There’s a high tech new way casinos are lettings customers order drinks on demand – right from a digital menu built into slot machines!
Casinos are synonymous with drinks – preferably of the free variety – and now, the process to get one is easier than ever. It’s all thanks to a high tech ordering system built right into slot machines.
You know the routine – you sit down to play, and then wait for a server to notice you. Move machines, and the process could start all over again!
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“It can take 20 minutes to get to a guest, and you’re on a hot streak, you don’t want to have to get up and leave your machine to go get a beverage,” explained Jennifer Hamilton, beverage manager at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.
Now, there’s a new way to order drinks on demand, with a digital menu built right into the machine you’re playing. The technology is called B.O.S.S., or Beverage Ordering Service System.
“It enables people to order drinks right from their slot machine. They never have to get up,” said Hamilton.
Pechanga Resort & Casino brought me to their property to try it out.
The system works as promised, although I was a bit surprised to find that you actually have to pay for alcoholic drinks here. According to Pechanga, California regulations require the stipulation, although you can still order non-alcoholic beverage likes coffee and sodas using the on-demand system.
The ordering process starts by pressing a little drink icon located on the machine’s screen. Not the main screen where you play games, but the smaller, secondary screen that generally shows you how many points you have if you use a casino club card.
The system lets you search by name or browse by category of drinks. Then, you can customize your drink exactly the way you want. Customers will appreciate the on-screen menu in several ways.
First, you can see exactly what your options are. For instance, instead of having the server rattle off a list of beer choices in draft or bottles, you can take your time and see everything that’s available to you on your time. Second, you can get some great ideas on how to customize your drink to your liking.
I saw options like add lemon, ice, and light ice – you can get super specific.
Once you’re done, the order is sent straight to a back bar and the system even tells you the name of the server who will be delivering your drink.
According to Pechanga, servers spend more time delivering drinks and less time walking around fetching orders. Plus, if a drink order is linked to a club card, servers can locate guests if they move machines
“Our delivery time is about 8 minutes, so we’ve cut down substantially on that,” said Hamilton of the new system.
Additionally, casinos get more detailed data about drink trends and real-time info, such as how many drinks guests order or the popularity of certain drinks at certain times.
In a world of Netflix, Postmates and Amazon, the on-demand nature of the system makes a lot sense for guests.
“This is where society is going, and it just makes everything a lot easier,” concluded Hamilton.
Pechanga is the latest casino to implement the drinks on demand technology, but casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City also have similar tech in use.