Boyertown, PA (March 2006) –As Wendella Boats celebrates their 70th anniversary in business, the company chooses Gateway Ticketing Systems to make their vision a reality.
Wendella Boats has been selling tickets the same way since 1940, but times are changing. Today there are more people, more tours, more groups and more boats. Keeping track of all these variables by hand, while trying to ensure a great experience for their customers, was a challenge for Wendella Boats. The ticket office manager became more like a line order cook in a hot kitchen. The process started by someone known as the “writer downer” taking an order then passing the order off to another department for scheduling using a dry-erase board full of labels representing the available boats and capacities. Meanwhile, a major hotel chain may be calling to book an architecture boat tour while a group of students arrive to go on their tour – all using systems operating without an effective communication channel.
Luckily things never got out of hand, but the opportunity to grow further required a solution that could eliminate the potential for mistakes in booking and timing. Wendella Boats needed a solution that would assure their trips were filled to capacity and that customers received a quality experience.
Mr. Craig Wenokur, General Manager of Wendella Boats, said, “The new ticketing system purchased from Gateway Ticketing Systems will make everyone’s job easier and will allow us to concentrate more on the customer instead of the process.” When asked why he chose Gateway Ticketing Systems over other ticketing solutions, Wenokur said, “They had the closest match to my vision.” He continued by saying, “Gateway Ticketing Systems has a proven product so I didn’t have to develop one”. Wenokur concluded “The new ticketing system will make us more efficient and will keep each department updated at the same time and it put our ‘writer downer’ out of business.” With a new ticketing solution, it is smooth sailing ahead for Chicago’s original… Wendella Boats!
About Wendella Boats -
Wendella Boats (www.wendellaboats.com) is a family owned business in Chicago that offers comprehensive boat tours. Established in 1935, and now operating under its 3rd generation of family members, Wendella Boats prides itself on the highest levels of customer service. Each docent or tour guide is professionally trained through Wendella’s in-house Education department. The Wendella Boats mission is to ‘provide its visitors with a safe, comfortable, affordable fun day on the waterways’. Unique to boat tours, Wendella’s Education Department creates an outlet to diligently provide staff members with knowledge of Chicago’s past, present and future so that each visitor leaves with a true sense of what the ‘windy city’ is all about.
About Gateway Ticketing Systems –
Gateway Ticketing Systems (www.gatewayticketing.com) is the world leader in high-speed admission control and revenue management solutions for the entertainment, recreation and transportation industries. Gateway Ticketing Systems provides solutions for a diverse client base ranging from some of the largest theme parks, zoos and aquariums in the world to small family entertainment centers, museums and attractions. Within the transportation industry, Gateway Ticketing Systems provides solutions for tours, intercity bus, commuter rail and passenger ferry systems. In all, Gateway Ticketing Systems’ products are operating in 38 countries, throughout six of seven continents.