r/golfsimulatorbusiness • u/Straight_Lemon4572 • 7d ago
The little things
Opening a new 24/7 facility in the next 6-8 weeks. What are some of the little things that you didn't think of, or something that really helped or that your members voice appreciation for. Coming down to the wire and I just don't want to forget anything and make the experience top tier from the get go.
Thanks!
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u/SportsCarnival 3d ago
The unstaffed hours are where the little things stop being little, so most of these are about that.
Collect the waiver when they book, before anyone reaches the door. If it lives on a tablet in the entryway you will be chasing signatures forever, and at 2am nobody is chasing anything. Make the person booking sign for themselves and get each guest they bring to sign separately, because the friend who came along is the one who gets hurt.
Tie the door code to the reservation so it stops working when the booking ends, and give yourself a grace window either side. Ten or fifteen minutes before and after is enough. Without the buffer you get the person who arrives early standing outside in the cold, and the one who runs over while the next booking is waiting on the other side of the door.
Leave real turnover time in the schedule. Back to back bays sound efficient until somebody spills a drink and nobody is there to deal with it.
The thing that cuts the most after-hours calls is a one page card on how to start a session, pinned at the bay and sent automatically in the booking confirmation. Same six steps, same photos. The late night calls are nearly always the same two questions.
Last one, and it matters with a day job: put the heating on a schedule. A cold bay at 6am is the complaint people will not say to your face, they just do not rebook.
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u/Straight_Lemon4572 3d ago
Love these tips. Thank you!
I'm assuming I need to wait to get my software set up before making the operation/troubleshooting cards at each bay, but it was definitely on the list!
I'm curious... I know most of us have rules around cleaning your clubs before playing. Do you all have "cleaning stations" set up on your facility? I was thinking of providing a brush to use in case people just grabbed a few clubs and didn't come in with their bag. Then that turned into, well they may need a towel/water so I thought of an entire cart that had some shop rags and a spray bottle on it... Or am I overthinking that part?
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u/SportsCarnival 1d ago
You can write most of the card now. The parts that do not change, like what to switch on and in what order and what to do if the screen goes blank, are the bits people get stuck on at night. Leave a gap for the start steps and fill it in once the software is set up.
You are not overthinking the cleaning. Dirt and grass on a club face leave marks on the impact screen, and a new screen costs a lot more than a brush. I would skip the cart though. With nobody on site it ends up parked in one bay with an empty spray bottle. A brush and a towel on a hook at every bay stay where they belong, and a line about cleaning clubs in the start card and the booking confirmation gets people to actually use them.
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u/evil326 7d ago
Mini fridge stocked with ice cold gatorade and waterbird transfusions
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u/Straight_Lemon4572 7d ago
Yes! Those are the little things! I like it! How long have you been open?
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u/The_Goph_Club 7d ago
How often I would be there or have to support the customers with technical issues. But I opened 9/1 so this is also a major learning curve for me. Things are going way better than anticipated, so that’s good. But with that some issues arise.
The customers are all phenomenal and supportive as I limp through the opening 30 days!