Your DJ: Money maker or money loser

RINKSIDER
November-December 2011
27
Independent Voice of the Industry
Your DJ: Money maker
or money loser
will make for a memorable experience
for guests.
Leader of fun
Bill Carlson
U-Profit Business Success
714.504.7742
bill@bill-carlson.net
By Bill Carlson
I
f you are looking for a sure bet to
improve your business immediately at low cost, look no further
than your DJ booth. The employees
you select to oversee skating sessions
impact your business more than any
other employee. Having a great group
of fun, entertaining DJs should be a
priority on every owner’s wish list.
Here is my list of reasons why
you need to hire, train, teach, coach
and mentor aspiring DJs.
Importance
DJs impact the customer experience and your business more than
any other employee working in your
roller skating center. They literally are
responsible, each shift, for customer
satisfaction with the experience. An
individual skater’s perception of that
experience will determine whether
they will come back in the future and
how often.
Personality of your business
In selecting and hiring DJs,
always remember collectively they
will be the personality of your roller
skating center. It is a good idea to
have a number of DJs on your staff
(male and female). The mixed personalities will allow you flexibility in
scheduling.
Heartbeat of the center
Your center will come alive when
DJs take the stage and care about the
customers they serve. The energy and
enthusiasm of the DJ will determine
the level of the experience for all skaters. DJs are the “heartbeat” of your
center, and it is in your best interests
to develop great DJs.
“Grand Master” of the experience
DJs master the experience when
they play the right blend of age appropriate music; knowing beats per minute at the right time makes for a great
session. Honoring limited requests
Rinksider_NOV_DEC_11.indd 27
People of all ages and generations enter skating centers expecting
to have fun. They are looking for your
business to provide the setting, an
escape from an ordinary day in their
lives. Choosing a place where they
can let go with friends and family.
DJs will impact everyone during their
visit, whether it is the music they
choose to play, the fun activities they
lead, the way they interact with all
customers, but most of all the connection they make with
guests.
DJs should plan
each session with
enthusiasm, and be
ready to touch the
lives of roller skaters
of all ages.
Plan each day
Prepare a daily
Fun Plan
Prepare
prize
award packs each day.
Make sure all
necessary materials and equipment
are available and accessible.
Make sure staff is prepared for
each activity.
Execute and control the activity.
Reward winners in full view of
guests.
Monitor and supervise each and
every activity.
Assign tasks to each staff member for each activity.
Monitor and keep all activities
safe.
Make sure all areas are cleaned
and inspected after each activity to
ensure all equipment, supplies and
debris (if any) is cleaned up before
guests are allowed to use the area
again.
Return all equipment to the
proper place for storage.
NO activity should ever last more
than 3-5 minutes.
Ad man supreme
Skating center DJs need to be
your best ad pitch people. They need
to be enthusiastic about their job and
the messages they give to customers. Whether it is about a special in
the snack bar, novelty shop or an
upcoming event, the message should
motivate sales. It is advisable to look
at your DJs as an amazing opportunity
to increase per capita sales in your
business. Failure to do so will keep
your business from being the best it
can be.
Skate traffic controller
To insure safety and fun for everyone DJs must be aware that a prime
responsibility is controlling skater traffic on and around the skating floor.
They really are Skate Traffic Controllers (STC) with the best view of the
skating center. Not only must they
maintain safe speeds of the skaters but
also be vigilant and know where the
floor guards are at all times.
DJs are important in dealing with
skater behavior and discipline. They
must be trained to be fair and consistent in enforcing skating center rules.
In case of emergencies DJs must
skate or stop skating altogether.
Having one DJ is risky, and it takes
an exceptional talent that can be responsive to all ages and styles of skaters.
Customers generally prefer a variety of
good DJs - male and female.
It is advisable to have several
quality DJs on staff with several intraining so you always have up and
coming DJs when you need them.
Good DJs will dramatically have
a positive effect on bottom-line performance for any roller skating center. Bad
DJs will have an adverse affect on the
bottom-line of any roller skating center.
Make the commitment
How important and what impact
do DJs have on your roller skating business? You be the judge. Evaluate your
current crop of DJs and assess them
fairly. Are they excellent, good, mediocre, fair, or poor? Make the changes
necessary to ensure success. You owe it
to your staff and your customers.
PRODUCT NEWS
be capable of directing customers to
safe zones, exits, etc., responding to
specific types of emergencies.
Most important employee
How important is the DJ to a
skating session? Rated on a scale of
1-10, 10 being best, I say it is 10. The
employee that has the greatest impact
on customer’s everyday is the DJ.
They are the go to person in the center
and need to be trained to multi-task
and communicate well with staff and
customers. What type of person do
you want in such a key position?
I often ask myself, “If the above
is true, why don’t skating center owners hire the right fit people and teach
them to be roller skating DJs?” There
are many talented DJ types that can
pick out music, mix extremely well,
and get down but cannot adapt to a
roller skating crowd.
One great DJ can help you train
several really good DJs.
Money maker or money loser
I recommend all roller skating
center owners, operators and managers monitor DJ performance in their
respective centers. Too often they are
overlooked and taken for granted in
determining success or failure of individual sessions.
Skaters will complain and tire out
real fast when they are unhappy with a
DJs performance. If management does
nothing, skaters find another place to
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10/21/11 1:29:22 PM