Premier Family Fun Center Replaces Legacy Systems with All-in-one Holistic Venue Management
Waukegan, IL – The People’s Choice Family Fun Center recently implemented a complete conversion from its legacy point-of-sale system and technology software to Semnox Solutions, a leading provider of comprehensive software solutions for the entertainment and amusement industry. With over 80,000 square feet of arcade games, a large redemption center, individual attractions and hard rides, the entire process of transforming this Chicagoland Area venue took only 4 days to finalize, marking a significant achievement with no downtime for the facility as Semnox installed a modern system with cutting-edge equipment that is enhancing the guest experience, increasing revenue and helping manage staff shortages.
Semnox’s robust suite of features implemented at The People’s Choice includes a POS system, cashless payments, data reporting across all platforms, inventory management with redemption, and RFID functionality in the arcade with card roaming between Bertrand Lanes, a bowling alley under the same ownership that converted to Semnox in 2022.
Over 150 arcade games and attractions were converted to Semnox RFID card readers at The People’s Choice. They also added 13 kiosks created and customized by Semnox with technology specific to the venue.
“Before Covid, we employed over 50 people, and we were half the size we are now,” explains John Sarantakis, President of The People’s Choice. “Today, we have on average 20 employees. Since the pandemic, we’ve struggled to find people to fulfill positions and have been short on labor. The employees we have retained were becoming overworked, and customers were also frustrated with us having too few team members, especially on busy weekends.”
The People’s Choice invested in several types of Semnox kiosks. The Klassic Kiosk is Semnox’s best-selling kiosk. Its main function is to dispense RFID cards which help keep front admission counter lines down to a minimum. The kiosk also offers upselling options, guest registration, history and balance checks, touch screen and multi-lingual capabilities, attraction scheduling, and more, such as advanced reporting capabilities.
Two Semnox Klassic Kiosks were installed near the front admission counter. They also strategically added one by its roller coaster ride, one by the bumper cars, and one near the birthday party rooms. “Doing so has not only increased our sales because of the sheer convenience of how we positioned them but adding them has dramatically improved guest satisfaction especially when they have children in tow,” continued Sarantakis. “Having the kiosks throughout our facility also keeps our employees free to manage other guests’ needs.”
While the Klassic Kiosk has made a major positive impact, the Semnox Klaimprize Kiosk has been the biggest game-changer for The People’s Choice. A Klaimprize Kiosk allows guests to redeem their arcade card tickets for prizes. Guests tap the arcade card on the kiosk where prizes are displayed on the kiosk screen along with how many tickets are needed for each prize and how many tickets the card has accrued. Once a guest picks out the prizes, they receive a claim ticket printed from the kiosk, and then a redemption counter employee retrieves the prizes for the guest.
The People’s Choice originally invested in four Klaimprize Kiosks. They liked the initial results so well that they added two more. Before doing so, 4 employees were needed behind the redemption counter on weekends, and now there are only two employees, cutting labor expenses in half.
The traditional redemption process can cause frustration among guests and employees. Guests wait in long lines to wait their turn to claim prizes and many times, it can take several minutes per guest to pick out and collect prizes, especially when manual calculations are involved. Klaimprize Kiosks eliminate both frustrations and now there is virtually no waiting for customers to claim prizes.
“Beyond running the successful operations at The People’s Choice and Bertrand Lanes, John Sarantakis is a well-known subject matter expert in the Family Entertainment industry,” explains Bepin Jose, President of Semnox America, located in Dallas. “So, it was a privilege for Semnox when John decided to implement the Semnox Parafait suite of technology solutions to manage his venues. John has leveraged self-service technology from Semnox to enhance guest experience and operating efficiencies. The use of the Klaimprize for self-service redemption is a great example for the industry to follow. A large part of the functions previously performed by staff members holding scanners and displaying the progress of redemption on a TV screen have shifted seamlessly to the guests picking their prizes using a touch screen. We wish John and his team the very best as we look forward to accomplishing greater things together,” Bepin continues.
Sarantakis further explains that he has 24/7 support from Semnox anytime he may need it, and he has never had access to such a good reporting system that can be customized to an operator’s needs. “Reporting is at my fingertips,” he explains. “Because of Semnox, I now know what my exact payout is on each prize. For example, we spent $529 on prizes on games that generated $13,000 in revenue in one week. Before Semnox, our reports were less sophisticated but harder to understand.”
Two more kiosks have been installed to offer “express checkout” for The People’s Choice pizzeria and ice cream shop as well as two more registration kiosks, Semnox’s Kustomer Kiosk, that allow new customers to register their cards.
“Working with Semnox has been a great experience. During the conversion, they brought in their people making the installation seamless,” added Sarantakis. “We didn’t lose any revenue and that just doesn’t usually happen, especially when switching over to a new system.”
