CenterEdge Software Blog

Transparency, consistency, and creativity might help in the days of doing more with less. 

The labor shortage has been a hot topic in retail and hospitality for employers and consumers alike. Lately, I have seen a few frontline team members expressing how difficult it is to work some days given the increased traffic and reduced staff. 

I have also noticed a few unique ways that establishments have handled the crisis that I thought might be worth sharing. Read on for a few tips and attention-grabbing ideas that might help you manage the situation in ways that keep your team and your guests happy.

Topics: FEC, Trampoline Parks, Waterparks, Customer Loyalty, Amusement Parks, Employee Management

The game has changed, but the fact that you need a strategy for booking group events hasn’t. These tips can help. 

Recently, I was chatting with an operator about the right time, approach, and message to take to local organizations regarding booking group events once again. If you haven't already been selling group events, this topic is likely something on your mind these days as well. We thought it would be a good time to share a few ideas for getting started booking group events back into your facility.

Topics: FEC, Waterparks, Marketing, Amusement Parks, Reporting & Analytics, Sales, Birthday Party & Groups

Consumers are more discerning than ever; set your facility up for success from the start.

We recently discussed how we've been hearing stories of business owners experiencing more negative interactions with guests in recent months, and how to navigate those troubled waters in ways that can resolve problems before they escalate.

But besides the stress of the last year taking its toll, what could be causing so many new complaints? I believe many of the complaints businesses are getting have the same root cause they've always had: the guest experience killer known as customer friction. 

The pandemic has created a lot of friction for consumers and businesses in the last year. With the developments of ever-changing guidelines and policies, it's no wonder guests and business owners alike are feeling the effects. That's why it makes sense to get back to basics and take a fresh look at your FEC's current practices and determine whether they're helping, or hurting your overall guest experiences. Read on for five ways to reduce friction in your facility.  

Topics: FEC, Point of Sale, Trampoline Parks, Customer Loyalty

Learn how to retire and disable items, discounts, areas, and event types to navigate your system more efficiently.  

 

As you begin year-end planning, take this opportunity to set up your system more efficiently to save time and effort both in the office and at the front line.

Watch today’s Pro Tip from our CenterEdge Training team to learn how to simplify your CenterEdge Advantage screens and apps by retiring or disabling outdated offerings, discounts, areas, event types, and more.

Topics: FEC, Point of Sale, Waterparks, Zoos & Aquariums, Reporting & Analytics, Parks & Rec, CenterEdge Advantage POS, Facility Operations, Birthday Party & Groups, Goal Setting

We're sharing new tools to help your facility recover and thrive. 

We were recently asked to partner with the AttractionPros and other industry suppliers to offer messages and advice for amusement facilities during these challenging times. We are proud to say that nearly 30 companies have come together to share how they have navigated these times, continued to support our industry, and to offer unique messages to help build motivation. In addition, you also have free access to a new guide: Suppliers Speak: Attractions Industry Providers Share their Messages, full of articles to help your business thrive now and in the future. Read on for more information and to download your free guide today. 

Topics: FEC, Point of Sale, Trampoline Parks, Museums, Waterparks, Zoos & Aquariums, Amusement Parks, Memberships, CenterEdge News, CenterEdge Advantage POS, Facility Operations

Build rapport and morale with these coaching questions. 

The best leaders in any industry make managing people look easy when in reality, it’s anything but! In nearly every survey on employee engagement, the top reasons cited for why employees quit or feel disengaged tie directly back to management. Poor communication, a lack of feeling supported or valued, and unclear career pathing are all common threads that cause lost morale and costly turnover.

So how does a committed manager combat these top three detractors? The answers could lie in changing the questions you ask in staff interactions that you’re already having - at staff check-in, in the breakroom, at shift-end, or in regular performance management conversations. I asked people who work in many different industries to share the questions asked by managers that resonated the most, made them feel supported, and inspired them to do their best work. Here are ten of the best.

Topics: FEC, Trampoline Parks, Waterparks, Employee Management, Facility Operations

The secret to solid cash control is culture, processes, accountability, and oversight. 

Fraud prevention can be a scary topic because no one wants to believe team members could steal from their employer. But you can't leave prevention up to chance. To set your business up for solid cash control, we've updated this important post to give you everything you need to take the fear out of fraud prevention.

Topics: FEC, Point of Sale, Trampoline Parks, Waterparks, Reporting & Analytics, CenterEdge Advantage POS, Employee Management

We're sharing new data to help you drive marketing email response.  

I had the recent opportunity to attend Inbound 2020, a marketing conference that joined the many others in going virtual.  I was excited to see that Jay Schwedelson, founder of Worldata, had returned to speak. Worldata is responsible for sending and tracking the effectiveness of 40,000 email campaigns and over 6 billion individual emails every year. For much of this year, Worldata has been tracking the email marketing trends as they’ve changed during COVID. Read on for some of their latest data-driven tactics that you can implement today to improve your marketing email results.

Topics: FEC, Waterparks, Zoos & Aquariums, Marketing, Amusement Parks, Reporting & Analytics, Sales, Facility Operations

Follow this formula for the best ROI³ (Return on Investment In Information) 

Guest experience feedback is one of the best tools your team has to help create a winning culture for guests and staff. We asked guest experience innovator, Scot Carson, founder and CEO of Amusement Advantage, Inc., to share his top tips for making the most of both negative and postive feedback. Read on as Scot shares his tried and true steps to making the most of critical guest feedback.  

Topics: FEC, Waterparks, Zoos & Aquariums, Amusement Parks, Employee Management, Facility Operations

Get ready for a more successful holiday gift card sales season this year. 

Today’s CenterEdge Pro Tip offers five steps to help you implement a better gift card sales season. Follow these quick tips to get started today.

Topics: FEC, Point of Sale, Trampoline Parks, Museums, Waterparks, Zoos & Aquariums, Sales, CenterEdge News, CenterEdge Advantage POS, Facility Operations, Cashless, CenterEdge Client Success, Online Sales & Ticketing