richmond
Introducing Members’ Bar discount cards and a faster, more secure EPOS till system
Located in the beautiful Royal Deer Park in Richmond, for over one hundred years Richmond AA has been the home ground
for both Richmond RFC and London Scottish RFC. Richmond Athletic Association’s main purpose has always been to provide good playing surfaces, club
facilities and help both clubs push for success.
The RAA’s manager John Simmins takes up the story thus, “Together, we’ve been through all the highs and the inevitable lows and in 2012, we decided it
was time for another big high.”
The Challenges
Four objectives were soon identified by Simmins on behalf of the two clubs:
1. Provide a new, faster and more secure EPOS solution for the clubhouse.
2. Provide the two different clubs with separately branded membership cards, but with both having access to the same central privilege scheme
3. To encourage members to load value up front into their privilege account
4. To maintain complete security for up to 18 operators operating 6 tills, simultaneously.
The Solution
MHS Group installed a brand new 6 till system offering a privilege loyalty scheme for members of both Richmond FC and
London Scottish FC. Simmins said, “We wanted to offer both clubs a scheme where members could pre-load money into an account and, in return, pay a
lower price in our bar.”
“However, each club also wanted to use the cards as membership cards so we needed to provide two different designs, but also merge their respective
databases into the central privilege scheme.” He continued, “In addition, with up to 18 operators on a busy night, we needed to maximise our service
capability but also keep costs down so, rather than simply replace 18 tills, we decided to operate three cash drawers on each till, with every drawer being
securely allocated to a named operator and opening automatically when they entered a sale.”
Result
Simmins has been delighted with the software’s effectiveness in achieving all four objectives, as he explains, "The EPOS system provided not only a much
faster but also a more accurate and secure solution. This was achieved using a combination of touchscreen tills and individual operator ‘Dallas keys’.”
These are special keys used in conjunction with pre-installed proximity readers on each till for identifying and logging on each member of staff. Much more
efficient than swipe cards, they are simply placed near the reader, and technology does the rest.
He comments, “It was very simple for the operators to learn and equally easy for management to get the required management reports. The supplier was
very efficient throughout the installation providing both excellent training and support. At the launch, members were issued with their personalised cards
and invited to load value into their account in return for a discounted price rate at the bar.”
“The uptake was excellent and,