Case Study

City of Florence Concession Improvements Increase Revenue 40%

Situation

The City of Florence’s pool concession operations were suffering for the past ten years from low revenue due to inefficient processes and antiquated food offerings. Realizing they did not have the expertise to turn the situation around themselves, the City of Florence turned to SwimSafe for help. An in-depth review by SwimSafe revealed the following trouble areas:

  1. The handling of cash was spread between multiple on-site vendors.
  2. 
Cash was the only payment method available.
  3. The staffing was based on conveniently filling the employee schedule, so it was not responsive to the real traffic flow.
  4. The dated menu offerings were not reflective of current food consumption trends.

Solution

The solution consisted of improvements across many facets of operations. 
The mobile snack, drink, and ice cream sales carts were consolidated into a centralized location at the concession stand.  More windows were opened to accommodate the increased traffic and cash handling was streamlined to reduce the exposure to loss and theft. They began to accept credit card transactions which eventually accounted for more than 15% of sales. Sales trends and traffic patterns were analyzed and staffing was adjusted to accommodate the heavier traffic times. Underperforming menu items were removed which cut inventory carrying costs and more popular menu items were added to improve sales.

Result

Sales increased 39.4% per person over the average performance of the last ten years, wait times were reduced, customer satisfaction was enhanced and the membership was much happier.