Funday Entertainment Group operates a range of leisure and entertainment businesses in Western Australia, including Wanneroo Botanic Gardens Mini Golf and Perth’s Outback Splash. Eli Barlow, Chief Operations Officer and Marketing Manager, shares his perspective on how ROLLER has helped the business elevate the guest experience, streamline operations, and boost online revenue.

We’ve seen the most remarkable change in purchasing. So many more people are purchasing online compared to the old system. It's just unbelievable.

Eli Barlow

Chief Operations Officer and Marketing Manager

Investing in the right platform

The decision to implement ROLLER came with careful consideration of costs and benefits. The venue management software previously used by the business was lacking in areas such as usability and online bookings. Eli acknowledges the additional investment required for ROLLER but comments that the return on investment comes from the superior user experience for guests and staff. “From an operational perspective for our team, it’s so good, that's where the benefits sit,” he says.

Training new staff in a single shift

The system itself is self-explanatory. Any kid who can navigate an iPhone can figure out ROLLER. You can take a 15-year-old kid and teach them their role in a single shift.

Eli Barlow

Chief Operations Officer and Marketing Manager

New casual staff members can get up and running in ROLLER without issue, 
armed with simple onboarding resources and a test account to play around with (called the playground). “It’s terrific, it’s a really great platform,” says Eli. “We send them the ROLLER videos, and then we do buddy shifts. Sometimes we’ll set them up in the playground.” ROLLER’s intuitive interface is built to minimize the learning curve for new staff members, and the functionality is consistent with other digital applications that consumers use day-to-day. “The system itself is self-explanatory. Any kid who can navigate an iPhone can figure out ROLLER. You can take a 15-year-old kid and teach them their role in a single shift,” says Eli.

Reducing party admin by 75%

Implementing ROLLER has transformed how Wanneroo Botanic Gardens Mini Golf handles birthday party bookings, making it a smoother, more efficient process. "A really good part of ROLLER is the way our group bookings have changed. It’s been really helpful for the team,” Eli says. 

Gone are the days of cumbersome back-and-forth via email to confirm a party. Eli sums this up in his description of the pre-ROLLER party booking process, "We’d get an inquiry, then reach out to the guest saying thanks for your inquiry, here’s the information, I want you to open the PDF, I want you to read it, I want you to tell me what food you want. Email, email, email, call, call, call.” The time taken to book a party didn’t cover the revenue from the party itself. “If you think of the profit in a birthday party, we would have been better off saying no to the party,” says Eli.

With ROLLER's efficient system, planning and booking a birthday party is simple for guests and staff. “Now guests can go to the website, click on a button and the cart pops up to book a birthday party. That’s an example of how ROLLER makes your life easier,” notes Eli. This has resulted in a 75% reduction in the number of emails required to confirm a party booking, from eight down to two. “It’s not even comparable from a time perspective,” Eli says.

Skipping the lines by booking online

Beyond party bookings, the business has seen a significant shift towards online bookings for all products since the switch to ROLLER.  "We’ve seen the most remarkable change in purchasing. So many more people are purchasing online compared to the old system. It's just unbelievable,” comments Eli. In addition to taking the burden of manual bookings off staff, it also provides a smoother and more convenient booking process for guests. ROLLER’s modern online checkout allows guest to select their purchase, customize their cart with add-ons, and pay, all in a few clicks. “We’ve seen so much positive feedback about the cart experience,” adds Eli. Plus, guests don’t have to worry about waiting in lines at the front counter on the day of their booking. “If you haven't booked online, then it's slower to get in,” notes Eli.

Selling golf balls as an add-on in the online checkout helps the business reduce revenue loss to theft. “Theft is a major issue for us,” says Eli. “For an extra $3, you can take the ball home. It's to try and discourage people from stealing them,” says Eli.

Automated recurring revenue with memberships

Eli also sheds light on the improvements ROLLER has brought to membership management at Outback Splash. They offer a season pass membership, which gives guests an exclusive range of benefits, including unlimited entry, discounted food, a cashless membership card that guests can load with funds for in-venue purchases, and more. "Memberships work really, really well," Eli remarks. 

Outback Splash also offers digital memberships to increase convenience for guests - they can add their membership to their digital wallet, so they don’t need to worry about pulling up an email with their membership details or a physical card. “Many of our guests just use the digital membership in their Apple wallet,” says Eli. “In fact, so many guests use the digital membership that this season, we’re going to have two different price brackets - a digital-only membership and then the membership that comes with the card and merch pack.” This allows Outback Splash to sell digital memberships at a discounted rate to increase membership sales, while removing the back-end admin required to manage membership cards and merchandise.

In summary, ROLLER’s intuitive interface, streamlined party bookings, and digital memberships help venues like Perth’s Outback Splash and Wanneroo Botanic Gardens Mini Golf enhance guest experiences, streamline operations, and increase revenue.

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