Is Your Redemption Counter Up To Snuff?

  Today I joined a seminar “Redemption 2010 for the FEC and the Street” hosted by two panelists, John Maurer and Jim Chapman, which changed my view of the FEC (Family Entertainment Center) industry. I’ve listened to many high profile businessmen from Fortune 500 companies and have been to a few large tradeshows, so I was very curious about what these speakers would talk about and how they would present their material. I came out a little impressed as they spoke well and taught me a few things.

  Some of the topics they discussed were: 1) Trends, 2) Redemption Counters/Prizes, 3) Cranes and 4) Promotions. I will try to give a short summary. First, for Trends, customers are expecting higher end products like laptops, TVs, iTouch, and iPads (i.e. the latest stuff). These items create an incentive for people to save their tickets and come back more. Second, for Redemption Counters/Prizes, are your redemption areas and bins “full” of prizes? It just makes sense that nicely organized and fully stocked counters are more inviting and leave a better impression that ones that are not. Third, for Cranes, operators should check that they have proper signage, are clean, and should have a bill acceptor. Also, cranes should not have the same prizes as the redemption counter and should be placed on the way out of your facility for the potential to generate extra revenue (i.e. impulse spending). Finally, for Promotions, the presenters shared some interesting and creative ideas such as first jackpot wins 1,000 tickets, beat the GM/Owner, birthday wheel, blind skee-ball/basketball, etc.