Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment is Once Again Raising The Bar For Customer Experience at Barclays Center and Beyond
In marking Barclays Center’s fourth anniversary tomorrow, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (BSE) is refining and raising the bar on the venue’s renowned customer experience, beginning with the appointment of its first-ever Chief Experience Officer (CXO), industry veteran Leo Ehrline.
In establishing and overseeing a steering committee, Ehrline is leading a company-wide initiative to further hone in on customer experience to improve the standard of service and optimize the fan experience in every aspect of customer interaction at Barclays Center.
This week, Disney Institute began its extensive training of the venue’s 2,400 employees. Barclays Center first brought in Disney Institute to train its staff in 2012, just prior to the venue opening, to provide customers with Disney’s recognized brand of customer service.
Key areas of improvement will center on event transaction to guest experience and everything in between. Starting with Islanders opening night on Oct. 16, fans will see an increase in parking availability near Barclays Center and additional signage in the area to help drivers find lots quickly and efficiently. The venue will also have more prominent pickup and drop-off signage and staff to regulate traffic. In addition, Barclays Center will continue to work closely with the MTA and LIRR to ensure transit service is in line with expected attendance for all events.
Once inside the venue, guests will be able to order and pay for food while in line at select concession stands, made possible with hospitality employees facilitating credit card transactions on handheld devices during peak times. Suite level guests will also have access to a concierge who can assist with any questions.
Additionally, Ehrline and his team are using data and analytics to study consumer patterns to gain a further understanding of guest experience at Barclays Center, including path of travel, food preference, ratio of male to female restrooms, ingress/egress and digital engagement.
“As we head into our fifth year, we are performing a comprehensive audit, led by Leo, to ensure our customer service remains our top priority, from event transaction to fan experience,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. “This is about refinement and raising the bar.”
“I am making it a priority to facilitate seamless lines of communication between consumer-facing departments, allowing us to refine key areas of the overall fan experience,” said Ehrline, who previously served as Chief Relationship Officer at BSE. “We will continue to make improvements to ensure we are providing a world-class entertainment and hospitality experience at every event.”
BSE’s customer experience standard will extend to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which will re-open this spring, and all future BSE venues.