Is it time to automate your booking syste

When Erica Collins began working for Skyborn Skateland six years ago she did not know that she would one day become the owner but, that is just what happened!  In fact, she became the third owner of Skyborn, which first opened its doors to skaters in 1956.
Since taking over the helm a year ago, Erica focuses her energy and attention towards management and marketing.  She is especially pleased that her staff has been with her for five years.  “I don’t hire and I don’t fire.  I treat my employees with respect and they in turn treat our customers with respect.”  A consistent and long term staff is one of the reasons that Skyborn is ahead of the competition.  Erica says she gives her staff the tools they need and she spoils them when she can. “And, I really spoiled them with Partywirks!”

Erica knew she needed to do something to automate her party booking system. 

It was usual to have people show up and they had no record of the party.  Or, she would have a party booked with no deposit and the customer would not show up leaving her to cover the cost of the cake and other food items ordered because she had not collected a deposit.  The old notebook and clipboard method of party booking and management were costing her money and was not good for customer service either.  It was a full time job managing upcoming events which hurt staff productivity and took away valuable marketing time.

A search led Eric to Partywirks and the benefits to her business have been far more encompassing that she ever imagined. 

“I used to ask the same questions of every person that booked a party over the phone and yet we still made mistakes.  “We could not remember all the questions so how could we remember to ask them?”  Now the software asks all the questions and consistently.  “The system does not forget to obtain all the information we need, it provides all of our policy information, and it takes the credit card information for deposits. “   Erica says that Partywirks has changed everything and in her opinion it is revolutionary!

Where she once used to receive phone calls at 2:00 or 4:00 a.m. with party request information, she now hears her smart phone give a little beep with an email confirmation that a party has been booked online!

Where people used to skip out and not pay her she now has their credit card on file.
Where people used to once sneak food in they must click to confirm that they have read the policy that no outside food is allowed.
Where her staff used to hand write a list of the upcoming parties they now print out a spread sheet from Partywirks that has the child’s name (spelled correctly), age, party package name, add-ons, number in party which allows her to prepare for the parties in advance!

Erica says that 90% of all her parties are now booked online and the other 10% are booked either over the phone or in person. 

However, the information is inputted into Partywirks and not written down with paper and pen.  She has found that her party business is up in the 6 months since she has been using Partywirks and that people are ordering the higher end packages.

Erica says that “it is expected in today’s world that customers call and ask if they can order online.” 

In keeping with her allegiance to top notch customer service, she now gives her customers the choice to book online and also has automated her booking system thus increasing revenue and making her staff more productive.
Not only has Partywirks allowed Erica and her team to become more efficient, she is looking forward to the time when she can run her first year end reports.  This is when she gets focused on marketing for the upcoming year.  “I can run reports that have the child’s name and email address and reach out to them and offer discounts for early party bookings.  I can offer summer discounts or when the party season is slow.”
For the past year, Erica’s sole means of advertising has been on Facebook.  She found that print ads were not fruitful at all and kids don’t want paper they want to check social media from their cell phones.  If she is having a slow evening she posts a message with a discount on Facebook and her rink fills up earning her revenues she could not have otherwise realized!
Along with the automated party booking platform she takes advantage of the group inquiry feature and requests for donations which used to take up a great deal of time.

“I love Partywirks and I have nothing but good things to say about the product!”

Skyborn Skateland
5309 Haddix Road
Fairborn, OH 45324
937.878.4800
Skybornskateland.com