El Gran Mercado Eliminates Underage Drinking at the POS
Any business that serves alcohol knows the pressures from the state liquor board to comply with underage drinking laws. It is a problem that requires a solution that not only complies with liquor laws, but is convenient for patrons and operators alike.
El Gran Mercado, located in Phoenix, Arizona is a huge hospitality operation. With nearly 120 acres
and 1400 vendor spaces, the El Gran Mercado is one of the largest swap markets in Arizona. Consisting of 5 bars and two full restaurants, over 8,000 food and beverage transactions pass through the Mercado per day. When presented with a difficult underage drinking control problem, El Gran Mercado knew they needed something bulletproof. With the goal of providing patrons with speedy service that would also protect El Gran Mercado's own interests, management decided that a point of sale system with integrated age verification system was a must.
For management, Focus POS Systems' speed of service, ease of use and customizability made it the best choice for El Gran Mercado, yet it didn't have an integrated ID tracking system that would address El Gran Mercado's unique ID issues. Where Focus could read a barcode or magnetic stripe found on standard IDs, driver's license, military IDs or passports, it could not handle the Mexican Voter Registration ID, which was one of the more popular forms of ID presented at El Gran Mercado and accepted by the Arizona Department of Liquor License & Control. After extensive discussions Focus POS Systems designed & developed a POS integrated optical age verification system.
Straight forward scanning process
In order to use the ID scanner, bartenders at El Gran Mercado simply need to place the customer's ID (virtually every ID is supported including Canadian/US drivers license & ID cards, passports, US Military IDs, US immigration cards, Mexico Voter Registration cards and a plethora of other cards) on the scanner. The scanner automatically detects the card and initiates the scan and the Focus POS system then analyzes the information and enables or disables the sale of alcohol (or any age restricted item) for that transaction. Transactions times are nearly instantaneous, a must for El Gran Mercado.
"Focus' ID scanning system works very well and is easy for our bartenders to use," says Raul Verdin, food & beverage manager for the El Gran Mercado.
Within 6 weeks of contacting Focus Point of Sale, the El Gran Mercado staff had an age verification system built into their point of sale. Their underage drinking liability has been nearly eliminated and the Arizona Department of Liquor License & Control is happy with their progress.
"Since the introduction of the Focus age verification system, our underage consumption liability has reduced, significantly," says Herb Owens, owner of El Gran Mercado.
El Gran Mercado, located in Phoenix, Arizona is a huge hospitality operation. With nearly 120 acres
and 1400 vendor spaces, the El Gran Mercado is one of the largest swap markets in Arizona. Consisting of 5 bars and two full restaurants, over 8,000 food and beverage transactions pass through the Mercado per day. When presented with a difficult underage drinking control problem, El Gran Mercado knew they needed something bulletproof. With the goal of providing patrons with speedy service that would also protect El Gran Mercado's own interests, management decided that a point of sale system with integrated age verification system was a must.For management, Focus POS Systems' speed of service, ease of use and customizability made it the best choice for El Gran Mercado, yet it didn't have an integrated ID tracking system that would address El Gran Mercado's unique ID issues. Where Focus could read a barcode or magnetic stripe found on standard IDs, driver's license, military IDs or passports, it could not handle the Mexican Voter Registration ID, which was one of the more popular forms of ID presented at El Gran Mercado and accepted by the Arizona Department of Liquor License & Control. After extensive discussions Focus POS Systems designed & developed a POS integrated optical age verification system.
Straight forward scanning process
In order to use the ID scanner, bartenders at El Gran Mercado simply need to place the customer's ID (virtually every ID is supported including Canadian/US drivers license & ID cards, passports, US Military IDs, US immigration cards, Mexico Voter Registration cards and a plethora of other cards) on the scanner. The scanner automatically detects the card and initiates the scan and the Focus POS system then analyzes the information and enables or disables the sale of alcohol (or any age restricted item) for that transaction. Transactions times are nearly instantaneous, a must for El Gran Mercado.
"Focus' ID scanning system works very well and is easy for our bartenders to use," says Raul Verdin, food & beverage manager for the El Gran Mercado.
Within 6 weeks of contacting Focus Point of Sale, the El Gran Mercado staff had an age verification system built into their point of sale. Their underage drinking liability has been nearly eliminated and the Arizona Department of Liquor License & Control is happy with their progress.
"Since the introduction of the Focus age verification system, our underage consumption liability has reduced, significantly," says Herb Owens, owner of El Gran Mercado.