Taking reservations, not so obvious sometimes....
Posted on Friday, January 30, 2015Let me sketch it for you; a customer calls asking if there are any bicycles available. You answer that this is the case and the customer closes the call with: "okay, I'll call you back later." Then it remains silent. Since the customer does not leave any details, you do not take any further notes. Five weeks later, this customer calls back saying, "I rented bikes from you for next Saturday, can you add 2 more?" You look in the calendar, see nothing, and have already rented all the bikes. The customer gets angry, you get unsure if maybe you overlooked something. Maybe you put it in the calendar on a different date under a different name? No way, the customer is pulling your leg. And it costs you a lot of time and negative energy too! Then you go to your competitor to hire bicycles to help this customer, because maybe this customer is right after all. Do you recognize this?
Bad weather? Customer doesn't show up? No more loss of revenue with a no show!
Do you hate it so much? Every time a customer makes a reservation by phone and then doesn't show up on the day itself? Then when you inquire about the reason for the no show, "It's raining today so we don't feel like coming, you understand that, right?" No you don't understand that, you are balking! Materials have been booked for this customer, your business is open and you have had to sell "no" to other customers because the material is already booked. Or for example a booking where on the day itself less people come than agreed upon and therefore only want to pay for that number while you did reserve the material.... All common situations that cost money instead of yielding money.
With an online reservation system like LeisureKing, scenarios like this are a thing of the past. You have instant access to the reservations and data is put directly into the system, including the email address. The latter is important because otherwise no confirmations can be sent, and thus no reservations are made. The great thing is that the system automatically sends a simple email with the rental item, times, costs, directions and last but not least: the payment link. Payment is made in advance, so at least you receive your money. What a convenience!
Old habits out the door, time for progress.
Online reservations and mobile payments are going to take off in the coming year. Since consumers are online daily and arrange a wide variety of things through digital means, this is not surprising. What is striking is that only a small percentage in the leisure activity industry is ready for this. According to the platform for the event industry High Profile Events shows that 62% of outdoor companies and activity rental companies do not yet offer an online reservation and payment option. Many companies stick to old habits because that's just the way it works. And there is no budget for new investments. At least with LeisureKing's free system, that's no longer an excuse!
Introducing!
Would you like to know more about LeisureKing and are you interested in how the system works? Feel free to make an appointment with Ernest van Veldhuizen. Ernest can be reached at ernest@leisureking.eu or by phone at 06 4591 5817. Discover the benefits of LeisureKing for yourself and experience the added value for your organization!
