When guests visit a family entertainment center (FEC), what is usually the most exciting part of their visit? Is it the games, food, environment, or the staff?
While the answer is likely “all of the above,” one of the key exciting moments of visiting an FEC is when you get to the prize center, where the guest can turn all the time they’ve spent playing into toys, games, or gifts.
Sureshot Redemption is one of the leading companies behind the prizes you see behind the counter at your favorite arcades and family entertainment centers. Recently, Bryn Netz, Sales Manager for Sureshot, joined the Guest Experience Show to talk about the role of prize redemption and offers guidance on how FEC operators can maximize the value of their redemption area.
The redemption counter is the final impression
When guests visit family entertainment centers, their last experience is often at the redemption counter. In many ways, everything else during their visit has led to this moment, where the tickets that the guest has accumulated by playing games now turned into tangible items (or experiences) that the guest can bring home.
Therefore, the presentation of the redemption counter reflects the visit as a whole, as it solidifies the memory of the guest’s visit while playing a significant role in their overall satisfaction. The redemption counter should not be overlooked when it comes to merchandising, cleanliness, and organization, along with the team member at the counter who leaves a lasting mark on the overall experience.
Prizes can drive repeat visitation
There are numerous ways for FECs to drive repeat visitation, including bounce-backs, promotions, events or promotions that occur on certain days, and recurring memberships. However, the prize at the redemption counter can build the desire – and even the need – for the guest to return.
The way that prizes are priced, using tickets as a currency that are accumulated by playing arcade games, influences what the guest walks away with when they depart, as well as prizes that might be unattainable on their current visit. For example, video game consoles, iPads, and even concert tickets can command significantly high prices and are often out of reach for a guest to accumulate that many tickets on a single visit.
By encouraging the guest to keep their game card and only redeem some of their tickets, they can continue to return, play games, accumulate more tickets, and work toward aspirational prizes that will give them a strong sense of accomplishment when they win.
The team member’s role in the success of the venue
Despite the amount of technology that removes many of the functional mechanics of our team members’ job duties, frontline staff needs to utilize technology to amplify the guest experience further rather than rely on it to deliver the experience on their behalf. This includes hospitality standards such as amplifying enthusiasm at the redemption counter while allowing the guest to take care of certain tasks that no longer require a team member.
On the front end of the visit, many FECs are implementing self-service kiosks so that guests can purchase and reload their game cards without waiting in long queues at ticket counters, leading to a smoother arrival as well as making it easier to add more money to their card. By balancing the technology with enthusiastic team members, the staff can focus less on swiping credit cards and spend more time advising the guest of the benefits of more premium options, thus increasing per capita spending. Bryn shares an example of one center where each team member is responsible for generating more than $100,000 in incremental revenue for the center.
Click here to learn how ROLLER’s family entertainment center technology can help remove many administrative tasks that allow your frontline staff to build further engagement with your guests.
