2 Way Radios in Nightclubs

Somehow, radio has become the benchmark of communication between nightclub staff.  Yet, when I ask members of the VIP team how they feel about radio, their shoulders drop.

"Can you repeat that?"

"PINEAPPLE, not APPLE"

"Sam for Jonathan......Jonathan, can you hear me"?

As proactive staff fire instructions across the radio waves, their colleagues grimace in an attempt to decode what was said.  

Here is why (and your team... ask them) hate radio.

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#1

Interference

Let's face it, audio communication in an environment known for loud music was never going to be ideal.

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But this is amplified when your venue is buried under a city sky rise, in a dense industrial area or under a carpark.  Name one that isn't?

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#2

No Record Keeping

So your ears are able to pierce through the music and static to understand what is being asked of you. What happens when you just plain forget?

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In such a fast paced environment, customer and manager requests quickly become a blur.  Mistakes take time to resolve, or cause customer complaints.

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#3

Poor Staffing Allocation

The main issue with radio is that unless you nominate a person in your address, it's unlikely that your team will coordinate among themselves to deliver the request.  

So you're left with a few less than satisfactory outcomes:

1. Double up and multiple people do the same thing

2. Nothing...you team just point at the next person and nobody does anything because they figure someone else will;

3. Conflict: You nominate one task owner and stop them from doing something equally important.

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#4

Radio Just Can't Handle Everything

Even if you don't agree with the above, there's a good chance you're using radio just to bring two people together to talk. And while there are always exceptions; we try to replace as many conversations with yes/no answers as possible. For example:

• Server: "Can I comp this bottle?"
• Manager: "Can I get only 5 staff available members to attend dispense for a procession?"
• Server: "Can someone support me with a cleanup at table 2?"

While direct, these questions all invite some follow up: Which bottle? How many said yes? Who is on that cleanup?

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SO WHAT

Clear & Efficient Comms

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What does this look like?

• Communications get to the right people, but only the right people.
• If an action is resolved or attend, others should know about it to avoid double up;
• A specific order or payment is be made without discussion;
• A trip across the floor is avoided wherever possible;

And even better if ALL communication is reportable and retrievable at a later date for audit purposes.

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And why should you care?

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Poor or unclear communication leads to mistakes, wastes time and creates apathetic disengaged staff, ultimately impacting your sales and customer experience.

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SALES PLUG

We Have Comms Covered

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We've been solving this for years.

With DQ Pro:

• Guest arrival triggers notifications to the relevant server.
• Servers can order and accept payment for the bottles & consumables they need.
• Any staff member can call a busser, management or Security to their table.
• Management can broadcast specific messages to FOH and BOH teams or even request staff for a parade.
• Comp requests can be approved and declined without discussion.
• Payments, cancellations and approvals are reported and auditable.

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