THUNDER BAY – More entertainment facilities in the city are getting equipped with new payment machines at their concession stands.
Ahead of the Lakehead Thunderwolves game against the Windsor Lancers, officials were installing the white units at the Fort William Gardens that will allow visitors to use debit or credit instead of cash, although cash will still be accepted.
Matthew Pearson, manager of central support, said it was a 12-month process to get to the point of installation.
“I have to say it was going to happen at some point and I am glad it happened now and not even later,” Pearson said.
“Integrating debit and credit payments is a huge convenience, and the case we brought forward was that the city was missing out on revenue by not having that service.
“In an area with the budget pressures we have, and needing to grow some revenue, let’s put it out there and see what happens.”
Pearson added officials can now get more real data to see what people are consuming the most.
“I think there’s always been the will to upgrade the technology, and there are technologically savvy people with the corporation. But where the hurdles came in was picking priorities in planning and there are a lot of other priorities within the city,” Pearson said.
“A concession service is probably a lower priority in the grand scheme of things, however it’s very important in its own right. I can't speak to why it didn't happen before I got here but I'm glad this was something we could bring forward and now is the time to do it.”
City officials have indicated the Delaney and Current River arenas are also going to be outfitted with the new machines with other satellite arenas to follow in the future.
“It's a guest-first environment, and we wanted to give them the ability to be able to pay in whatever means they need to pay with,” remarked Kyle Melnyk, the supervisor of customer service with the city.
“Lynn Melnyk (supervisor for concessions) has been a champion of this for a while so we put the wheels in motion and started exploring some different options.”
The Gardens will use machines from a company called Clover, which run on a SIM card and don't need Wi-Fi.
Pearson said this will definitely help generate revenue.
“When we made this recommendation, although there were some very small costs associated with it, we were confident the increased revenue will more than pay for it. We are expecting in next year's budget that concession sales will have grown and our costs have not grown incrementally with that.
"So we do believe this is a profitable decision for the city from day one, which makes it an easy one.”
Arenas are not the only places receiving an update to their payment systems.
At the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, a tap system was installed in time for the Brett Kissel concert on Feb. 5.
The new point of sale system includes debit and credit. It’s a Moneris pin pad for processing payments that also tracks the Auditorium’s inventory.
General manager Trevor Hurtig said there are a few benefits to the new system.
“Looking at the health and safety side of things for our staff – not having to handle cash is a real benefit. It’s also a convenience, patrons find it easier. You tap your card at the bar or do it the manual way by inserting your card.”
This will allow the Community Auditorium to process orders faster and keep the lines shorter, although cash will still be accepted.
-- With files from Brandon Walker
