The Lowry Arts Centre and Theatre
Background
The Lowry is an architectural triumph and arts flagship for Salford and the north west bringing together a wide variety of performing and visual arts under one roof. The Lowry houses two main theatres and studio space for performing arts (1,730, 466 and 180 seats respectively).
It presents a full range of drama, opera, ballet, dance, musicals, children's shows, popular music, jazz, folk and comedy and gallery spaces (1,610 metres of floor space) throughout the year. On the hospitality front, the Lowry comprises of a modern and stylish Restaurant, a Café Bar, Coffee Shop and theatre bars The Lowry covers a wide spectrum of catering requirements. GS first worked with the Lowry when it was launched in 2000 and retained the business after a competitive pitch.
They required a single solution that was flexible enough to provide:
- fast order processing for the coffee shops with dispensary printing on selected lines
- accurate table billing and order printing in the restaurant
- quick overview of table availability /status within the restaurant
- fast ordering and bill settlement in the restaurant (particularly pre-theatre meals, when everyone wants to pay and leave the restaurant as the show starts)
- Fast, efficient & accurate bar sales to enable the maximum of transactions to be processed at peak times during shows
- Interval Drinks Facility - to allow drinks to be pre-ordered, pre-paid and dispensed ready for the interval
- Full stock control for all areas
- Employee tracking and labour cost management
- Management reporting
- Wireless integrated Chip & Pin Credit Card solution for processing transactions at the table
- Wired integrated chip & Pin Credit Card solution for processing transactions quickly in the coffee shops
Achievements
- The Sharp UP-X500 colour touchscreen terminals configured with Windows XP Pro and GS V3 epos application provides simple, secure and configurable epos terminals for all locations.
- Staff sign on using magnetic fast and secure swipe cards with the benefit of full reporting down to transaction level Cards can be for staff promotional incentives and bonus tracking.
- Wireless handheld ordering terminals used in the restaurant allow the best waiting staff to stay permanently on the restaurant floor giving excellent customer service and increasing sales capacity.
- Dispensary printers positioned in numerous locations throughout the complex allow food and drink orders to be prepared to order in the designated bars and kitchens, which also allows full stock trackability and accounting.
- We have replaced the previous Interval Drinks pen & paper system with an extremely efficient automated system. Guests can order drinks at the bar for the interval or alternatively (to boost sales) Portable wireless epos terminals are set up in strategic locations to take interval orders. The fast thermal receipt printer will print a unique voucher with the location no. of the drinks. Once the show is underway the staff at each of the locations can print off the orders for their location and dispense, ready for collection in the interval. This system increases sales revenue, reduces errors, improves cash/stock control, increases efficiency and improves customer service.
- Central Management and stock control gives the Lowry team full system control and allows them to implement special one-off menus for Valentines or Mother's Day.
- New products can be set to automatically be added to the touchscreens at all or selected locations.
- Full stock takes are done in-house using GS stock control module with multiple levels availability: for example, a few stock lines can be checked each day; full stock checks can be done internally weekly and monthly if required and yet an auditor can do ad-hoc checks over any period.
Case Studies Menu
Client: The Lowry
Sector: Hospitality
Business: Arts centre and theatre venue
Purchased: GS Hospitality Suite
