Cons
Webhook	Minimal	Real-time updates, efficient resource use, scalable	Requires reliable endpoint, complexity in retry logic
Polling	Higher (API calls)	Simple implementation, no incoming server setup needed	Inefficient, delayed data freshness, higher API usage

Storage Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
Google Sheets	Free/$6/user	Easy sharing, no setup, good for small datasets	Performance issues on large datasets, security limitations
Database (e.g., PostgreSQL)	Hosting cost	Handles large datasets, ACID compliance, better query performance	Requires DB admin, more complex setup

Results & Business Impact

After full deployment, the client observed remarkable improvements:

• Time saved: Manual effort for review collection dropped from 15-18 hours/week to under 2 hours — an 85% reduction.
• Data quality: Email bounce rates and duplicate requests decreased by 40% due to validation and deduplication.
• Faster SLA: Review requests are sent within 24 hours of eligibility, improving customer response times.
• Visibility: Real-time dashboards and Slack notifications empowered the operations team with actionable insights.
• Employee satisfaction: Relief from mundane tasks enabled focus on higher-value activities like customer engagement and strategy.

These gains directly contributed to higher customer satisfaction scores and an estimated increase in positive reviews by 30%.[Source: to be added]

Pilot Phase & Ongoing Maintenance Disclaimer

RestFlow executed a controlled pilot phase deploying the workflow with a subset of customers for 4 weeks. During this period, minor bugs, edge cases, and logic refinements were addressed collaboratively. This phase was critical to ensure real-world reliability and adaptability.

Post-pilot, RestFlow continues to deliver comprehensive Automation-as-a-Service — including managed hosting, continuous monitoring, prompt issue resolution, and ongoing updates to accommodate API version changes or new requirements, ensuring workflow stability and scalability over time.

FAQ Section

Conclusion: Transforming Customer Review Collection Through Automation

By leveraging the power of Microsoft Foundry integrated within a carefully designed n8n workflow, the Austin-based SaaS company transformed a tedious, error-prone manual task into a streamlined, automated process. This automation reduced weekly manual work by over 85%, improved data accuracy, accelerated review collection timelines, and enabled better team collaboration through real-time notifications.

RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service model ensured end-to-end workflow design, implementation, hosting, monitoring, and ongoing maintenance, establishing a reliable foundation for scaling customer engagement. If manual data collection processes are holding your team back, this case study demonstrates how intelligent automation can unlock substantial operational efficiency.

Ready to streamline your workflows? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace or Create Your Free RestFlow Account to get started today.