|
Triton on Keeping Customers On-Premise
It's that honey hole in the corner of the bar, fueling purchases and
length of stay. ATMs offer the promise of an endless party.
“Bars have been one of the predominant markets that we’ve deployed
product into, simply because it’s a great piece of their business,”
says James Phillips, senior U.S. retail manager with Triton, a supplier
of those moneymaking machines to bars, retail shops, restaurants,
bowling alleys and other establishments. “It allows patrons to get cash
if they need it. They don’t have to leave the establishment. Generally,
there’s a very high percentage that’s withdrawn that gets turned around
and spent right back in the establishment.
“A nightclub or bar is almost at a competitive disadvantage if they
don’t have an ATM at their location,” he says. “Personally, I’ve been
in bars, and I’ve been known to run out of cash while I was there. If I
have to leave, chances are I’m not going to come back; I’ll just find
another place to go.”
Strategy and Placement
Just as patrons’ mindset changes when entering a bar, so must the operator’s mindset in placing the ATM, Phillips says.
“When we talk to convenience stores and retail establishments, the
ideal place for them might be at the back of the store,” he says. “You
want the customer to come in and pass everything up on the way to the
machine, to trigger impulse purchasing. In a bar or nightclub, you want
to make it as visible as possible. The last thing you want is a patron
to be hunting around trying to find a machine. So you should put it
near the entrance with very visible signage. Every one of our machines
we sell with back-lit topper signs. Once you get in a dark
establishment, there’s nothing better than having that ATM glowing off
in the corner.”
Near restrooms is another good location, he says.
Honed Over Time
“When you get down to it, an ATM is designed to one thing and one thing only, and that’s to dispense cash,” Phillips says.
“I think the benefit we bring is that essentially we developed the
retail market here in the United States. We were the first ones to
deploy retail machines in the early ‘90s — even before Visa and
Mastercard lifted the ban on surcharging, so a bar location may now
earn additional revenue by charging for the transactions. We’ve been in
this industry a long time. We’ve got tons of experience developing
machines that are very specific for the retail market, driving that
cost down continually.
“We’ve seen other ATM manufacturers come in from foreign markets,
and they don’t stay,” he says. “They don’t want to invest in this
market the way we do. This is our bread and butter.” NCB
|
