All PoolDues clients now have access to our new Guest Waiver module!
This is a completely optional set of features that builds on the guest check-in tools already available in the Front Desk App. Over time, PoolDues has added several different ways for clubs to handle guests. From oldest to newest, here are the options:
- Option 1 – Deduct pre-paid guest passes from a member’s account (or keep track of an unpaid guest balance) while logging guests anonymously.
- Option 2 – Everything in Option 1, plus the ability for staff to enter the guest’s name and optional contact information, such as an email address and/or phone number.
- NEW! Option 3 – Everything in Options 1 and 2, plus automatically checking whether the guest already has a waiver on file. If not, the guest can be prompted to complete one.
We realize Option 3 may sound like one more thing for teenage staff to keep track of, so we designed the system to require as little additional effort as possible.
A few features that help:
- Members can pre-register upcoming guests, which can automatically send the guest a waiver ahead of time.
- A QR code can be displayed or printed at the front desk so guests can quickly open and complete the waiver on their own phones.
- Waivers do not expire, although they can be updated if necessary. Regular guests who already have a waiver on file should therefore require little or no additional work.
- During check-in, staff are automatically alerted if a guest appears to need a waiver based on a search of the guest’s email address or phone number.
Beyond the legal benefits of having guests complete waivers, collecting basic guest information can also give clubs a much clearer picture of who is visiting and how frequently individual guests are coming to the club.
This article will help you setup and test the waiver functionality and answers some questions your front desk staff might have if you decide to implement these features.
Enabling checking for waivers
For the Front Desk app to start checking for waivers, you first need to turn on this functionality from your website.
Go to the Board Member Dashboard, then the Guests dashboard, then Guest Waiver Settings.
At the top of this Guest Waiver Settings page, change Waiver Enabled to “Yes”.
Touch up the Waiver Main Body text
If you are enabling the waiver for the first time, your waiver’s body text might be missing your club name and address.
In the Waiver Main Body, if you still see **[ORGANIZATION NAME]**, swap that out with your club’s legal name and **[FACILITY ADDRESS]** with the club’s actual address.
That’s enough work in the Guest Waivers Settings.
Not able to get into the settings? Your Board role might not have the Waiver Settings capability enabled. This is a new capability intended for admins in a legal advisory role (of course your President can grant access to anyone).
Setting up the App (if needed)
Next up, find the club’s iPad running our Front Desk App (hopefully it already updated itself to version 12.3).
On the main screen, if you do NOT see a button labeled “Guest Logs / Waivers”, then do this step below…
Go to the Settings (top right), enter the Secret Key when prompted.
On the settings screen, toggle on Ask for guest names & phone / email. See screenshot for reference.
Great work. You’ve done everything you need to for some quick internal testing.
So where’s all this new waiver stuff in the app?
Within the app’s main screen tap the Guest Logs / Waivers button…
You will initially see the Guest Logs table and four new tabs related to waivers (boxed in orange below)…
Here is some information on each table…
- Waivers (by date) – This table will list completed waivers in chronological order descending from today’s date. Waivers that were signed for the first time today or updated today will be on top.
- Waivers (by name) – This table will list every waiver in alphabetical order. It can be filtered by last name, email or phone number. So if staff need to search for a waiver on file, this is the spot.
- Waivers (upcoming) – If members are instructed to pre-register guests, this table will show waivers that have already been completed for those expected guests (sorted by upcoming visit date). If you expect a lot of guests for a future event, but don’t see many waivers already filled in, you could remind members they are also responsible for getting their guests to sign those waivers.
- Waiver QR – Staff can view the QR code that guests should scan to fill in the waiver. Ideally the code is printed, laminated and posted at the front gate so staff do not need to bother manually showing the code to anyone.
QR Code to your Guest Waiver Form
The QR code will go to [your domain] /guest-waiver/ which is where your Guest Waiver form resides at on the website.
Again, we recommend printing out the QR code (but not that exact one above as it doesn’t go to your website). Printing the code and posting it at the Front Desk will cut down on staff needing to show the QR from the iPad.
Guests should scan the QR code and fill in the form from their own device. Adults all have smart phones. Your club should not be turning over the staff’s iPad to guests. If for some reason an adult guest does not have a smart phone, surely the member accompanying them has a device that can be used.
Note – we will try to remember the device guests use to complete the waiver. So if they return at a later date with different dependents or just forget to fill in a dependent, they can speed through the process and just update their existing waiver with additional names. They cannot delete dependents previous included, but they can add new names.
How will staff know to tell a guest they should sign the waiver?
The app will eventually let staff know, but before that is even necessary, a low-tech solution would be to ask guests if they have signed the waiver before and if not, have them start completing it – yes, before they are actually checked in with the member.
Any printed signage that has the QR code, should include text to the effect of… “If you haven’t signed our waiver yet, get started now…”
It is important to reiterate guests do not need to wait until they are actually getting checked in to fill in a waiver. There is no wrong order, but if they have already completed the waiver prior to staff entering their info, that is ideal. Don’t forget, you can ask members to pre-register their guests, so it is possible a guest completes their waiver weeks in advance of actually being at the club.
Eventually during the check in process your staff will see a screen like this to enter in guest information…
The information submitted is compared to waivers on file, which is used to alert staff as to each guest’s waiver status. You can see what that alert might look like below…
The more information your staff provides initially, the more the app can use to check for a waiver on file. So for example…
- If staff only enters a name (no email or phone #), we have no unique identifier to reliably search for a waiver, so the alert would say that guest needs to sign a waiver. We can’t assume the “Adam Smith” with a waiver is the same “Adam Smith” entering.
- If staff enter a name AND email that is ideal because not only can we check for waiver we can also email a link (to where the QR code goes) if a waiver is not found. We will even stuff in some query params so the link pre-fills in the guests name and email address.
- If staff enter a name AND phone that isn’t as great as an email, but we will search for a waiver with that phone number and if one is found, the alert will note they have completed a waiver already.
So this alert gives staff an immediate idea of who can go ahead on into the facility and who should wait and complete their waiver.
Okay, it’s signed. Are we done yet?
Your staff can expect to hear that a lot. When they do, they can ask to see the guest’s device which will be on a post-signing page that says – “Waiver Complete” and include the details of who was included on the waiver.
Seeing that screen is a quick way for staff to verify the guest did indeed sign the waiver and provides as much proof as they would get looking it up in the app.
Alternatively, staff could view the “Waivers (by date)” table to check for newly signed waivers. Or search on the “Waivers (by name)”.
The Guest Logs table also sorts most recent guests on top and checks for waivers on file. So for example, if staff enters in a name and phone or email that matches a waiver on file, they will see a thumbs up 👍 emoji in the Guest Logs table noting a waiver was found.
Will enabling waivers change anything with Guest Passes?
Heck no. Enabling waivers will have NO effect on Guest Pass deductions.
Even if a guest does not follow through on fully signing a waiver, the action of deducting guest passes from the member’s account has already occurred.
So if a staff member completely disregards checking for waivers (or doesn’t even enter guest names when prompted), guest passes are still being deducted normally.
We understand passes are a significant revenue stream for our clients, so waivers will do no harm to that!
In the next article, we will discuss the Guest Waiver Settings in detail.
