Giants, Visa Using Wi-Fi Ordering System For Concessions

The Giants and their Team Senior VP, Bill Schough, have teamed up with Visa credit card company to bring a new Wi-Fi ordering system to their relatively new ballpark that was opened back in 2000. Started back around July of the 2008 season, what this technology allows fans to do is use their cell phones, PDAs, or laptops to access the Wi-Fi network at the stadium and order food from the Doggie Diner Grille located at two locations in the stadium.

How does this system work do you ask? Bill Schlough says, "You can envision it like the elite frequent-flier line at the airport". What happens is, after the customer orders the food from their seat, they can then go pick it up at the concession stand at any point they are ready to go. When they reach the concessions, they pick up their order and pay at the register exclusively for this process using their Visa credit card. At this point in time this system is only available to Visa members. However, there is a possibility we can see some sort of outreach to other credit card companies in the near future.

This HAS to be a system that fans can enjoy. Let's be honest, nobody likes waiting in lines (especially at a baseball game). Eliminating lines, or making them faster, means less time buying food and more time enjoying the food and the game. This means more time watching and less time waiting. This is also a win-win situation for the vendors of the stadium. The attempt to eliminate cash and make fans pay using credit cards should work in their favor. The customer is much more likely to spend more money if they are not using cash, hopefully boosting the sales of their concessions. We can only hope that this system is effect.

There are most definitely ways in which they can make this system better in the future. The best way to figure this out is to increase the fans use of it. Who knows, maybe we'll see this system spread not only across the league in the near future, but also into other leagues.