Technology is all around us; it’s part of our everyday lives and, quite frankly, both hard to avoid and hard to live without. Technology can help to improve how efficient your operation is as well as improve on customer service and the overall guest experience.
If we look at other areas of the golf course we can see how technology helps to provide a better experience for our members, and, in a lot of cases, without them even knowing it.
Long before the first golfer steps onto a course, technology could have played a part in the design of the course itself. Drones are now being used to collect topographical data to produce digital terrain models which saves days’ worth of man hours. These can then produce before and after views that allow the architect to determine the best design or layout of a hole.
On the course technology can be seen through the advancements in irrigation systems as well as greens mowers which improve course conditions.
As for the pro shop, the list is extensive, from Foot Joys Performance Fitting system which uses an iPad and a pressure mat to choose the proper shoe for a golfer, to BioMech’s sensor and app that analyzes your putt, or Samsung’s IOFIT shoe that uses pressure sensors that send data to your IOS or Android phone and analyze your swing.
The list is endless.
For the clubhouse though it appears that the food and beverage team seem to be a little slower in using new technology to better service the guests. When you think about it, you really can’t argue. We still send out the beverage cart to drive around looking for sales, and how about the ‘phone on the 9th tee to call in and place an order for pick up at the turn?
It’s all a bit archaic given the advancements being made in the restaurant industry. I’m not suggesting self-serve kiosks, although a form of that at the 9th tee might not be such a bad idea.
However, if we take a look at our POS systems, and evaluate what they can do for us and how much of what they can do we are using, we might find we have some great technology on hand that, given a small upgrade, will enable us to run a better guest focused operation.
Most restaurants, even the small independents, have POS systems and many of them are taking them a bit further by integrating them with guest management systems. The collaboration of these systems allows for a more seamless, full service guest experience. In the past systems like this have been cost prohibitive, but with the speed technology is moving at, and the advancements that have been made, these products are now attainable for even the smallest establishment.
Imagine being able to take reservations, collect guest history and be able to offer a more personalized experience, know where all your tables are in the turn-process, take table side orders and payments, change menu items and gain statistical data any time, with a click of a button.
Systems like this will allow us to be more efficient, generate more profit, and ultimately allow technology to provide a better guest experience. So, what are we waiting for?
