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Southport Theatre & Convention Centre

"“Because the tills can be operated more quickly, we are definitely taking more money.”"
Darren James, Operations Manager of The Southport Theatre & Convention Centre

The Client
The Theatre & Convention Centre is the cultural hub of Southport, the refined seaside resort that has its feet in the Irish Sea. As the town’s main live entertainment venue, The Centre presents an all-year round programme of shows. It also plays host to conferences, exhibitions and banquets. Thanks to a recent refurbishment programme, the Theatre with its 1,500+ capacity auditorium now combines grand style with state-of-the-art sound facilities.

The Centre is owned by Live Nation, a US corporation that manages more live concerts, music venues and festivals than does any other operator worldwide. Its web-based concert search engine www.livenation.com also ranks as a world leader.

As part of its investment in The Centre, Live Nation was keen to create a more upmarket image for the venue. It decided that old-style cash registers had to make way for the latest PC-based touchscreen tills in the bars and banqueting areas. Hospitality EPoS specialist TriniTEQ, who formerly traded under the CPOS brand in the UK, secured the contract and proposed the latest unit from J2 Retail Systems, the J2 580, as the ideal machine.

The Solution

The Benefits
• The J2 580s are simple and straightforward to use, with no need for a manual
• Programming the tills is an intuitive process and can be done in minutes
• Speed of use mean that The Centre is taking more money through its new tills
• Clever design and good engineering are giving The Centre a robust and reliable unit
• The J2 580s are clearly ideal for this busy hospitality venue
• TriniTEQ’s new software will be the icing on the cake with a raft of functionality

The Process

Darren James is Operations Manager at The Centre. Already very familiar with EPoS before moving to his present role, he was able to start his own product search before engaging with TriniTEQ. The J2 580 caught his eye.

At the same time, Gary Smith, UK & European Operations Director at TriniTEQ was tasked with finding the company’s next generation of EPoS. “I looked at machines from 35 manufacturers and could score the best of them at no more than 7/10. When I looked into J2’s 580, it was a clear 10. The difference between the J2 580 and its competitors is outstanding. It’s the first machine I’ve seen that encompasses all the requirements of the hospitality market.”

The contract was won in competitive tender and Live Nation had no hesitation in nominating The Centre as the first of its venues to benefit from the new system. TriniTEQ coped well with the challenge of cabling and installing the equipment into an old building and, today, sixteen J2 580s are up and running on three separate networks.

The Results

The new tills are a quantum leap from the original system with its pre-programmed keys. Comments Gary Smith: “The feedback from Darren James and his team has been superb. They find the system fast and easy to use. I noticed how quickly staff became familiar with the tills during training.”

The speed and ease of use is having a financial benefit too as The Centre is taking more money through the new tills in the bars and banqueting suites.

When it came to programming the tills, Darren James could not be more complimentary. “Whilst TriniTEQ were taking a second unit out of its box, I’d already programmed the first one! It’s that easy.”

The styling of the units and their flexible mounting options influenced The Centre’s choice. Continues Gary Smith: “The mounting options are a major benefit over other manufacturers. The J2 580s can be wall-mounted as information terminals in the hallway, and counter-based or pole-based behind the bars. All The Centre’s requirements are met in one machine.”

Whilst customer satisfaction is critically important, TriniTEQ also pay tribute to the thought that J2 has given to engineering and support in its J2 580 design. Gary Smith again: “With most units, you need to spend 2 hours removing 12 screws to get the motherboard out. With the J2 580, it all comes out with a couple of screws. It’s an engineer’s dream, and really helps us to deliver great service to our clients.”

Darren James is pleased with the J2 580’s reliability. “It’s simple, does the job fast and we’ve had no issues at all.”

TriniTEQ is now putting the finishing touches to new a new version of its WaiterPOS point-of-sale software that will exploit all the features of the J2 580s. This will be the icing on the cake, and will manage The Centre’s front-office and back-office functions. It will also subsequently drive wireless radio-frequency hand- held units which will eliminate any queuing at the tills at peak times.

The last word goes to Gary Smith: “I take my hat off the designers of the J2 580. They’ve done a great job.”

Sector: Leisure