Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/879461
Gaming News Thursday, October 5, 2017 8 Right. On the Money. We all know the old cliché that "cash is king." Clearly, getting cash to the floor is critical to your success. But what's the best way to do that? Who should you trust to be your vendor? How do you make a decision so vital for your busi- ness? You don't just want a vendor in the gaming business. You need the right ven- dor. One who not only shares but actual- ly empowers your vision for success. That's where U.S. Bank comes in. U.S. Bank Gaming Services under- stands that the goal is to keep players in action, and it is as important to U.S. Bank as it is to you. Players have to be able to access their cash – more cash to the floor means more to your bottom line. U.S. Bank Gaming Services pro- vides your guests more ways to access cash on your gaming floor with cus- tomized ATM and kiosk solutions offered in partnership with gaming- industry leaders and backed by the strength and resources of U.S. Bank. From standard cash dispense and cred- it/debit card cash advance services to electronic check cashing and 4-in-1 functionali- ty, the low hassle, streamlined cash access solutions keep your players in the game longer. U.S. Bank Gaming Services is the largest, fully-integrated and most experi- enced financial institution providing end- to-end ATM services to the gaming industry. The solutions combine best-in-class technology with decades of proven expertise to provide valued clients with peak perform- ance that direct- ly translates to more cash to the floor and optimum uptime. U.S. Bank Gaming Services knows continuous action is the heart of the business and it offers an award-winning platform to give you exactly the kind of performance you need from your ATM solution. For more information on how U.S. Bank Gaming Services can help your business, call 800.784.5414 or stop by booth #2816. Using Great Customer Service as a Differentiator By David Inns, Chief Executive Officer, GreatCall For almost 30 years, business leaders have treated customer service as a neces- sary evil. When analyzing P&L, it's clear that customer service is one of the largest cost centers, so it immediately gets tar- geted for cost reduction. The first few cuts may go unnoticed, but as manage- ment continues cutting costs, in most cases the well goes dry. Why isn't customer service meeting the expectations of the consumer? Maybe the department is outsourced overseas, causing training challenges or a feeling of disconnect. Maybe customer service phone numbers are difficult to locate and IVRs are used to keep people from reach- ing a human. Maybe representative train- ing time has been cut. Whatever the cuts are, one group of customers is not as happy and loyal as it could be – boomers and seniors – and that group controls 52 percent of U.S. consumer package goods spending. It may be hard for Millennials to understand this problem. Millennials grew up with companies like Google and Uber that don't have humans providing customer service because Millennials don't need the same help getting up and running with services or learning about new features as older adults do. Older consumers often need help getting famil- iar with new technology and need sup- port and encouragement to continue use. There aren't many companies out there trying to wow customers with service. Therefore, the door is open to use customer service as a competitive differentiator. Customer service is more than just a cost. Part of the problem is viewing customer service only as a cost, rather than an opportunity to gain the trust and loyalty of customers. For companies serving the older adult or senior market, customer service is a key driver of lifetime value. It extends beyond improving customer sat- isfaction to simply building loyalty. By establishing strong, trusted customer relationships, companies earn the right to sell new products and services to existing customers, increasing the revenue per customer. As companies develop a larger port- folio of products and solutions that need to be sold and serviced, the competency of the customer service team must also increase. Experts must be trained and able to make a complex array of solu- tions feel simple to the customer. A team that can evaluate customer needs and make sensible product recommenda- tions that add value to customers' lives is necessary, as is a team that truly believes in the company mission and knows they are the company as far as customers are concerned. This type of team should be seen as an investment in customer care and wellbeing, rather than as an unnecessary expense. Welcome customer service back home. Whether the customer service depart- ment is across an ocean or in a separate part of the office, consider what could happen by bringing them back into the company. Not just insourcing, but truly integrating the team into company cul- ture. You may be surprised at the value that could be unleashed. For more information, go