Stars and Strikes started as a single bowling entertainment center in Cummings, Georgia in 2003. Today, with 15 locations across Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee, Stars and Strikes Family Entertainment Centers offer family fun and entertainment for all ages with attractions including bowling, arcade games, bumper cars, laser tag, and a full service American-style restaurant.

Despite their massive growth, Stars and Strikes is still a privately owned family-focused business. “We’ve brought all the people with us. People who started out with the business as bartenders or dishwashers are now major players in our business,” shared Dale Jones, Stars and Strikes Senior Regional General Manager. 

Website: https://www.starsandstrikes.com

Dale Jones, Stars and Strikes Senior Regional Manager, has operated on several other competitor systems. He worked with Dave & Buster’s back when they used Sacoa. With the advent of new technological advancements in the family entertainment industry, Stars and Strikes is not without pain points. They needed a connected and centralized solution that will allow guests to use their cards at any of the FEC’s locations.

“The advancements in technology and the information we can get about how our customer plays now is pretty amazing,” compliments Jones. “On older systems, what we had is a system that tells how many times a game card didn’t swipe because a person couldn’t play the game,” he humored.

Throughout Stars and Strikes’ nearly 20 years in the business of fun, they are looking to add their 16th location sometime between 2022 and 2023. Part of this expansion is their growing demand for business systems comprised of both hardware and software to manage their size. Along with this, the FEC is after strong support that can accommodate any issues that may arise across multiple locations: “As we grow, we can’t do all the support ourselves anymore,” admits Jones. “We need all the help we can get.”

Stars and Strikes implemented Embed’s cashless system back in 2007, comprising smartTOUCH card readers, GURU, PRIZES Redemption POS, and several applications under the TOOLKIT suite, namely SALES and REPORTS. 

With only two facilities on competitor systems prior to Jones’ employment, he recalls being amazed at Embed’s operational efficiency: “When I came on board, Embed was already in place and based on my history with other systems, it wowed me by how more robust it is than any other system I’ve worked with and what it can do,” praised Jones.

Managing 15 locations can be a daunting task especially if there are different systems and data points in each location. Embed has eliminated the tediousness of compiling and crunching data and information across multiple venues with its all-in-one system, thus enabling Stars and Strikes to have a central, connected solution in place.

“I can go from one center with my card and go to another and my card will still work,” says Jones. “I don’t have to call somebody and ask to check my card number with the credits inside and request for them to recreate that card,” he continues.

REPORTS under the TOOLKIT suite is deemed the most valuable application for Jones’ role - finding available data that can help him with “business analytics to better manage the business, labor, and control costs.” 

“When I want to know how I’m doing sales-wise, or if I want to know who my best salesperson is for a certain period, I can just go into SALES in TOOLKIT and pull up usage or sales by name or day,” Jones shares about another Embed software. “It is also a great tool to identify peak hours on specific days and derived from hourly reports.”

To address issues related to system support, Stars and Strikes are reassured with Embed’s ongoing care: “Having Embed’s support either by phone or online chat has really helped us become more efficient and get systems running when there’s an issue,” shares Jones. “They don’t just get it resolved; they also do follow-ups to check if the fix worked.”

Tremendous Growth with Almost 20 Locations in 20 Years

Now powered by a centralized, cloud-based end-to-end solution, Stars and Strikes experiences smooth day-today operations while saving time and resources necessary for their expansion. Therefore, they have finally decided to switch all their remaining locations to Embed’s cashless system.

“I just love the software and the entire system. You’re able to use it to pull any data anytime whether it’s card usage, game play, or rankings,” lists Jones. “Having a system that’s connected to the cloud, having the ability to do everything from one place, from center to center is awesome.”

As expansion plans are ongoing, manpower is also of the essence. After making the switch to Embed, Stars and Strikes can now maximize their manpower to focus on guests’ needs rather than other time-consuming tasks thanks to kiosks. 

“We really love the kiosks. Everyone knows how the labor market is now, so kiosks are a hot commodity. They show up to work every day and they always deliver. They contribute a lot of our sales, making them a positive piece of our business model,” Jones explains. “We are getting ready to expand kiosk usage in our centers,” he continues.

The Embed integrated hardware and software solution has proven to be the all-in-one engine that drives Stars & Strikes business, greatly attributing to their success and growth. “I’m very proud of the fact that we are still growing - we’re going to open more stores, expand our arcades, upgrade games, and upgrade software,” details Jones. 

Solution Highlights:

• smartTOUCH card readers

• TOOLKIT: GURU

• TOOLKIT: SALES

• TOOLKIT: REPORTS

• PRIZES REDEMPTION POS 

• Game Cards

• emONE Kiosks

• Kiosk+

For Stars and Strikes’ empire of family entertainment centers, having Embed to fuel their business has simplified operations so they can focus on their growth rather than simple day-to-day tasks. 

“The reliability of the units, products, support, and what they bring to the table with operating multiple locations, compared to competitors, Embed has this figured out,” concludes Jones. “As an end-user, I’m going to trust their expertise and whatever they put into their system; I’ve seen it in action and it’s working.”