Occasion and Skateland Savoy
Family-focused skating rink
Executive Summary
Skateland Savoy is an entertainment center that focuses on providing a fun and relaxing spot for birthday parties, school parties and even office dwellers looking to blow-off a little stress and connect with their team. Party-goers can enjoy roller skating, laser tag, arcade games and even fill their bellies at the snack bar.
All of Skateland Savoy’s packages are detailed on their website; but the site only supported a contact form – which meant that all reservations had to be made in-person or on the phone. This left business-owner, Bob Householder, juggling email and phone inquiries and manually booking every party.
While Bob relies on Center Edge for all his point-of-sale needs, he found that their online scheduling tool was simply too expensive for his small-business. He needed a solution that would allow his customers to schedule parties online and was easy to use for both him and his customers – plus, the solution had to fit his small business budget.
With 80% of Skateland Savoy’s revenue driven by their services, streamlining this process was critical. That’s when Bob discovered Occasion. The user-friendly interface drew him in and he quickly found that Occasion was the right tool for the right price.
Challenges
1. Competing for Time
One of the most challenging aspects of running a roller skating rink is the competition for time. Skateland Savoy must compete with after-school sports, video games and the hectic schedules of both parents and kids.
2. Playing Phone Tag Instead of Laser Tag
Connecting with party planners proved to be the most challenging aspect of booking an event. Interested customers would send an email through the website or leave a voicemail. Since these inquiries were often made outside of the business office’s hours, it often took several phone calls to connect.
3. Explanations, Not Reservations
A significant portion of the time spent on follow-up was in the explanation of party packages. Since customers could not book the party online, they often wanted to go-over all of the packages again, on the phone.
Skating to Success
1. More Parties and Fewer Phone Calls
Since implementing Occasion, Skateland Savoy is consistently booking 25 to 30 parties every month online and has already racked-up more than 240 parties booked online this year.
2. Last Minute Bookings –No Problem!
Busy parents love that they can book birthday parties at the last minute – even when the office is closed. Bob says that there are mornings he will come in to find that several parties were booked overnight – all without his help!
3. Less Time and Better Customer Service
Customer service is both King and Queen at Skateland Savoy. With less time spent on phone calls, Bob knows that his customers are getting the service they need both online and in the rink.
Results
1. Growth
Since implementing Occasion, Skateland Savoy has seen a 10% increase in the number of birthday parties booked.
2. 24/7 Bookings
Most of Skateland Savoy’s customers book parties between the hours of 10AM and 8PM – hours during which the business office is closed. Online booking through Occasion means that the business is operating even when no one is there!
3. Improved efficiency
Since the operators of Skateland Savoy do not have to follow-up on online and phone inquiries, they are saving an average of 3 days each week. Even long-term customers have switched to booking online for the convenience of on-demand scheduling.