A CASE STUDY FOR

Grand Opera House

Background

The Grand Opera House is Northern Ireland’s premier theatre and a historic house located in Belfast. Following a £12.2 million restoration, the venue combines heritage architecture with modern performance facilities.

The theatre operates a 1,058-seat main auditorium and a 123-seat black box studio space, alongside four key bar areas delivering pre-show and interval service. Programming ranges from major West End touring productions to local performances, while additional spaces are used for externally catered events.

With just 60 minutes of service pre-show and only 20 minutes during intervals, speed and efficiency are essential to delivering a seamless customer experience.

The Challenge

Prior to implementing pointOne, the theatre relied on a restaurant-focused table service system that was not suited to venue operations. This created inefficiencies during peak trading periods.

Key challenges included:

A restaurant-based ordering system not designed for theatre service
Manual docket production slowing down interval fulfilment
Limited flexibility to add or move sales points
High pressure on staff during 20-minute interval windows
Infrastructure constraints within a heritage building
Hardwired connections restricting adaptability
WiFi limitations due to the building’s structure

The theatre needed a solution purpose-built for venue operations, capable of supporting high-volume service within strict time constraints.

“We were looking for an interval ordering process that was venue-focused and not restaurant-focused, and that’s what pointOne delivered. Queueing has been greatly reduced. Customers definitely order faster and spend more due to additional sales points and reduced queuing. It has certainly improved our overall speed of service.”

Andrew Wiggam, Head of Operations

The Solution

As part of its £12.2 million restoration, the Grand Opera House undertook a tender process to modernise its till system and improve service standards. pointOne was selected for its theatre-focused functionality and interval ordering capabilities.

The solution delivered:

A venue-focused interval ordering process
Tablet-based mobility for flexible sales deployment
The ability to quickly add or relocate sales points
Support for multiple pick-up stations
Easy implementation of promotions and bundled offers
Automated reporting for fast sales insights
Integration with Worldpay for streamlined card payments
Strong onboarding, training and theatre-aware technical support

This allowed the team to adapt service style depending on show profile and audience demand, while operating within the constraints of a historic building.

The Outcome

Since adopting pointOne, the Grand Opera House has significantly reduced queue times and improved overall speed of service. Customers are able to order faster, and increased accessibility to sales points has contributed to higher spend per head.

Operationally, the interval ordering process has been simplified from point of order through to dispense, assembly and collection. Errors can be reviewed and rectified quickly, reducing friction during peak periods.

The flexibility to deploy additional sales points has also helped alleviate pressure on staff during busy intervals. Automated reporting allows the team to react quickly to changes in sales patterns and performance trends across a diverse programme of shows.

While overall customer satisfaction levels have remained consistent, the improvements in operational efficiency and service delivery have been substantial.

“Working with an account manager that understands theatre operations is a huge benefit. We have a maximum of 60 minutes of service ahead of a show and only 20 minutes during intervals, so any issues need to be resolved quickly. That understanding has been key.”

Andrew Wiggam, Head of Operations

The Future

With extremely tight service windows, having a provider that understands theatre operations has been critical. Rapid-response technical support and venue-specific system design remain key to ongoing success.

The Grand Opera House continues to refine its service model, maximising revenue opportunities within compressed trading periods, supported by a flexible EPOS platform designed specifically for theatre environments.

The venue would confidently recommend pointOne to other theatres seeking improved efficiency, flexibility and service performance.

“Overall, our experience with pointOne has been very positive. The team have done their best to support us and help us overcome any challenges we have presented them with, and we would recommend them to other venues.”

Andrew Wiggam, Head of Operations