www.parkworld-online.com Q&A Scott Sherrod, Intercard
Bryony Andrews, editor of
GlobalAmusementsandPlay.com, caught up with Intercard CEO Scott Sherrod this month to talk about cashless payments, a post-COVID industry and the importance of customer service.
The cashless
trend was already happening when COVID hit but now any operator who is still using tokens or coins is missing the boat. COVID put the cashless trend into overdrive.
B
ryony Andrews: Firstly, for those not familiar with Intercard, could you give me a brief overview of your product and
service offering?
Scott Sherrod: For over 30 years we have been leading the way in the amusement industry with our cashless technology that increases family spending and customer satisfaction while boosting revenues by up to 30%. We operate in over 4,000 locations worldwide and have the most experienced professionals in the industry working for us. I am proud of the products and the team we have built at Intercard.
Where are you based and how many employees do you have?
Our headquarters is in St. Louis Missouri USA but we also have offi ces in Madrid Spain and Subic Bay Philippines with a soon to be opened offi ce in Bogota, Colombia.
What is your role at Intercard? Can you tell us about your background in the industry - what have been some of your career highlights?
I am the CEO and have worked in the amusement industry for almost 30 years. My father started Intercard in 1979 and when he passed over 15 years ago I took over as CEO. I learned a lot from watching my father’s successes and failures along the way. As an Aerospace Engineer, I enjoy product engineering and software development the most. Listening to the customers’ needs and developing software to fi x their woes is a huge high for me in the development and engineering side.
What do you consider the most valuable thing you off er your customers? That’s a tough question because every customer has unique needs and wants that we cater to, but what I believe makes us stand out is our 24/7 customer service and live support along with our industry experienced
56 staff. None of our competitors offer the same.
How has COVID-19 aff ected your customers, fi nancially and otherwise? How are you helping to support them as they reopen? When COVID fi rst hit, we worked with all of our customers who needed assistance. If they don’t survive, we don’t survive. As much as we could do to assist our global family of customers we did. Special payment and pricing terms were created, new on-line and e-commerce products were created, all to help ease their pain.
How do you think COVID-19 will change visitor entertainment moving forward? Do you think it will have permanent eff ects, or will the industry go back to normal? The cashless trend was already happening when COVID hit but now any operator who is still using tokens or coins is missing the boat. COVID put the cashless trend into overdrive.
What would you say is Intercard’s ‘ethos’ as a company, or its key aim for customer experience?
We exist because of the customers, so our goal every day is excellence. We want our customers to know that we are here for them 24/7 to make sure they are in business. I am a hands-on CEO - if a customer isn’t happy, they can call me directly and I will personally take care of the issue myself, because every customer at Intercard is important and part of our global family.
What can the industry expect from Intercard for 2021 and beyond? Do you have any expansion plans or new products or concepts set to launch? Intercard’s fi rst quarter of 2021 was a much-needed good surprise. Business has really picked up to almost pre- COVID levels, so we have hired new service and support staff. Although we don’t expect the recovery to be smooth there is a lot of excitement coming out of the pandemic. We are also excited about our new offi ce opening in Bogota, Colombia soon.
SPRING PART 2 2021
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