BES Xtras Plus

With the news of centers reopening around the globe comes a welcomed glimmer of hope. However, the hard work is just beginning.   So many things have changed and “business as usual” will look quite different than it has in the past.

Customer’s expectations of a great experience now includes a level of confidence that the venue is clean and safe.

There are national, state and local guidelines that must be closely adhered to or risk negative publicity and in some cases, fines.

Customers realize that businesses have suffered a tremendous financial setback and there are now new overhead costs as a result of the pandemic. So, they aren’t necessarily expecting deals or discounts, but they are expecting a premium experience for their money. Remember, customers suffered a financial impact as well, so make sure the experience is over the top.

Here are a few ways to kick your customer service up a notch:

• Make it obvious that the health and safety of your customers and staff is top priority. Be obvious with cleaning and reinforce safety guidelines throughout the center. The QubicaAMF Reopening Marketing Kit has many pieces of collateral available to assist with this.
• Be transparent. Communicate with the customers and respond promptly to questions and concerns, even the negative ones.
• Set new expectations for the staff.
  • Whether your center will require employees to wear masks or not, a smile should be required. Even though a mouth is covered, a smile can be sensed in the tone of voice and sparkle in the eyes.
  • Customers should be greeted upon entering the center and thanked when exiting.
  • Learn customer’s names when possible to make the experience personal.
• Go the extra mile. Offer assistance before it is requested.
• Take food and beverage orders from the lane with Conquer QPads or On-Lane Ordering.
• Train staff properly to provide efficient and safe service.
• Communicate company messages to team members so they are all aligned on policies and procedures and know how to respond to questions and comments from customers.
• Provide a full service experience. Collect information from the customer in advance and set the lane up for them.   If booking the lane online, request names, shoe sizes, environment or game choices and have the lane set up upon arrival, complete with shoes. Have a greeter escort arriving guests to their lanes, personally welcoming them to the center and answering any questions they might have. The Customer Courtesy Card, found in the QubicaAMF Reopening Kit can be uploaded to the center website to conveniently capture necessary information.
• For guests without reservations, utilize the Customer Courtesy Card found in the QubicaAMF Reopening Marketing Kit to capture customer details. Once the card is filled out, have staff member enter the names, select the environment or game requested, pull shoes needed and take them to the lanes and meet the guests on their lane to welcome them and let them know they can begin having fun. This is also a great opportunity to have staff members explain the different options for their entertainment. For example, for families, the staff member can ask if the customer has ever tried Mad Games or if a young couple comes in, share with them how much fun it can be to laugh at one another on the screen with YouToons.

The Courtesy Card found in the Marketing Kit, is a great tool to capture information but it can also be a great way to show customers the many options that are available for their entertainment. As a BES Xtras viewer, we have taken the Courtesy Card one more step by customizing the back side of the card with the BES X games and environments logos and have also created a HyperBowling version of the card that includes the four HyperBowling game options available.

As centers begin to reopen and recover from COVID-19 it is more important than ever to provide an over the top experience for your customers. Not only will this bring the customers back to your center, but it will also attract new customers as a result of word of mouth advertising and user generated content from your satisfied customers.   Those Instagram shares and Tik Tok videos get better results than any traditional forms of advertising. And to make it even better, user generated content is FREE!

Look at reopening as if you were opening the doors to your community for the very first time. It’s your second chance to make a First Impression. Make it count and earn their business, one ecstatic customer at a time.

Have you implemented something new to enhance your guest’s experience? Was your opening more successful than expected? How have you communicated your reopening to your customers? We’d love to hear about it!  Share your story on Beyond the Frame or in the comment section below.

Download Customized Courtesy Card for BES X here (single and 2 Up format)

Download Customized Courtesy Card for BES X with Hyper here (single and 2 Up format)