Ryan Walker

New Metrics for Success

Earlier this year retail businesses were forced to close their doors as the pandemic swept the world. As we begin to slow the spread of COVID-19 and reopen the economy, businesses are facing tremendous new challenges.

Capacity restrictions, frequency cleaning schedules, and new metrics for success are just a few of these challenges. Before the pandemic, the goal of most retailers was to get as many people into their stores as possible, and keep them there as long as they could. These measures of success quickly eroded as new restrictions on capacity were put in place to keep both employees and customers safe.

Retailers had to completely reinvent their customer strategies. “Retail’s Great Pivot: How The Pandemic Has Changed Stores’ Criteria For Success From Traffic To Efficiency” provides a great overview of this dramatic shift.

TallyFi has always been in the business of helping its customers measure their success. By accurately tracking current count, throughput, and average length of stay, TallyFi provides the data necessary to determine what’s working, and what isn’t.

In addition to tracking these metrics, TallyFi maintains its core competency of accurately managing real time guest capacity. The live count ensures that retailers always operate at safe levels.

Counting in a Pandemic

TallyFi has been counting people for years in demanding applications where speed and accuracy are of utmost importance. Never before has this been more true than with the recent introduction of capacity restricting safety measures put in place to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

While these new safety measures are important and necessary, for many business owners this is easier said than done. Many businesses operate with multiple points of entry and exit, making it difficult to accurately track the number of customers in their venue at any given time.

For some businesses TallyFi has been a perfect fit. Multiple synced counters placed at each point of entry and exit provide a live accurate count of the number of customers currently in the business. Additionally, TallyFi requires virtually no setup. The counters operate on your existing WiFi network, and the dashboard requires no software installation, operating in any standard web browser on smartphones, tablets, and computers.

Whether you operate a large or small business, we may be able to help. You can start with as little as a single counter, or operate with 50+ synced counters. There’s really no limit, and the service can be scaled up and down as necessary as we navigate this pandemic.

In addition to the live count, historic data accessed through the online dashboard provides an invaluable tool for comparing performance throughout the pandemic, and generating any reports that may be required for regulatory purposes.

When we designed TallyFi we could never have anticipated that our counters and service would ever be used for such an application. However, we’ve done our best to keep up with demand and continue to deliver a simple, reliable service that our customers have come to rely on.

If you think we may be a good fit for your business please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have. We’ve also summarized some of the ways existing customers are using TallyFi during the pandemic on our website.

Introducing the Newly Designed “TallyFi TF-2” Counter

TallyFi is proud to announce the release of its second generation counter technology, the “TallyFi TF-2”. Looking back on 3 years of real world usage and millions of counts, we set out to improve upon the original TallyFi TF-1 design.

While functionally similar to the existing counters (and fully backwards compatible) the new counters offer improved connectivity, durability, and water resistance.

The TallyFi TF-2 also comes equipped with a new WiFi setup technology, blinkbit.io, to simplify the setup process even further. Developed completely in-house, blinkbit.io provides a secure and simple method for transferring WiFi credentials from any smartphone or computer directly to your TallyFi device.

You can check out all the latest features at tallyfi.com/support/manual, or if you’ve already got a device and are looking to get started you can try our Quick Start Guide at tallyfi.com/start.

TallyFi Tip #3 – Identify Counters with Coloured Bumpers

Did you know that every TallyFi counter comes with 3 coloured bumpers? They’re not just for aesthetics. These bumpers let you easily identify device locations (eg. Front Door, VIP Entrance, Patio Entrance, etc.) so that your staff always grabs the correct counter.

Because TallyFi counters sync together, venue operators have the freedom to add multiple points of entry without ever having to worry about capacity management.

Boost Revenue with a Winter Patio Experience

Do you have a licensed patio that sits empty during the winter months? Consider turning it into a licensed lineup and serve up some Irish Coffee and other warm cocktails while your customers wait to enter your club.

This typically unused capacity can bring in additional revenue and make your club an easy choice on a busy night. Go one step further and add some outdoor heaters, decorative lighting, and an ice bar and make waiting in line an enjoyable experience that will keep customers coming back!

Continue reading Boost Revenue with a Winter Patio Experience

Coat Check: To Charge or Not to Charge?

Winter is coming. For nightclub owners this means finding the space and staff to run a coat check service. Some nightclubs view this as an additional source of revenue, but is it really worth it?

Customers entering your venue from the bitter cold are confronted with cover charge, immediately followed by an additional coat check charge. Is this really the best experience for your customers? One owner we talked to thinks otherwise. Devon McKenzie owner and operator of Night School in Waterloo, Ontario has always offered free coat check. According to McKenzie,

“The additional income we get from coat check isn’t worth hassling my customers for a few extra dollars. We want them to have an enjoyable experience so they keep coming back.”

Continue reading Coat Check: To Charge or Not to Charge?

TallyFi Tip #2 – Make TallyFi Part of Your Staff Routine

We understand that running your own bar or nightclub can be overwhelming. Building staff routines and checklists are excellent tools to ensure smooth operation. We recommend adding a couple checks to that list to ensure that TallyFi is always ready and accurate.

As part of your closing routine:

#1. Reset your TallyFi counters back to zero. This will ensure you’re ready to go the next time you’re open, and make your capacity data more readable from the dashboard.
#2. Charge your TallyFi counters. TallyFi counters are designed for extended periods of use between charging, but the last thing you want is a dead device at the beginning of a shift.

Adding these 2 simple steps will ensure that you never miss a single night, and always know your headcount.

Earn an Additional $30,000 per Year by Simply Optimizing Your Points of Entry

Maximizing your throughput means maximizing revenue. However, running an overcrowded venue can be a negative experience for customers, not to mention unsafe and illegal. It can be especially challenging for venues operating with multiple exits or entrances.

Ensuring your venue operates at its maximum capacity without going over can be a challenge. TallyFi makes it easy. Multiple TallyFi counters automatically sync together so that every point of entry always knows the current count. This means minimizing the amount of time seats remain empty, maximizing your throughput and increasing revenue.

Running a customer deficit can add up fast. Consider this example:

Continue reading Earn an Additional $30,000 per Year by Simply Optimizing Your Points of Entry

TallyFi Tip #1 – Record Every In and Every Out

Your club is full and there’s a line down the street. Your marketing campaign was a huge success and you consistently draw a crowd. But are you maximizing your throughput? The first thing a new customer does when they walk into your venue is pay cover, then head straight to the bar. Maintaining a healthy flow of new customers not only improves your bottom line, but maintains a lively atmosphere.

When operating at capacity, it’s easy to ignore your TallyFi counter and operate on a one-in, one-out basis. While your capacity count will remain accurate you lose out on an important piece of information, throughput. Throughput tells you how many unique customers walked through your doors that night.

Always count every customer entering and exiting, even when operating at maximum capacity.

Continue reading TallyFi Tip #1 – Record Every In and Every Out

TallyFi’s Beginnings

It started when a close friend opened a nightclub. He was surprised by the antiquated systems used to answer one of his most important questions: How many customers do I have? Most nightclubs track capacity using mechanical tally counters, and at the end of the night they’re left with a single number, total throughput.

A single number to describe an entire night where hundreds or often thousands of customers passed through their doors. This wasn’t enough. He knew that surviving in this business meant understanding as much as he could about his customers.

Continue reading TallyFi’s Beginnings