I have always been interested in technology and I always try to see how other sectors take advantage of it. Without going any further when I enter a McDonald’s and see that there is a long waiting line, I go straight to the self-service and complete my order there. I enjoy seeing how technology increases my satisfaction as a customer.
I am grateful to belong to a company that works every day to implement the latest technologies to our management, and I don’t think it will take long to see the latest innovations in our fields.
Today’s article comes to suggest a series of ideas to speed up the work at the reception desk and increase our customer’s satisfaction. Some of these ideas may not apply to your golf course, but I hope to contribute some that will be useful to you.
Club account
Maybe this idea is more aimed at social clubs, but I have seen it applied in every field profile. The idea is to offer a “club account” to your player so that he can buy services during the month and then charge him at once through the bank or credit card. Not only will you avoid many small transactions in reception, but also its subsequent control in administration. In addition, you may even increase your consumption!
Digitize the marshal
I still see marshals arriving at the front desk to ask about the latest news on the schedule. They start writing on their notes or directly ask for a new list to be printed. Now we have software that not only allows you to check out in real time on the cloud on a tablet, but also lets you create new reservations, modify, cancel and control the check-in. Imagine the typical group of 4 players that meets the marshal on the 16th hole “can you book this same group for tomorrow? bam! you just save a few precious minutes at the reception and elevate the player’s experience.
Connect your ball machine
Today it is already possible to connect the ball machine to your management software via cable, wifi or 4G. This not only saves you from having to go and collect coins or tokens from the machine, but can also prevent theft and damage to the machine and give you the option of usage statistics for your driving range. In addition, you can launch interesting offers to your players and they won’t have to worry about losing their chips since the balance is saved in the software.
Take inventory with a reader
How long does it take your team to do the store inventory? Now you can reduce it to minutes. All you need is a wireless reader and to start scanning barcodes. The system will register the stock of each product and will offer you the option to make an adjustment at the end of it. This way, in just minutes, your team will start working the new period with its updated inventory.
Digital signatures
Maybe this idea is also directed to social fields, but you can find it useful for something else. Specifically, I’m talking about being able to digitally sign your subscribers’ contracts or uses of green fee vouchers. Instead of printing contracts for the client to physically sign, give him a copy in a folder, and file yours… make him sign digitally and send him a copy to his email in one click. Not only will you save a lot of time, but you will save some trees.
Virtual Marshall
There are softwares on the market like Tagmarshall or Visualgolf that are able to control the pace of play of your course and also if a group skips a hole. This is a utility that does not apply to the reception of the club, but you can make the marshal go out to the course only when there is a problem, while he can help his fellow receptionists in tasks that bring more value than going around the course.
Tokenized cards
Nowadays golf courses have at their disposal the same technology as big companies and can connect the physical dataphone to their management software. This means that the reception can be saved by manually entering the amount in the POS and can be replaced by a single click, saving time and possible errors. But what really saves time in reception is not having to use a physical dataphone and save the players’ credit cards in their profiles. You only need a simple “Charge it to my profile card” so that in one click you make the transaction much faster than any physical POS.
Online access to Tour Operators
Even now I see how receptionists spend half their day checking their inbox and answering emails from their Tour Operators. Well, we already have the technology to divert all this task to our booking website. It automatically controls the advance bookings, available hours, prices, credits/prepayments, invoicing, etc. suggesting your agencies to book online. Your reception and your agencies will thank you very much.
Online payment in advance
Traditional software offers you this prepaid service for online reservations but the commissions make it unfeasible. Until now. Today we have software that not only does not charge you commissions for online bookings, but also lets you work directly with your bank, thus saving intermediaries and additional expenses. So why not divert the maximum number of bookings to the web, and why not ask for the money in advance? Not only will you save a lot of transactions at reception, but you will also see the difference when managing a no show. Don’t you dare to charge 100% in advance? Then try launching a “non-refundable” online offer and see what your customer prefers. Get the best economic conditions online for your club to motivate you to divert all your bookings to the website.
Checkin
If you have already decided to cash in your online reservations in advance, you can now have this customer check in for you. Buy a tablet with holder and put a sign that says “Checkin here”. The customer will only have to put their locator and that’s it! Not only can it help you speed up reception during rush hour, but it can also allow you to close reception during off-peak hours and give your staff a break.
So much for my article today. Did you like any of them? Would you add any more? I hope you found it interesting.
If you would like Golfmanager to help you implement some of these ideas, don’t hesitate to contact us.
We do our bit in this situation and what comes after the end of the confinement. We make our technology available so that the clubs can continue to give the best service to their clients, avoiding risks in the interaction at the reception, the use of cash, and any other situation that can make their players back down.
