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Wristbands Help Thousands of Bars,
In Thousands of Ways
It's a busy night, and the line at the bar is five deep. These circumstances
can mean a loss of drink sales, but an even larger concern may be an
increase in underage consumption. Forcing your bartender to check
identification at the bar on a busy night may be a costly mistake.
Why not, for a minimal cost, implement the use of wristbands at the
door and eliminate one step in the ID-checking process?
The Bouncer’s Responsibility
Morgan Margolis, general manager of the Knitting Factory in Los
Angeles, knows –– from years of experience on both sides of the bar ––
the burden that is lifted when all the bartender has to do is look at a
wrist.
“The reality is, if you can leave the ID-checking out of the
bartender’s hands, it makes their life a lot easier,” says the 17-year
bartending veteran. And, it means more drinks served before close.
Distributing your stamp, or band, of approval before a patron even
enters a door saves your bartender time, and, in the long run, you as
an owner a lot of money.
Advancements in the availability of technology to ID forgers make the
process of eliminating underage drinking even more difficult. So, it’s
best to place it in the hands of door security, where they can check
thoroughly and let the bartender know who’s drinking and who’s not.
On the Horizon
Developments in software and scanners make the process that much
smoother and faster with miniature handheld consoles that check
IDs and print out a wristband according to the patron’s age.
These scanners work with databases from the Department of Motor
Vehicles to determine whether or not an ID is fraudulent, and saves
security a lot of time in looking at dates from out-of-state licenses.
“It’s the human factor, human error,” says Paula Moggio, senior
marketing communications specialist for Precision Dynamics Corp., based
in San Francisco. “Today’s fake IDs are pretty good. They’re pretty
real, so the human eye can’t detect if they’re false.”
These scanners come with other perks, including an opportunity to
collect a database of demographics for marketing and other purposes.
And, they can be used to flag certain patrons for either VIP reasons or
for preventative measures.
Extra Benefits
Using a wristband also offers many opportunities to advertise, and you
can work with other companies, such as beer or liquor distributors, to
sponsor events –– thus allowing them to put their names on the seals of approval.
“People leave with the wristbands on and walk the street and wear them
for a day or two. (It’s) the street promotional value factor,” says
Jeff Johnson, CEO of Price Chopper Wristbands in Orlando, Fla.
Factors to Consider
Johnson says there are a few things to consider when choosing which type of wristband to employ.
The No. 1 factor to consider is non-transferability.
“Make sure they are strong, non-stretchable and waterproof,” he says.
Consider what event they’re being utilized for, and pick the wristband
accordingly. You might want something more durable for a weeklong
event, or something that will last only a day or two for a nightly
event.
Johnson says it’s still a good idea to check individuals’ wristbands to
see if they’ve been altered, such as cut and re-taped back on, or torn
and just stuck back together.
“One must always do a security spot check, especially for people who
appear to be of questionable age,” he says.
Another benefit to the exercise of wristbands is for accounting
purposes. They help you keep track of how many you have sold, and
therefore how much money should be in the till.
Technological Advances
According to Timothy Timco, vice president of sales for National Ticket
Company out of Shamokin, Pa., the wave of the future is placing a bar
code on the wristband, with the patron’s information on it. These bar
coded bands lend themselves to other possibilities, including debit
banks. With these, patrons can put a certain amount of money on their
account. When
they want to order something the attendant just scans the band, and the
price is automatically deducted from their account.
“As time goes on, you’ll see these more and more in use,” Timco says.
Eventually, he says, everything will be replaced with ID chips inside the bands.
“These are a faster, easier, more accurate means of reading the
information; but right now they’re a little cost-prohibitive,” he says.
“With time they’ll be put to use more and the price will come
down.”
NCB
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