Event registration
Self-registration : a recipe for anger and bad data
Theo Reilly talks to Richard John of Realise , Tim Groot of Grip and Mentxu Sendino of Eventscase about selfregistration and the futility of the staff-less kiosk
he self-registration
T kiosk is one innovation we ’ re better off without . The need to digitise everything and collect more data has spurred some organisers to take selfregistration kiosks seriously , but the reality is that it just doesn ’ t work .
We asked three industry experts to share their thoughts .
Richard John , COO at UK-based event tech company Realise , is firmly against the concept . The main reason , he explains , is that people are slow learners .
“ We ’ ve all been behind the person at an ATM who looks at it like it ’ s an alien object . And – thinking about the airport security gates – the sense of despair when you realise you ’ ve chosen the wrong line and are behind someone who can ’ t work out how to open their passport ! With staff , you can have an open line and go to the next available person . Research also shows that people are more open with information when asked by a human rather than a computer .
“ We all have our routines ,” he adds . “ As a Mac user I ’ ve learned there are buttons in certain places on keyboards – but what if this is a Windows keyboard ? Or , as I ’ ve found at some shows , the keys for German and Spanish devices are different , because of an extra couple of letters . That really throws me .”
Richard acknowledges , however , that not everyone will agree with him :
“ True customer-centricity means allowing the customer to make their choice . When I fly , I want to speed through the airport and not talk to anyone until I ’ m on the plane being asked about my drink choice ! But not everyone is like me .
“ We have different generations in
Below : Left to right : Richard John , Tim Groot , and Mentxu Sendino the workplace and some live their life on screens . Queuing to talk to another human is anathema . So , perhaps the default for non-registrants should be the staffed desk , but with the option for self-service .
“ There ’ s also the ability to customise the process with a staffed desk . For example , if I was behind the registration desk and a Mr Colston comes up , I know – from his answers to my questions – that he is an industry celebrity . It ’ s the best goody bag , VIP service and full upgrade for him . Not many dumb terminals can do that !”
Tim Groot is founder and CEO of Grip , the AI-powered event networking platform . For Tim , registration is about one thing – speed . A long-winded registration doesn ’ t just irritate attendees , it compromises your data . The more frustrated someone is , the less likely they are to fill your form correctly . Tim explains : “ Once people are onsite at your event , the goal is to get them badged and into the venue as quickly as possible .
“ In our experience , having to deal with onsite registrations in the same queue as pre-registered participants can significantly slow down the overall throughput of onsite registration .
“ Therefore , organisers often have dedicated queues for onsite registrations but this still results in long lines . This begs the question
12 Issue 5 2024 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk