COVER STORY
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COVER STORY
– g n i l w o db n a — d s l e i r u W t n t e a v Ad abound By Paul Lane
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ocated just four miles east of Reno, NV, you’ll find the city of Sparks. Founded in 1904, the 24-square-mile city has a population of just over 90,000. A small city perhaps but large enough to support the Wild Island Adventure Park, which is accurately described on their website as, “The biggest little locally owned and operated family entertainment complex in the West.” Wild Island opened as a waterpark in June, 1989. But that was just the beginning. Wild Island grew steadily
Island
over the years, adding myriad new attractions. Today, in addition to the waterpark, Wild Island lists a wide variety of attractions, including Coconut Bowl, featuring 40 lanes of bowling. There are two 16-lane sections and two 4lane sections known as garages for private parties. With XD Adventure theater; High Ballocity, an interactive, three-level play structure; Pirates Cove indoor black-light mini-golf; challenging laser mazes; nine APA
Craig Buster, general manager of Wild Island Adventure Park.
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approved pool tables; Water Dogs Sports Bar and Grill with two bars and probably more large screen TVs than you can count; this is a wild place. Coming in late 2018 are a new outdoor mini golf complex, an arcade and redemption center, and a new electric Glow Kart track. General manager Craig Buster has over 25 years of experience at Wild Island and also oversees a 24-lane bowling center in Idaho Falls, ID, named Bowlero. His enthusiasm and energy infuse Wild Island with a warm vibe. “Coconut Bowl was added in 2003 with 16 lanes,” said Craig. “We added 16 more lanes, plus two 4-lane private garages in 2007. We have added something new at least every two to three years, which is the way to keep it exciting. We upgraded to QubicaAMF’s Conqueror Pro scoring in 2007 and plan to update it again in 2018 to QubicaAMF’s BES X customer entertainment system. In 2018, we will be adding six more lanes, a 30-player laser tag arena, a black-light go-kart track, private party/meeting space, and an outdoor patio. We are also planning to swap out our pinspotters with QubicaAMF’s XLi Edge.” Craig describes these upgrades with an analogy to the movie industry. “If a movie theater always shows the same movie, for example, Casablanca, the business will slowly but surely die,” said Craig. “New and more reliable entertainment-driven technology is just one way to keep customers excited and coming back,” he added. With Wild Island being such a smorgasbord of offerings, the return rate for bowling could be a concern. Happily, Craig says, “We are not limited to bowling newcomers. We provide instruction at all levels, from the beginner to the advanced bowler, from the league to the recreational/party bowlers. We have two resident professionals and both are silver level qualified instructors: Todd Thompson, a former touring PBA member; and Pam Buckner, a former touring LPBA member and USBC Hall of Famer. We have volunteer instructors for our youth programs, and, on occasion, we recruit the help of our proshop operator.” While Wild Island and Coconut Bowl are essentially all about family entertainment, bowling leagues and sport bowling have remained a priority. “We may be an FEC, but that does not mean we overlook the demand for league bowling. There is a demand [for 28
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league bowling] and we have to make sure that we reach out to that market segment. No one will bowl in a league without being asked. Offering league bowling is not just a service, it’s an activity we aggressively promote,” he added. “Leagues are very important to us, and we intend to continue promoting league play at all levels.” Coconut Bowl has seating for 50 people in its snack bar, but food and beverage service extends to anywhere and everywhere throughout the facility, including the lanes, concourse, arcade, bars, and the two 4-lane private garages. Food can also be ordered from mobile kiosks. The two garages are ideal venues for private parties, corporate team building events, birthday and anniversary parties and receptions. The garages can be opened up and combined to accommodate larger groups. Regardless of the attraction, group bookings are developed mostly through social media, digital billboards and some local TV and outside sales calls. “Our marketing efforts are managed by three agencies,” said Craig, “each with a different focus: one for design and graphics; another for media buying; and yet another for social media.” With so many attractions available, there has to be some guest favorites. “The most popular venue is the High Ballocity play structure which accommodates 300 kids,” said Craig. “Parents love this three-level play structure as the kids have fun letting off steam and tiring themselves
COVER STORY
out at the same time. And the highest revenue producer is bowling,” said Craig, “which represents about 30% of total revenue.” Presently the arcade at Wild Island has been temporarily relocated within the complex while construction is underway for a new and substantially expanded arcade and redemption center which is slated for completion in late 2018. The new arcade will include a mix of 70% redemption games, 15% merchandizing, and 15% video game machines. When Wild Island opened their first arcade, they owned their own machines. Then they switched to having route vendors install machines on a revenue sharing basis. But this is about to change. “For the new arcade, we will no longer use a route vendor. Instead, we will invest in our own machines,” said Craig. “This will enable us to maximize on arcade revenues,” he added. “In years past, arcades were not as popular as they are today. Now they are a major revenue producer.” As you would expect, swipe card technology is used throughout Coconut Bowl and the arcade. “In the long term we plan to work the system into QubicaAMF’s POS program and tie in all the food and beverage services once we have installed their BES X Pro system,” said Craig. “Eventually, we will extend the technology to all the amenities and attractions throughout the game park.” “An even longer term goal is to eliminate the reception desk at Coconut Bowl and have customer service employees armed with a tablet meet and greet customers as they enter,” added Craig. The hosts will introduce themselves and ask if customers would like to bowl, dine, use the arcade, etc., and offer to book a lane for them. “We are currently using SACOA as the swipe card tech provider for game cards,” said Craig. “We found SACOA to be the company most able to customize their system to meet our needs,” he added. The success of Wild Island Adventure Park and Coconut Bowl can be attributed to its employees, and that’s a byproduct of an outstanding employee culture. “We have an extremely positive employee culture,” Craig tells us, “especially with the development of 15- to 20-year-olds.” Wild Island 30
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Family Adventure Park has continually grown since it opened in 1989 and today employs over 400 people each season. Coconut Bowl and indoor attractions are open 363 days a year, while the waterpark is open for 100 days a year. With eight departments throughout the complex, including Coconut Bowl, food and beverage staff, cashiers, lifeguards, slide operators, outdoor mini-golf and raceways, the need for seasonal hires is extensive. “We promote that ‘no experience is necessary’ when hiring youngsters (15 – 20 year olds) in the summer,” said Craig. “We determine their interests and potential and train them for the job we feel is the best fit for them. We pay very well and also offer a number of value- added incentives. For example, we give away approximately 30 scholarships a year to exemplary employees to help defray the cost of college and/or trade school. In fact, many of our young employees work with us through college.” Craig also periodically heads out from his office with $200 in his pocket, and when he observes an employee doing something special, he’ll walk over to them and say, “Nice work, here’s $10 or $20,” which he hands out on the spot. Other employee incentives include a bonus and raffle program. Throughout the season, employees can earn bonuses towards dinners, movie tickets and passes to other facilities. Prizes in employee raffles run the gamut from snowboards to airline tickets to laptop computers. According to Craig, there are three main rules that apply to all employees. The first is safety. This is the top priority throughout the facility. Guests of
WILD ISLAND & COCONUT BOWL Industry Partners Bowling Equipment by QubicaAMF Lighting & Sound by 777 Satellite Star (Reno NV) Additional Lighting by Classic Products Swipe Card System by SACOA Top Five Redemption Games 4 Wizard of Oz 4 Ticket Time 4 DC Heroes 4 Big Bass Wheel 4 Baseball Pro BPAA Smart Buy Member
COVER STORY
all ages come to the facility to have a good time, and the staff does everything possible to protect them. The second is customer service. Craig believes that dynamite customer service is the cornerstone that will always drive the business. And last, cleanliness in both personal hygiene and the workplace. “We take a very conservative view and provide uniforms for all of our employees,” said Craig. “It’s important that all of our employees are readily identifiable to our customers.” For general staff, tee shirts and name badges are the order of the day. Supervisors wear shirts with collars, and so do managers (although in a different color). Shorts or blue jeans are acceptable, but not ripped or torn. And no crazy or wild hair dos. As the leader of this large team, Craig always wears the Wild Island uniform. There are eight departments within the complex, each of which has between one to three managers. “Our managers are encouraged to run their department as if it’s their own business and are spending their own money. How else can they know how well they are doing or control their expenses if we do not share the monthly P & L statements with them?” The managers hold inter-departmental weekly meetings with their supervisors and employees. Craig believes that transparency and
communication go a long way to empower the staff and have happy employees. Given the proximity of Wild Island to Reno, a city that’s driven by tourists, one would have the impression that visitors would make up the lion’s share of the business. But that’s not the case. Craig estimates the mix to be more like 80% locals (from within a catchment area of 90 miles), compared to 20% visitors. That’s a testament to the fine reputation Wild Island has deservedly earned in the marketplace, and their marketing. Craig is also a big believer in the BPAA. “The BPAA is important as it brings the family together in what is a cottage industry,” said Craig. Coconut Bowl is not only a member of the BPAA and its Smart Buy program, Craig also puts something back as he’s currently serving on the
BPAA education and FEC committees, and he’s the secretary for the Northern California/Nevada BPAA and an IAAPA member since 1993. While Craig Buster gives full credit to the management team and staff that support the various attractions at Wild Island and Coconut Bowl, there’s little doubt that he’s the catalyst and driving force behind its success. It’s hard to ignore his enthusiasm, which is an energy source in its own right. ❖
Paul Lane is former Director of Marketing and Marketing Services for AMF Bowling, Inc. He has been the director of 18 AMF World Cups, an officer in national and international trade associations, and a pro bowler during a career that spans more than 60 countries and 50 years.
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