Chuck E. Cheese is a symbol of childhood nostalgia for many. But the brand has faced challenges in staying relevant amid modern expectations. To reach a new generation of customers, the company turned to connected products.

If you ever went to Chuck E. Cheese as a kid, you remember the sheer bliss of being handed a stack of tokens and let loose to play Skee-Ball to your heart’s content. At least until the pizza was delivered. Today, that experience looks a little different. From mobile table ordering to e-tickets, Chuck E. Cheese has transformed into a streamlined, tech-forward family entertainment hub.

Key Connected Product Innovations

Today’s Chuck E. Cheese continues to be a destination for childhood birthday parties and family-friendly fun. Though the brand has mostly phased out its animatronic band, other electronic devices and systems still ensure families have a stress-free outing (and hopefully scare fewer kids too. Have you seen those animatronics?):

Tap-to-Play Game Systems

The days of mile-high token stacks are gone. Today, playing a game at Chuck E. Cheese requires a “Play Pass” — a reloadable card that interacts with a sensor on each game machine to begin play. Chuck E. Cheese partnered with Semnox Solutions to introduce a cashless gaming experience. The cards use radio frequency identification technology (RFID) to provide a simplified and more hygenic guest experience, and monitor which games are being played to decide which can be switched out for new ones. The system also enables Chuck E. Cheese to quickly change game prices to take advantage of dynamic pricing and offer limited-time special promotions on specific machines.

E-Tickets

The trend of replacing physical items with digital alternatives continues with e-tickets. While the suspense of counting a mountain of tickets to see if you have enough for that giant stuffed animal after a full day of play will never be matched, e-tickets do have their benefits. Tracking your tickets is much easier. It requires no counting and causes no papercuts. Paper-free e-tickets are also more eco-friendly and, by integrating tickets into the restaurant’s loyalty program, kids and kids at heart can save them up over time for bigger rewards.

Contactless Payments

Similar to the way Chuck E. Cheese has used sensors to remove tokens from the equation, the restaurant has adopted modern payment methods such as NFC-enabled devices that allow patrons to tap to pay. As a result, Chuck E. Cheese can process transactions faster, leading to increased customer satisfaction and reduced cash handling.

Mobile Table Ordering

Imagine you’re a busy parent hosting a child’s birthday party. It’s time for pizza, but you don’t want to lose sight of your charges. Luckily, Chuck E. Cheese allows you to order food from your personal mobile device through the restaurant’s app without leaving your table. Now no guests will go hungry… or missing. A relief for stretched-thin parents everywhere, ordering from your table streamlines the dining experience, decreases wait times, and optimizes staff efficiency. Though cashiers are still available to place orders the traditional way.

Electronic Paging Systems

Chuck E. Cheese has also embraced electronic paging systems to alert customers when their table is ready. The digitized communication used for both seating and other services improves the flow of operations and keeps customers engaged during peak service times.

How Connected Products Changed Chuck E. Cheese’s Business

Using connected products has allowed Chuck E. Cheese to create a better customer experience for restaurant patrons. In 2022, Chuck E. Cheese committed to a new five-year agreement with its longtime point-of-sale system, NCR Voyix Aloha, to “deepen integrations through NCR’s platform, which enabled Chuck E. Cheese to enhance its ability to serve their customers through digital channels,” according to NCR.

The restaurant’s use of NCR Voyix Aloha was likely instrumental in Chuck E. Cheese’s work to address common pain points for customers by introducing mobile ordering, making gaming easier to manage, and streamlining service delivery through electronic paging. These updates make the Chuck E. Cheese experience modern and in line with other restaurant and arcade operations (like Dave & Busters or Main Event). 

These tech systems also support operational efficiency for Chuck E. Cheese managers. For example, by promoting mobile ordering, the restaurant frees up its staff to fulfil more demanding customer interactions and tasks. Tap-to-play games and the introduction of e-tickets make it easier to manage how customers play, so employees don’t need to spend time counting tickets or tokens can tackle other jobs. In general, these updates allow for better resource allocation and increased throughput.

But Chuck E. Cheese’s technology upgrades have an added benefit. They show that the brand is not just a trip down memory lane, but a forward-looking entertainment venue.

The Broader Connected Products Trend

Chuck E. Cheese is just one example of how connected device ecosystems are transforming the way businesses operate, from restaurants — your Chick-fil-A's and Domino’s — to retailers like Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Target. Today’s customers and employees expect the convenience that digital service can bring to in-person interactions, but there are challenges associated with this kind of digital transformation.

Devices aren’t necessarily built to work together, and managing so many at one time can result in missed alerts and missed opportunities. Broken down technology can get in the way of customer interactions and cause frustration when there is no other option available. In a connected world, devices should be managed by a reliable, well-maintained remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution. 

Canopy provides RMM tools for proactive monitoring, efficient management, and seamless integration of connected products. Our solutions ensure reliability by monitoring the performance of connected products, flagging when products go down, and, in some cases, even fixing the problem. This is how RMM can reduce downtime and enhance system performance while helping companies enter the digital brand era with confidence.

At Chuck E. Cheese, that confidence has resulted in a turnover rate of less than 20%, over 460 remodeled locations, and positive sales in eight of its past nine months. Impressive results, considering the brand is coming back from a 2020 bankruptcy.

Chuck E. Cheese’s bounce back shows that any restaurant can remake their image for the digital age with smart investments in devices and systems that ease the customer experience and provide support for the employees. We’ll still miss counting ticket mountains, though.