Press Releases and Editorials
Topping up. Why not offer mobile phone credit over the bar?
16th June 2008
Customers are always asking for top-ups at the Prince Arthur – but they’re not complaining about short measures. The pub in Windsor, Berkshire, is one of the first in the country to offer mobile phone top-ups at the till. Following the smoking ban and a general decrease in income from the cigarette machine and AWPs, licensee Emma Ballin was looking for something to supplement her income. Top-ups were the answer.
Her till software supplier, CES Touch, is the company that has developed the special EtopUP system, so the upgrade was relatively easy. With promotional stickers and posters provided and all mobile networks covered, take-up has been good. At least £400-worth of top-ups have been sold each week and sometimes a lot more.
The pub receives a commission on each transaction that varies between 3.5 per cent and five per cent, depending on the mobile network. There is no stock to hold and with each transaction taking less than 10 seconds, Emma has found that it doesn’t get in the way of the primary business of serving the customer – while it does add a small but valuable amount to the bottom line.
“Not everyone has a top-up phone but the market is huge,” she says. “A number of people use the service as a way of regulating their spend, or for phones for their kids – and our staff use it too.”
Being a community pub with a large and loyal following of locals has helped too, she adds. As well as the incidental purchases, the Arthur now has regular buyers who know where they can get a top-up at the bar. EtopUP can be used as a standalone product or it can be integrated into the CES Software suite from any computer or till. If it is integrated into a CES system the price of the pre-paid voucher can be added to the customer’s main bill.
All the pub needs is a broadband connection and a receipt printer.