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CONCESSION CORNER

IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE – UPGRADING FOR SUCCESS
By Peter F. Olesen P.E.

There comes a time in the life of almost every family entertainment center (FEC) or go-kart track when change has to occur, or attendance and revenues will decline. In some instances, this may occur as early as the first year, due to poor planning, design or construction. Other facilities may operate successfully without change for a period of time, but very few can continue with a sound profit picture without additions or changes.

The most common occurrence is stagnation in growth (attendance and revenue) and a downturn soon after. Whether we like it or not, the public is fickle. Look at any retail outlet, magazine or newspaper ads and you will see that change is constant. New wrappings or packaging, new configurations, changes in these and other concepts are constantly being applied to almost everything on earth.

Nearly every facility can benefit from giving repeat customers something new. This demonstrates that management is committed to holding the public’s interest, providing added motivation to return, and removing unproductive elements of the attraction mix.

Don’t walk away from repackaging your FEC package because of added cost. You must seriously consider the potential benefits. It does not always require a major investment in time or money to create a new look.

This article is intended to identify a variety of elements that should be given consideration in reviewing individual facilities and their staying power, with or without change. It is obviously of more immediate interest to those facilities that have already found that they cannot remain competitive unless adjustments are made to compare in the current market.

When addressing facilities that appear unable to stand as they are without suffering lost attendance and revenues, it is important for reality to rule. Individual owners or operators must address the specifics of their individual facilities. Each facility and the circumstances associated with its operations are unique. Following are some ideas that can be expanded to address specific needs and solve present problems.

A dab of paint, a relocation of minor elements, a change in party packages, upgrading a menu, adding an attraction or modifying existing attractions can each time a guest returns to your facility. It isn’t the magnitude of what is done in terms of cost, but rather the size of the impact generated that will ultimately determine the success of the efforts. Any of the above mentioned changes (or numerous other budget conscious changes) can result in positive alterations at a facility.

Existing and potential guests must be motivated to return again and again. To accomplish this requires recognition of specific situations that contribute to lower attendance and spending at existing facilities. Among the obvious are:

1. Rundown facilities, poorly maintained equipment and unconcerned staff.
2. Boring or unimaginative design and layout.
3. Facility draws and tolerates the “wrong crowd”.
4. Someone down the street has opened a better facility.

Depending on your point of view, the public is either fickle or demanding. Something new will always attract attention, if not business. Any changing or upgrading of a facility should be based on sound judgment and consideration of the consequences. New attractions should be considered in terms of what they can add to the existing mix, their compatibility with the surrounding environment, impact on existing operating and maintenance procedures and overall impact on the return on investment (ROI).

Public perception of a facility can change greatly with only moderate modifications in the format or target market. Not all facilities are realistic candidates for changing or upgrading. This can be due to a site being too small, in the wrong location, in a market that is too small, or facing competition that is too strong to overcome.

In such circumstances, a long look at other options is required. Options include maintaining the “status quo”, seeking a new location, constructing another business on the site, retiring, acquiring additional land to expand or making cosmetic changes in equipment and “riding it out”.

Rather than bringing in a bulldozer and wrecking ball, and starting over from scratch, most facilities can be greatly improved by less drastic measures. Management can often breathe new life into a facility by:

1. Cleaning up the physical elements.
a. remove litter, junk and waste materials
b. fix fencing, parking lots and landscaping
c. paint building, fences, and other structures
d. clean, paint and repair attractions
e. replace weathered/worn tires on go-kart attractions

2. Introduce new maintenance and operating procedures.
a. train staff to improve customer relations
b. improve maintenance procedures
c. improve performance of equipment’
d. provide cleaner appearance

3. Replacing worn out or obsolete equipment
a. upgrade the quality and style of karts
b. remove arcade and snack bar areas
c. add new attractions to replace “tired” ones

4. Repairing pavement surfaces
a. patch cracks and popouts
b. improve alignment on go-kart track, curves, banks and pit area

Anytime you make significant changes or improvements to you facility, plan to have a special media function. Set up walkthroughs and sampling of the facility with the press. The resulting publicity can be invaluable.

Careful review of an individual facility and its problems and shortcomings can often result in management being able to maintain growth rather than accepting flat performance or a decline in earnings.

In making additions or revisions to a facility, don’t overlook the benefits of utilizing professional consultants. Their experience and suitable solutions to the problems you are seeking to remedy. A consultant can suggest better use of existing facilities, new state-of-the-art approaches, and offer outside opinions that are not tainted by emotional involvement with existing attractions.

Ultimately, the long-term success of any facility depends on owner/operator resolve to do things right. The facility and its attractions must first generate an interest in visiting the site. Once guests leave the facility, they must be convinced that they enjoyed their experience, received good value for their entertainment dollar and desire to return.

Bottom line… there is no magic formula. Success is born out of commitment and effort.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Peter Olesen is a Licensed Professional Engineer in eight states and President of Peter F. Olesen and Associates, Inc. They are located at 500 West Central Road, Suite 205, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 USA. The firm provides consulting services to Concession Go-Kart and Family Entertainment Center clients. Projects span 36 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Brunei. Services range from preliminary site evaluations, feasibility studies, concept development, master planning, design and construction engineering services for projects that include concession go-kart tracks, miniature golf courses, indoor and outdoor family entertainment centers and theme parks. These services apply to new facilities as well as renovation or expansion of existing facilities. Mr. Olesen has written many magazine and web articles on the industry and has made presentations at numerous industry seminars.

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