Success With... STRESS-FREE REDEMPTION

A Quality Management Program Is Vital With BMI Merchandise

As any FEC manager knows, having a well-stocked redemption center with exciting items is vital to keep guests happy and coming back. When Joe Lewis, redemption and games manager at Smitty’s Game LAB in Sanford, ME, struggled to keep his redemption center stocked, he knew there had to be a better way.

“We were having lots of items going out of stock or price increases on certain items that were more expensive than we wanted to pay,” he explains. “I had to find everything while keeping ticket points together, and it just got to be too much.”

A little over a year ago, Lewis decided to try BMI Merchandise’s AMRS redemption management program. Not only did the program help redesign the flow of his redemption center, but it also helped him manage prize inventory.

A Better Flow for Guests

Lewis says as part of the AMRS redemption management program, specialists from BMI Merchandise redesigned their redemption center’s layout to have a better flow to ensure there were no gaps. They also organized sections by ticket price and category.

“When people come up and look, they’re not scattered between different categories — they’re looking at specific zones and seeing what they want,” Lewis details. That helps the flow through the purchasing station, where Lewis has a section dedicated just to kids; they can pick what they want instantly instead of trying to figure out which prizes go with their ticket amounts.

Steve Belmonte, owner/partner at Gametime Lanes & Entertainment in Amesbury, MA, also benefited from redesign suggestions for his redemption counter when starting to work with the AMRS redemption management program three years ago. With the redesign, Belmonte says all his redemption items are now organized, where it’s easy to find prizes for different ticket amounts.

By Corrie Pelc

“Before, you had to search for your 50-point prize, and there might have been three or four of them in different locations,” Belmonte says. “Now, it flows, and customers get through the redemption center more quickly.”

Consistently Stocked

Before having a redemption management system, Belmonte and his staff had to keep on top of their prize stock and manually order items as needed.

“I noticed the product was getting stale — there was never a refresh,” he continues. “We consistently ran out of merchandise, especially late Saturday or midway through Sunday. And we would typically not have the same person doing the order every week, so we would never have a nice-looking counter; there were always holes that needed to be filled.”

Less Staff Time

Using BMI’s redemption management system, Belmonte says he’s seen a 95% decrease in the time staff spends ordering products. Every week, they receive new products based on how much they are selling. If they find themselves with holes to be filled, they increase the amount they need.

Right Prizes for Your Guests

Through the analytics the redemption management program provides, it’s easier for FEC managers to see what prizes are moving and which are less popular. “If things aren’t selling, it’s an easy swap. They’ll send me a replacement item to phase out the less popular item,” Lewis says. “I’m not losing any space for items. Nothing will be empty. It’s going to have something filling it constantly.”

Redemption Driving Arcade Sales

Belmonte says he’s seen a shift in how guests play to win prizes by constantly having new and exciting prizes at his redemption counter.

“Typically, a guest would go into an arcade, win some tickets, then go to the redemption counter and ask, ‘What can I win for the number of tickets I have?’” he said. “Now, we find that people (are) looking and seeing the prize they want. And then they’ll play for that prize, which increases coin drop.”

Today’s contemporary approach to redemption means reliable and efficient restocking, less labor costs, a continual flow of new and exciting prizes, and increased sales. It sounds like all this adds up to a win-win for guests and operators!•