Leading management school selects Rendezvous as management tool

Rendezvous Puts On A Top Performance At ASB Showgrounds

John (“JR”) Robertson is enthusiasm personified when it comes to ASB Showgrounds. His passion for driving business efficiencies and improving the customer experience have seen the Showgrounds move from a strongly entrenched manual booking system to a fully automated booking system with great results all round. Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds employ 26 staff across the workshop, accounts and administration, marketing and management teams. The Showgrounds itself is an exhibition centre but has in recent years also hosted functions, events and large scale sales. With onsite catering and their newest 5500sqm pillar- less pavilion able to seat 3500 at a black tie dinner, the Showgrounds have substantially expanded the opportunities available to clients. This coupled with 1200 parking spaces and competitive pricing gives the Showgrounds an edge over many potential competitors. Some of the best known events hosted at ASB Showgrounds include Big Boys Toys, Auckland Home Show, Christmas Gift Fair, and the Royal Easter Show. Showgrounds clients range from events companies to retailers to music promoters. With the high level of activity the Showgrounds experiences, the requirement for an effective booking system was critical to the organization.

The Paper Chase

When Robertson started at the ASB Showgrounds in 2001 as sales, marketing and entertainment manager, the booking system was entirely paper based and run by one person. With a single book to record pencil bookings and confirmations, and a spreadsheet summary manually produced on a daily basis, there was little transparency and no access to data outside the office. Often insufficient information was captured, presenting considerable margin for error and of course, its efficacy was highly dependant on just one person.

The Move to Automation

Robertson’s background had been with large Japanese run corporations, so for him the use of low-risk software solutions to automate and improve business processes was a logical step for the Showgrounds. After looking at several available options, Robertson elected to present Rendezvous, a booking solution exclusively sold and implemented in New Zealand by Savio Solutions, to the board of directors. Robertson commented on the selection process: “What I liked about Rendezvous was that Savio gave us a lot more information than the others and were quite willing to spend as much time with us as needed. With Rendezvous I think probably the most attractive feature was the fact that we could build things within the system for ourselves. “Savio were so committed to their belief that Rendezvous was the right product for us that the sales consultant even came to the presentation to the Board.”

A Fast Rendezvous

The implementation time for Rendezvous was quick, and the users at all levels quickly adapted to the intuitive but structured nature of the solution. Nicola Harris, the marketing and operations coordinator, is the acknowledged Rendezvous super-user for the ASB Showgrounds. With only a half day’s training, and no prior experience on a comparable solution, she achieved a rapid grasp of the system and its capabilities, and now trains other users within the organization. Savio are always available for additional support if needed, and Robertson and Harris are both in agreement that the ongoing relationship with Savio is a strong one.

Benefits Abound

A number of the Showgrounds staff access Rendezvous remotely at will and can provide clients with up to the minute, on the spot information. Clients have been appreciative of being able to make instant decisions based on that information, or check up on, confirm or alter catering or other requirements. “If someone makes an enquiry,” says Robertson, “even on a Saturday or a Sunday, I can still go on to the server and click in and say ‘Yes, we can do that date for you’. Now that’s efficient, and clients are just delighted.” Another issue not effectively managed by the paper based system was ensuring customer contracts were always signed off within a set timeframe, so the space and date could be firmly allocated or released for other potential bookings. With Rendezvous, contract signing deadlines are automatically flagged in the system and alerts sent out reminding administration staff to make sure they are signed and deposits paid, or cancelled within the agreed dates. All client emails are generated directly though and stored in Rendezvous, as is all other contact information. With requisite fields requiring to be filled, it’s not possible to miss out requesting or entering crucial information. Visibility of information has been another benefit, with reports being able to be generated in moments, as opposed to hours. The benefits of transparent and readily accessible data have been substantial. “Our reports are telling us about our occupancy to a dollar,” says Robertson, “and that’s what we wanted. It’s letting everyone in their respective areas know what they need to do. We do add-ons and it’s all put on the invoice, or a quote can be done through it. It makes your job easy, and double bookings are a thing of the past. “I believe our investment in Rendezvous will pay itself off. We’ve become efficient, we get more bookings, and importantly we’re not losing bookings.”

The Perfect Solution

Peace of mind has been a major benefit for the team at the Showgrounds, with each team now having full visibility of their own commitments and being able to plan and deploy resources well ahead. Rendezvous requires best practice to be applied so ASB Showgrounds internal processes were realigned to ensure the benefits of this were maximised. A consistently high level of service and client satisfaction is now possible with vastly increased efficiency in terms of follow up, closure of bookings and the ultimate delivery of the event. With Rendezvous in place at ASB Showgrounds, Robertson can truly say he’s a happy man. “It’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Rendezvous is perfect for us and we’ll keep on using it.”

Scheduling & event management software