New Scaratings

The Countdown players at Wild Bill's in Woodbury MN were informed by the manager that there will be no more Buzztime at that location by the end of August. We had heard the location in Apple Valley was dropping trivia but we thought we would be spared because of more activity. I guess we will have to find a new place to play.

Sorry to hear another location is dropping buzztime trivia.I believe that a place like Wild Bill's should succeed.They have many regular customers that I believe has an atmosphere where trivia should succeed.This is where I feel that with a better support system buzztime would prosper.

I'm not sure about the other Wild Bill sites, but the trivia players at the Woodbury site spend a lot of money there that they wouldn't spend if there was no Buzztime at that location. I'll probably never go there again once they drop trivia.

I agree with your decision not to go there if no buzztime trivia.I go to places that have buzztime trivia. Last time I was at Wild Bill's they seemed to only have 8 boards that worked.With better support buzztime may have had more success at Wild Bill's.They have alot of repeat customers and the atmosphere to support buzztime trivia.

I sent an e-mail to the Wild Bill's at Woodbury website. I pointed out how we had a group of players that spend a good sum of money there who would probably never go there without trivia. It probably won't do any good but at least I tried.

Thankyou for your efforts JohnL.I will also let them know my displeasure with the decision.

I just went to their website and also voiced my displeasure with the decision.ThankyouJohnL for bringing this to my attention.

According to the manager at the Wild Bill's in Woodbury the reason they are dropping Buzztime is that they were promised that you could order food with the new tablets and Buzztime never did provide software to allow that to happen.

People typically dine outside their homes in the hope that they'll enjoy less fuss 'n muss, certainly, but also that they'll enjoy some interaction with the restaurant personnel who serve them, and possibly some interaction with the diners around them. Your typical server is personable and knowledgeable, capable of advising your dinner party regarding the menu items, and may also have some feel for timing. Is the kitchen operating efficiently? Which appetizer is receiving the most favorable remarks?

The current fast-casual category is in constant uproar, and this creepy need to sterilize the process of employee-client interaction is, from my perspective, encouraging (as Panera does) its clients to pass credit-debit cards through doubtful protocols.

Having slept on this message, I wish to add that I spend in excess of $10K per year, before tips, playing the A Channel of Buzztime's enterprise, and less than half that at all the other bars and restaurants I visit. Regardless how much or little the company prospers in the future, I'll go to my grave convinced that Buzztime erred in trying to expand beyond the core competence of providing educational and conversational entertainment.

In my hometown there is a CUB supermarket. They replaced a number of cashiers with self-help check-out stations. It appeared to me on an unscientific basis that half of the people using these stations need help. I decided that when I go to CUB I would go to the check-out lines with live cashiers. The next time I went to CUB I waited in line to get my groceries checked out. When it was my turn to get checked out the cashier rushed over to help someone on the self-help stations. She returned after a couple of minutes and I was thinking that I was trying to save her job and she really wasn't cooperating. The addition of all these stations must not have saved CUB because they were just bought up by another chain that plans to sell off all the stores to rival chains.

I have to believe that a lot of people are going to have trouble ordering their food with the tablets if Buzztime ever does get it to work. It seems to me that Buzztime has enough problems getting their trivia software working correctly all the time.

To each their own is my philosophy but I'm just curious as to why the food ordering is such a major factor. In the times I've been places where you could order via tablet, they still had servers to bring food, check how things were, refill drinks, etc...I'm just not sure what the benefit is or how it would increase profits/cut costs if looking at it from a business perspective or am I not looking at it the right way?

There is a chain called Aroogas in PA that does have the tablets with ordering and pay by credit card on them in about 12 stores.

It works fine there, you can reorder drinks (1st one must be in person) and put in food orders and pay when you are ready without waiting on a server. Of course they still come around with your order and to check on you but it potentially is a plus for both customer and store avoiding delays.

I don't see why Wild Bill's couldn't get the same system put in? Did they push for it or just sit there waiting on it to appear? There is a process of adapting their menu into the software with restaurant input very important. Not sure who screwed this up? Sounds like a poor excuse to me to save some money at player expense.

Of course BWW is still waiting on a fix for the failed security of the credit card readers in the tablets at their test stores in CA. I haven't heard anything about a relaunch there? LILJOL what's up there? Our BWW in MD does have the Gen 4 tablets with a credit card screen but it's not working yet.

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I've never met or seen the owner of Wild Bill's so I can't say exactly what his thought process is. All the information the trivia players receive is from the manager and assistant manager. They both said they tried to talk the owner out of dropping trivia but were unsuccessful. I filled out a complaint form about trivia being dropped, but I never received a response.