to www .greatcall.com. W3C Standards for Virtual Reality on the Web Virtual reality (VR) is the next frontier for immersive entertainment experiences that let you physically interact with con- tent on the web. As witnessed by the commercial push during this past year's holiday shopping season, the entertain- ment industry has been an early adopter of VR, with proprietary solutions offered by a number of leading brands. As the virtual reality ecosystem expands, so too does the demand for VR to leverage standard Web technologies such as HTML5, and to provide common ways to define, build and interact with 3D content on different devices. "In the same way we advanced web standards for the mobile web and web and television, the World Wide Consortium (W3C) – the global stan- dards body for Web technologies – is starting a new initiative to enable virtual reality solutions to use the Open Web Platform as a full-fledged development environment," said Philipp Hoschka, W3C Industry Lead. "With standards, there will be interoperability to avoid fragmentation and duplicated effort, which in turn lowers development costs." At a recent W3C Workshop on web and virtual reality, more than 70 organi- zations actively working in the VR ecosystem came together to demonstrate the benefits that the web can bring to VR development. Industry experts from com- panies including W3C members, Apple, BBC, Dolby, Facebook/Oculus, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, Qualcomm and Samsung addressed some of the short- comings needed to make the web more feature-rich and attractive for deploying innovative VR applications and services. Among the features workshop par- ticipants identified as needing standardi- zation attention were: better integration of existing web content in VR experi- ences; improved support and optimized transmission of 360-degree videos and audio; turning web pages into enjoyable virtual reality spaces; and integrating the 3D building bricks of VR content into the fabric of the Open Web Platform. "There is much work to be done, but the enthusiasm and high level of interest among VR industry representatives for new standards work at W3C is very exciting to see," said Dominique Hazael- Massieux, W3C technical staff contact for the web and VR workshop. "We are eager to get continued feedback on this work and invite participation from the community." In order for VR technology to be integrated into the Open Web Platform, the W3C plans to launch new standards track work in 2017. Once the work is chartered, W3C member organizations will begin developing new technical standards to ensure that WebVR becomes a seamless part of the Open Web Platform. New Crystal Unit Solutions for IoT Applications Developed by Murata Murata Americas introduced several minia- turized, highly advanced crystal units devel- oped specifically for the IoT market. The company used its proprietary technology and volume production capability to design a product line that excels in quality and reli- ability, while also providing a cost-effective solution. The series features a compact package that allows for higher-density mounting and use in lower profile devices. Target applications include IoT, mobile devices, wireless communication protocols, and medical and healthcare products. The ubiquity of wireless communi- cation-enabled devices has driven the growth of products equipped with advanced functionality. This has been accompanied by the demand to downsize mobile devices and wireless communica- tion modules. Further, there is a need for products to be RoHS-compliant and to be able to accommodate lead-free solder mounting. These crystal units meet all of the aforementioned requirements. The line-up includes the XRCED series, the world's smallest packaged crystal unit measuring just 1.2 by 1.0 by 0.33 mm. The XRCGB-F-H achieves +/-10ppm ini- tial frequency tolerance to enable Bluetooth ® technology and meets the requirements for RF applications in a com- pact size, a feature that existing product lines could not deliver. Finally, the XRCMD and XRCFD offer a range of operating fre- quencies, temperatures and tolerance ranges that design engineers require today to pro- duce tomorrow's products. "Murata is unsurpassed when it comes to leveraging our proprietary tech- nologies to reach new levels in the con- sumer electronics market. Our commit- ment to innovation and meeting the needs of this industry will only further future advancements," said Jonathan Davis, Timing and New Products General Manager, Murata Americas. About Murata Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the design, manufac- ture and sale of ceramic-based passive electronic components and solutions, communication modules and power sup- ply modules. Murata is committed to the development of advanced electronic materials and leading edge, multi-func- tional, high-density modules. The com- pany has employees and manufacturing facilities throughout the world. For more information, visit www .murata.com.