CenterEdge Software Blog

Best practices to help you manage your facility’s charitable giving better, easier and faster.

If you’ve been in the fun business for long, you’ve probably been asked by local fundraising organizations, schools, sports teams or companies about partnering or donating. Should you simply write a check, offer a fundraising event or donate a portion of a night’s proceeds? There are many ways that you can make partnering with your community a win for everyone. And what’s even better, tracking and managing your donations can be done seamlessly, without causing administrative headaches or complicated staff procedures.

Don’t guess at how to give to your community – read on for the ins and outs of these five approaches that can help make your fundraising efforts pain-free experiences.

Meet the five Excellence Award winners and finalists of the 2018 Customer Service Week Challenge

We had such a great response for the Customer Service Week Challenge! Responses came from all over the U.S. and it was great to read about all the terrific things your team members are doing. From party hosts to admissions staff all the way to maintenance, it’s so obvious when team members have that “it” thing that makes a difference. It was so hard choosing winners, but here are the top five winners and finalists who prove that “Excellence Happens Here” at their facilities.

Tips to help teams be ready with the right language to present your offerings with confidence.

In family entertainment, I think we all aim to help our guests, both new and returning, experience our entertainment venues in the most meaningful ways possible. And of course, we hope that by doing so, we can build relationships, encourage them to become loyal and increase revenue. As your front-line sales team, admissions staff are your welcome committee, your information station and (should be) your sales ninjas. But often they see themselves as no more than order takers, letting guests tell them what they want, taking money and moving on. This kind of thinking doesn’t achieve goals. Only a well-trained, committed front-line team wows guests and earns more revenue. But it doesn’t happen by chance.

Maximize efficiency and grow your revenue with these easy to implement tips.

Group and birthday party business are critical elements of virtually any successful amusement and entertainment venue. They provide a facility not only with revenue, but also serve as an excellent source of exposure to new patrons. But some facility owners and managers still operate their special event business as a separate entity from the rest of their operation, with separate systems and processes for everything from booking to admissions to payment. For example, many facilities operate in a cashless environment in the day to day but fail to realize the full revenue and operational potential your business can gain by going cashless for special events. Here are five reasons to take your special events cashless.

Don’t let a budding relationship fail by missing out on these essential touchpoints.

The birthday party or event is booked and you’re well on your way to making memories with a whole new group of prospective guests. Take this opportunity to further lay the groundwork for a world-class experience. Your event sales staff might be busy, but that doesn’t mean you need to skimp on communication. Let your software help you set and manage guests’ expectations from beginning to end, so you can focus on delivering wow-worthy events and turning one-time party guests into return customers.

The bigger your FEC gets, the harder it is to keep an eye on every location or department, much less every team member.

Consistency is a key element of a great guest experience. How can an owner, operator or general manager ensure everyone hits the mark every single time? Training and employee education are essential, but when it comes down to the day-to-day, it's not always easy to remember what was said in that workshop three months ago. Or what the key take-aways were from that long team training day.

Read our interview with Party Pro, Frank Price, for insights to help you hire and train a party team that your competition can’t replicate.

We are proud to partner with leading industry experts and sponsor such events as Birthday University. In advance of the upcoming Birthday University & Party Host Certification seminar in Chicago April 3-5, we sat down with Frank Price for his take on creating the perfect party team. With so much competition for entertainment in our communities, Frank has a lot to say about building a unique brand. Read on for his responses to some of the most important questions.

Boost your inbound bookings immediately with a few easy-to-implement tips.

Your party hosts and guest service staff have become true ambassadors of your facility and people love the idea of hosting an important birthday party (or event) with you. Your email marketing, social media and in-store marketing campaigns are working, and people are calling your business trying to book. The business is yours if you want it—but wait—are you losing the sale at the last moment by falling prey to these sneaky sales blunders? Read on for 7 common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Set your FEC or attraction up for success that will last with these three tips. 

If the weekend traffic is any indication, the holiday season has certainly begun! Is your facility equipped to take advantage of all the sales opportunities this celebratory time of year has to offer? Read on for three tips to help you maximize every moment of the holiday season.

A step-by-step training tool that gives your team the confidence to run every party like a pro, and gives you peace of mind that with every party you're gaining delighted guests who will come back again and again. 

NEW! The party checklist was so popular, we created five more checklists to help you keep both you and your team on track quickly and easily. Get just the party checklist below or, better yet, download the entire FEC Master Pack! 

Parties can be overwhelming no matter how many times your team runs them. The tasks that need to be completed before, during and after the party are critical to the continued success of your business, but it's easy to miss a step or two when your team members are new or in a hurry.