Anticipation is in the air for Yelm Cinemas’ customers, with a dash of patience. Within the last month the company has implemented a new system that will bring perks and advantages for clients as soon as it becomes fully operational. The overhaul includes an upgraded Point of Sale (PoS) system, a new app and an updated website.
Theater Manager Noah Aden says both clients and staff are excited about the changes, which will streamline processes and retain popular existing programs. In the meantime, he has a request. “Be patient. It was a big change for us internally, with a lot of pieces that needed to be modified.”
Because these features all came as one package, it was important for Aden and his staff to research different potentials and find the one that would offer the most benefits for customers. The one they ultimately chose offers several advantages within each category.
New PoS System
Everyone agreed that one very necessary feature was a Point of Sale system that carried over all of the customer loyalty/rewards points and gift cards from the previous system. “That was a huge thing for us,” says Aden. “It would be horrible if people were stuck with a gift card they couldn’t use. I’m really happy that everyone’s reward points were carried over.”
The new system will also include chip readers for bank cards, a feature that was previously missing. “It’s something we’ve always wanted to do,” says Aden. “It’s an extra level of security and it makes the flow of helping a customer better. They can be inserting their card while we’re getting their items for them.” The theater can also now accept Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
New APP
Like the PoS system, the new app will carry over all rewards and loyalty points once it’s fully up and running. “Right now it doesn’t have loyalty card input but that will be coming, hopefully within the next month,” says Aden.
New Website
Customers will notice one very welcome change with the theater’s new website: accurate information about movies that are coming soon. The old version had a glitch that resulted in misinformation getting published on a regular basis, which inevitably led to disappointment.
“The main request we get about our website is for that ‘Coming Soon’ feature,” says Aden. “Now it will show movies that we’re actually going to get.”
The overall changes, while positive, were born out of necessity. The company that had been providing those services in previous years abruptly ended their cinema division. “They’re a really big corporation and cinema was small potatoes for them, so we were forced to move on,” Aden explains.
He gives full credit to theater staff for their positive and proactive approach to the change. “They’ve been taking initiative and discovering new things about the system,” he says. “Every day we learn something new and they’ve been just incredible, patient and excited about the process.”
Customers can stay apprised of progress on the Yelm Cinemas website.
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