6 Reasons Why Your Bowling Alley Needs a Paging System

The vast majority of bowling alleys in the USA use noisy overhead speaker systems to

communicate with their customers waiting for food orders or available lanes. Customers

waiting for bowing lanes have their names noted by employees, who then yell them out when

a lane becomes available. This gets played out of multiple speakers across the whole bowling

alley.

As a result, customers enjoying music playing through the speakers are interrupted. Other

people trying to concentrate while bowling get distracted. This can put off customers trying

out the sport for the first time and may even stop them from returning to your bowling alley.

Let’s face it - bowling can also be a competitive sport. Bowlers from different leagues play at

bowling alleys every night. Some individuals take the sport seriously, play for money weekly,

and find the announcements over the speaker system frustrating. Teams who think their

performance suffered because of the bowling alley will likely look for a calmer, quieter

alternative.

So, what’s the solution to this loud, distracting way of notifying customers that their food is

ready or that a bowling alley is available? Enter paging systems.

Paging systems are a cheap, discreet way of updating customers at your bowling alley while

decreasing congestion around counters.

Read on to learn about the Pager Genius paging system and how it could transform your

bowling alley into an efficient operation.

Overhead paging and loud announcements over the speaker system could ruin the

environment of your bowling alley. Your regular players listening to music, playing in the

arcades, or watching television are forced to listen to an announcement that isn't even

relevant to them.

Your league bowler’s experience of the game could also diminish. They're bowling

competitively, so concentration is key here. Loud, jarring announcements have the power to

break that all-important concentration.

Fortunately, there’s a better way to keep customers updated with orders and lane availability.

Pager Genius pagers are quieter and massively reduce the chaos of bowling alleys. However,

the great thing is that they will still alert individual customers without everyone having to

hear them. They have four times a cell phone’s vibration, 19 LED lights, and optional

beeping, so your customers won’t have to listen out for announcements or read a text-based

pager and can focus on enjoying themselves.

Customers waiting for bowling lanes love using the Pager Genius system. After all, it has an

over-mile range, so customers can be at the bar, in the restroom, or even in the parking lot

and know it is their turn to bowl. There’s no more waiting around with pagers or forcing staff

to go out to look for customers.

The faster you can fill lanes, the more money your bowling alley will make. At Pager Genius,
we’ve been helping bowling alleys fill their lanes since 2008!

Here’s how the process works:

Customers will ask your staff to rent an available lane from the front counter.

The cashier tells the customer that no available lanes are open at this time and gives the approximate wait time for an available lane to open up for play.

The customer gives the cashier their name and the party size they have with them.

Your staff will write down the customer’s name and party size and grab a random pager number. They

will write down the pager number next to the customer’s name. We recommend you ask for

the customer’s ID to hold their lane. This way, they have a reason to return your pager to the

front of the house if they decide to leave and not wait to bowl.

Once the customer’s lane is ready, staff will page them regardless of where they are on your

property because of the system’s range. Customers can be outside, in the bar, or even the restroom and

know that their lane is ready to bowl on.

Our Pager Genius paging system can be used for so much more than paging customers for available

lanes. It can also transform your restaurant. Customers will place their food orders and pay before

receiving a pager, while your restaurant staff will page them when their food is ready for

pick-up.

As we’ve mentioned previously, if a pager system isn’t in place, customers are forced to listen

out for staff yelling their names on the overhead speaker system. This can be difficult in a

loud, busy environment full of other groups of bowlers talking, playing pool, and visiting the

arcade. This may cause distracted customers to worry about missing their food pick-up,

stopping them from fully enjoying the bowling experience.

Also, it’s worth noting the location of your customers waiting for food here. Customers

outside smoking, for example, can’t hear their name being called out on the overhead system.

With your customers out of range of your overhead paging system their food will start to get cold.

Serving cold food can leave to bad online reviews, and unhappy bowlers.

Using a paging system in a fast casual restaurant in a game changer. Now your customers that are

waiting for food order will be able to wait anywhere on your property, and when their food is ready they

will know. Your restaurant staff will also be freed to prepare the next order while they wait for the

customer to respond to the page instead of worrying about food going cold. Your employees will be able

to focus on preparing the next food order while they wait for the customer to respond to the page.

Also, we offer a Hello Bell Wi-Fi paging system for bowling alleys that feature traditional servers that

take orders. Our Hello Bell paging systems gives your customers the ability to press a service button at

their lane to notify the server that service is needed. This button notifies the server’s watch that service

is requested on a particular lane that they are assigned to.

Your customers are more likely to go to the bar and have a drink while they wait for their lane to open

up with a pager in hand. Or they might have a bite to eat in your café, or visit the arcade with a pager in

hand. This will lead to an increase in revenue for your alley. The pagers feature a very strong vibration,

19 LED light alert, and loud beeping. You can be assured wherever they are they are they will feel, see, or

hear the alert of the pager.

Having a pager system in place handling of customer flow means fewer missed opportunities for your

Bowling alley. Customers are less likely to leave due to long wait times and poor communication, so

your operation will regularly run closer to total capacity. Fewer slow business days and weeks mean

more profit that can go into installing new lanes and buying new arcades, for example.

Your customers are more likely to go to the bar and have a drink while they wait for their lane to open

up with a pager in hand. Or they might have a bite to eat in your café, or visit the arcade with a pager in

hand. This will lead to an increase in revenue for your alley. The pagers feature a very strong vibration,

19 LED light alert, and loud beeping. You can be assured wherever they are they are they will feel, see, or

hear the alert of the pager.

Having a pager system in place handling of customer flow means fewer missed opportunities for your

Bowling alley. Customers are less likely to leave due to long wait times and poor communication, so

your operation will regularly run closer to total capacity. Fewer slow business days and weeks mean

more profit that can go into installing new lanes and buying new arcades, for example.

With overhead paging systems, customers are forced to cramp around front desks and seating

areas while waiting to hear their names blare out of the speakers. However, customers are free to roam

with the Pager Genius paging system.

This will decrease crowds and congestion around previously uncomfortable parts of your

bowling alley, improving customers' overall safety and experience, especially in busy periods

and flu season during the winter months. Regular league bowlers getting sick at your bowling

alley may take a week or two off, which could hurt your overall revenue.

So, there you have it!

Consider installing the Pager Genius System if you want a low-cost, common-sense

alternative to your overhead paging system. It can make working and playing at your bowling

alley a much smoother and more enjoyable experience.

Your staff will be more efficient at getting food out and filling bowling lanes, while your

customers can explore your business knowing they can do whatever they want while they

wait. Your business may quickly reap the rewards of this boosted efficiency with higher

revenue and more happy casual players and league bowlers.

Page smart with Pager Genius!

Be sure to check out our blog if you’re interested in how paging systems can improve

efficiency in other industries.

Additionally, if you have any questions about our Hello Bell System, please don’t hesitate to

contact us. Our team will be available to answer any of your queries.