Letter from Alcohol Alert Customer
KeRo, LLC Mr. Stoll, I just wanted to take the time to thank you for the assistance you have provided during my business start-up here in Lubbock , Texas . The advice you gave me on the various technicalities of operations were quite helpful and kept me going in the right direction. Since my start-up in August, I have had the chance to place all 15 of my machines in various locations throughout town. I found it quite important that I did not rush the placement of the machines, but rather took my time and learned as I went along. By simply taking the time to listen to customers as well as the bar staff has helped greatly in the positioning of the machines. Below is a list of a few of the experiments that I have conducted along with my conclusions. Placement within the bar. When I first started out, I was trying to position my machines in spots that were visible throughout the majority of the bar. My reasoning on this was quite traditional - higher visibility should equal higher usage. Fortunately, one of my first machines was placed (at the owners direction) in a small alcove by the entrance to the restrooms - visible only to those people entering the restrooms. This machine is my top performer, routinely grossing more than $100+ per week. The stellar performance of this machine made me think about what was happening with another machine in a very similar bar. This other machine was placed in full view of the majority of the bar, but was only grossing about $10 per week. In order to test out this idea that was forming, I moved the machine over next to the entrance to the restroom 15 feet away. This instantly raised the weekly gross to about $45. Needless to say, I now attempt to position all machines similarly. Conclusion: Bar patrons are actually less likely to use the machine in an area where they can be easily observed. They may be afraid that they will be cut off if observed by a bartender or other staff member, or they may be afraid that an undercover officer will be waiting to bust them for public intoxication. Whatever the reason, it appears that the majority of patrons prefer at least a modicum of privacy to use the machine. This bathroom approach technique works by providing a bit of privacy while still placing the machines in an area that is frequently traveled by a high percentage of patrons. Usage by Sex (Male to Female ratio). Since start-up, I made it a point to obtain feedback from not only the bar staff, but also from customers. Over the course of the first couple of months, I observed that I was hearing more about these machines from women than men. This fact made me wonder if one particular sex was actually more inclined to use the machine. To obtain a reasonably accurate test, I needed to find a location that would allow for the clear separation of two machines within one establishment. Luckily, one of the largest sports bars in town had such an area. The restroom entrances in this bar are divided by a solid wall and are about 20 feet in distance apart. I already had one machine next to the entrance to the men's room, so I placed another by the entrance to the ladies restroom. Over the course of the next several weeks, I found that the one next to the men's room always outperformed the other by a factor of at least 3. Conclusion: Women may talk about it more, but men are the ones who will put the most money in it. This may be just a reflection of society in general as more often than not, it is the men who drove there. More of the women will have come as passengers, thus making them less likely to be concerned about their BAC. In other words, if you have a choice as to which restroom to place a machine in front of - go with the men's room. Test Locations. So far, I am testing out some machines in the following types of locations; a bowling alley, a small neighborhood bar, a "gentlemen's club" and a couple of specialty nightclubs that are only open a few nights a week. How do they perform? Bowling alley - $10 to $15 per week. I consider this to be sub-par performance and will relocate it as soon as I identify a suitable location. Small neighborhood bar - $5 to $10 per week. Again, sub-par. It, too, will be moved ASAP. Gentlemen's Club - $20+ per week on average. This is better than expected and at the lower end of my acceptable range, so I'm in no hurry to find it a better home. (I originally thought that it would do very poorly in this location, as most business there is done with single $1 bills.) Specialty nightclubs - $10 to $15 per week. Again, sub-par. One of the two machines will be moved soon to another nightclub that is open all week (owned by same person). The other was recently moved from the bathroom entrance near the dance floor to an upstairs lounge area where it is performing better. I will have to evaluate this one longer before making any more moves. I was expecting significantly better performance from these two machines, as both places have 2,000 - 3,000 patrons per night when open. Then again, people tend to go to clubs like this TO GET DRUNK, thus they may not care about watching their BAC. Local Response: While attempting to make inroads among the local bar owners, I contacted a gentleman that operates a discount card service that networks with many of the local restaurants / bars. My main intention was to use this persons knowledge to identify potential locations for the machines as his discount cards are marketed mainly to the college students at Texas Tech (Lubbock‘s largest group of drinkers). During my meeting with this gentleman, he stated that he was good friends with one of the local Fox news anchors and that he would suggest that she do a story on these machines. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, this news anchor contacted me and we made the arrangements to do the interview. An abbreviated copy of this interview is attached. They ran this story 2 times on the day that we taped it and a few more times the following 2 - 3 nights. I was very impressed with the positive message that they had on this subject. After I received a copy of the tape from the news station, I had it reformatted onto a DV-R and compressed for e-mail purposes. So far, this tape has helped me get into two of the largest sports bars in town (two that I would not have been able to get into, otherwise). I am sure that you have seen this problem before… You identify a great location, but cannot meet with the owner because they are out of the area. The manager loves the idea, but cannot make the decision. In these cases, the owner usually will not allow the machine in the bar as you have not had a chance to speak with him/her directly. In this case, I e-mailed a copy of the tape to the manager and asked him to forward it to the owner. A couple of days later, I was invited to place a machine in each of his establishments. Lesson learned - It is better to have someone else blow your horn for you. Especially if that "someone else" just so happens to be one of the local TV news stations. Machine Maintenance. With my past experience as a DUI Enforcement Officer, I knew that the machines would need regular attention to maintain peak performance. I also quickly learned that the machines, like any other sensitive instrument, would be very sensitive until properly broken in. With the 15 machines that I bought, each has proven to be very sensitive and in need of daily attention until about 50 to 100 tests have been conducted. This has resulted in a standardized approach that I take when placing a machine, as well as for weekly maintenance of all machines. When I first place a new machine, I conduct a full calibration of the machine on site. I then check it daily for the first week or 100 tests, whichever comes first. After that, I check all machines 3 times per week. On Mondays, I basically recover the machines from a weekend of heavy usage (replace straws, clean-up, check calibration). On Wednesdays I just check calibration and collect coins. On Fridays, I prepare the machines for the weekend (replace straws, clean-up, check calibration). It has been my experience that after a machine is broken in, it will only need a minor calibration adjustment once every 3 - 4 weeks. However, if not checked frequently, that minor calibration adjustment can sneak up on you and the resulting inaccuracy can cause a loss of trust (not to mention income) among potential patrons. Lesson learned - If I check my machines regularly, I will keep them at peak performance. That performance, coupled with the trust developed among the staff and patrons who will see the care given to the machines, will result in increased usage and profits. Another thing that I do is give free tests to drinkers who watch me and are asking questions when I am conducting maintenance. This has proven to be very positive, and I get the chance to evaluate the machines' performance in actual usage. I also spent about $100 and purchased an Alcohawk model PBT as a comparison tool. If you are not familiar with it, it is a DOT approved device and is a common screening device used by Police Departments. Surprisingly, this DOT approved unit has actually proven to be less accurate than the Alcohol Alert machines. Again, thanks for the assistance in getting me going. Hopefully, the lessons I've learned will be of use to you. Sincerely, J. T. Owner, ACT P.S.- In about 3 months I intend to gather the historical DUI crash data for this city, going back 2 - 3 years prior to placing these machines. I then intend to compare that data to the recent statistics gathered since introducing the machines to Lubbock . I doubt that there will be much difference, but who knows? I've been wrong before. The only way to find out is to get the info and compare it. I will keep you posted. |