Technically, no, because conceptually and technologically all the venues and communities are interconnected (the "Community Connection" part) with software and hardware that scans the patron IDs and provides various other venue management benefits to venue operators (the "Club Watch" part). So depending on which part of the system you're talking about, people might either call it "Club Watch" or the "Community Connection" or the "Club Watch Community Connection". Most people refer to the physical hardware and software that runs inside of venues as "Club Watch" and they refer to the network of venues that use the systems, this website portal, and the computer network infrastructure that connects venues to other venues and community residents to venues as the "Community Connection"; in the latter case the "Club Watch" part is implied.
As a general rule of thumb, this is what we usually tell people: If you're referring to a part of the system you can touch (hardware/software systems), that's "Club Watch"; if you're referring to the overall network of venues and communities, that's the "Community Connection". Collectively, they are called the "Club Watch Community Connection".
When patrons come to your venue, your security staff needs to check their IDs to make sure they're old enough to drink. Club Watch verifies that the patron is old enough to drink, validates the information encoded on the ID to prevent ID fraud, checks to see if there are any community alerts associated to that patron, and performs various other venue management tasks. This all happens in less than three seconds per patron.
If a community alert about that patron has been shared with the Club Watch Community, the Club Watch system will instantly notify the guard at the door. At that point, it is at the guard's and/or the venue management's sole discretion to either allow the patron to enter their venue or refuse service. If service is refused because of the patron's proven history of causing problems at other venues, that means you have prevented that patron from engaging in any further criminal and/or violent behavior that could put your venue and your patrons at risk.
That depends on why they're scrutinizing your venue. Here are some of the ways that we have seen the Club Watch Community Connection improve the relationship between venues and their local city councils:
- Reducing Crime and Violence. If your venue has had problems with crime and violence, then your city council will appreciate your proactive approach to reducing crime and violence in your venue. And your entire community will be impressed when they see a dramatic reduction in crime and violence at your venue.
- Preventing Underage Drinking. If your venue has problems with underage drinking, your local officials and your entire community will appreciate your efforts to keep minors out with Club Watch.
- Reducing Occupancy Issues. If your venue has a history of exceeding its maximum occupancy, then your local fire marshal will appreciate the way Club Watch keeps track of your venue's occupancy in real-time.
- Reducing Complaints from Local Residents. If residents in your community frequently complain to the police and/or city council about noise, loitering, fighting, vandalism, or other nuisances that they think are caused by your venue, then the Community Connection will enable them to resolve their concerns directly with you much faster, which means the police and city council won't receive so many complaints about your venue.
