Switch has developed the best scoring system I’ve ever seen! I’ve worked on Qubica AMF and Brunswick systems in the past but Switch really are head and shoulders above the competition and are set to revolutionise the industry. If you can imagine a wish list, then someone taking that list and then adds there list and so on, it will come back to you with more than you could have dreamed of! Well that’s pretty much what’s happened.
Back in January 08, we picked some holes in the existing software; to be honest they were minor holes but holes never the less. We asked the factory development team to come up with some suggestions which has lead to a complete re write and massive enhancement.
The basis and inspiration has come from the much loved Apple Mac design, the pages flow with ease with the 17” touch screen being used now to drag and drop items not just touch what you see.
A welcome screen introduces you to the system and a frosted photo of your self makes it incredibly easy to logon. The main screen has a menu floating on the left hand side with the main areas. With Switch 2 comes the Switch Swipe Cards, allowing access to the system through one swipe, however the system has logon restrictions so if I logon with a low power card the icons do not appear, if I logon with Admin power all my icons appear. Simple and effective.
Some new amazing features have also been added. The Switch 2 Bowlers Archive, a data base which stores every bit of information and activity that bowler has and does. For example, if you log in as John Smith, the system records the entry, then, when he plays it stores all his game information and is able to work out his / her statistics over a chosen period.
The system also has a vast range of payment methods, such as pay per game, per hour, post pay and pre pay, with numerous rate possibilities and discount / frequent bowler programs. The system automatically keeps track of all activity and can be used as a great marketing tool!
Food and Beverage, one thing all previous systems have been bad at is sales by unit for example selling a can of Coke. Well the new Switch system has been written with this in mind, it not only has a list but the icons can be actual photos of the product. A neat web cam means a quick snap shot of say a plated meal can be easily added and made an icon with description! This will certainly help raise the sales and increase profit!
Non bowling activities such as billiards, kids play, and laser tag ECT, gets the same screens as for the bowling, and has the same range of payment types. With the new system any activity can be customised and a detailed management report can be raised to review and cash up against.
But the most impressive feature of me was the Advance Booking List and also the Waiting List, most systems can take a booking, but how many look like Microsoft Outlook Calendar? A booking can be entered as simply as 1 2 3, but the system is so clever, the reservation can be assigned a lane in advance and if a customer walks in an icon warns the lane is reserved already and moves them either to a free lane or alternatively on to a waiting list. The waiting list simply is for walk ins, if you are busy you can stack the customers and assign lanes as they become free. It really is just excellent!
When combined with over 300 moving animations which are themed plus moving high res back grounds the bowlers get an amazing visual experience. Each animation is grouped into a theme, and themes can be timed or assigned to lanes so for instance a kid’s party can be themed Wild West or racing cars and so on, or a more adult theme can be assigned automatically at 9pm …..
The best thing is we upgrade all centres with previous versions, so all switch systems from UK to Russia will have the new software!!
Release dates look to be late June / first week of July. It’s a must see!!!!
