BC Oberhausen is a billiard club whose members are legends of the sport and players known throughout Europe. The Club's history began in 1974, under the name PBC Landwehr, and has continued under its current name since 1989. It is from here that stars such as Günter Geisen, Lars Kuckherm, Ramazan Dincer, Niels Feijen and Andreas Roschkowsky originated. The club has won, among others, the German Championship title 8 times or the European Championship title.

Due to its prestige, the club enjoys an ever-increasing interest from players - professionals as well as amateurs who want to learn the art of billiard under the guidance of the best. Therefore, it is with undisguised pleasure that we have implemented the Bookgame reservation system.

What challenges did we face at BC Oberhausen in implementing BookGame?

Above all, the club was confronted with too many phone bookings, which entailed hindering the work of the staff and - not infrequently - mistakes in enrollment. Therefore, it needed a simple, easily accessible and transparent system - one that would give control over customer service. Management expected:

• to streamline the management of reservations - so that it would be possible to track them in real time from anywhere, and to monitor trends in table popularity by day, hour or month;
• simplifying the making of reservations - so that the entire burden of this duty would not fall on the employees answering the phones;
• make booking more convenient for customers - so they can book a table faster and online.

With help came BookGame.

BookGame at BC Oberhausen: a tailor-made solution for customers, employees and management

After analyzing the needs of Club BC Oberhausen, we prepared IT solutions - tailored to the expectations presented.

We delivered a complete booking system that:

• is placed directly on the Club's website - thus arousing the customer's interest and is available with one click;
• has two language versions: DE and EN - can be used freely by foreigners as well, without language misunderstandings;
• is intuitive - it poses no problem for customers, regardless of age or level of "digital sophistication."
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It is enough to go through 3 simple steps to confirm that the table will be waiting at the appointed time.

BookGame in BC Oberhausen: new quality of customer service and greater control over bookings

BC Oberhausen management quickly saw a number of positive changes after the full implementation of BookGame.

Facilitate the booking process for customers

This is important especially on weekends, when calling the club was a problem, and the club was losing customers who - without confirmation of table availability - chose another venue.

Now they don't have to call - they can book a game themselves online - using a computer, phone or tablet. All it takes is a few clicks.

Improving customer service

BookGame has also eased the burden on the Club's staff. Employees don't have to spend hours answering phone calls about reservations. So they can focus more on taking care of the club's guests and improving their experience during their visit. They are also more motivated to perform as a result.

Fewer booking mistakes

Keeping paper reservations posed a risk of confusion. It only took one unrecorded change in the "occupancy" of tables for serious problems to arise, making it difficult to serve the Club's guests.

Now all reservations are visible in the system, and their status - updated in real time. So the employee has an overview of current and future occupancy, so there is no overbooking.

Greater control over occupancy at the Club

Data from BookGame helps analyze the Club's occupancy in a broader perspective. They make it easier for management to predict "hot periods" and those in which some tables are sometimes empty. This allows management to plan staff shifts more precisely, as well as marketing activities - so as to boost sales.

Access booking data from anywhere

Managers and employees work within an online system that constantly updates itself. Therefore, managers can check the occupancy of the facility at any time and, for example, quickly respond to a reservation request for a larger group or make changes in the way the establishment works.

The BookGame system has greatly improved table reservations at BC Oberhausen and allows us to manage the process more consciously. This benefits our customers, employees and, in a broader perspective, the entire Club.

Michal Zoltowski, Board member BC Oberhausen