The four buttons on the bottom of the screen as for easy access to certain parts of the system to assist the user. The cancellation button will allow the user to cancel any bookings made if is needed by entering the customer reference number. The special offers button can be used to show any offers on at the moment if customers ring up looking an random show. The enter reference number button will allow the user to enter a customers booking reference number to view details of them and the show they have booked if they ring up looking for details or any personal details have to be found for them in order to contact them. Finally the logout button allows the user to logout of the system at any stage when they are finished.
If the user picks A-Z then the following screen will appear showing all the letters of the alphabet. When a letter is selected, the box will confirm all shows beginning with that letter that is available. This is a quick and easy way of searching for a show that the user knows they want. Once again the 4 buttons at the bottom allow consistency and also provide an easy and quick navigation system. Also at the bottom is a button called main menu to allow navigation to the main, a previous button to check information or correct mistakes and a next button to take the user to the next screen.
Once the show has been selected than the following page will appear with the name of the show on the title to ensure that the user knows they selected the correct thing. A calendar will appear which is user friendly as it is visual and is color co-ordinated. This means that if the date is red, it has been booked up; if the date is green, there are free seats; and if the date is white then the show is not available on these dates. Visual displays of information are easier on the eye and this will convery information to the user quickly and efficiently.
Once the date has been picked, which is availabe, the user will select the next button as before. The title of the show will once again appear as the title and underneath it the date selected for the show will be shown in a highlighted box. Underneath this another drop down menu will be used in order for the staff member to select a time for the show that they require for this customer. If this time is not available, then an error message will appear and the user will be asked to choose another time. If the time is available then the user will proceed to the next step of the booking system.
The next stage of the booking is to do with the seats and the prices. Once again, to cerate a sense of consistency, and also to give the user a reminder of the details they have already chosen, the name of the show will appear as the title and underneath this a box containing the date and time selected will be there.
The user must then select the area on which their client would want to sit by choosing an area on the seating chart which will be there. The seating chart will be color co-ordinated like the calendar whereby green areas are free and red areas are taken. The user also types in the number of seats they require to ensure there is a correct number left. A price list is also available as each seating area has a different price.
Once all these details have been confirmed, the next screen will involve the payment details. Details which will need to be typed in are:
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Surname
- Forename
- Address
- Postcode
- Telephone number
- Card type
- Card number
- Security number
- Expiry date
The card type box will be a drop down menu with all the credit cards accepted on it. The user will therefore has to click the specific one. This reduces the chances of human error and also saves the user from having to type this in.
The amount due for show will be shown in the orange box and there will also be an extra option which allows the user to click a box if the client wishes to be remembered. This means that all their details would be stored on the customer database so that they would have not to repeat these all out again and customer service would be quick and efficient due to a simple customer account number.
The last page of the customer booking will be the confirmation screen which will confirm whether or not the credit card details have been accepted and will give an overview of the details of the show which can be emailed to the customer or sent by letter.
Finally, when the manager logs in, they have a special section whereby they have extra details which are not visible to the employees. A drop down menu is shown and the options for the manager are:
- Search show by A-Z
- Search show by date
- Search show by title
- Mailing list
- Accounts
- Create special offers
The mailing list will link to an external database which contains all details of the customers. The manager may use this for sending special offers to clients or for contacting them if shows are cancelled. The accounts section will help the manager with the more financial side of the business, by allowing him to view sales for that month and previous months in order to compare. He may use these statistics to cancel certain shows, or to add more of others which are sold out and proving very popular. The manager is also responsible for creating special offers and the distribution of these to the customers.
The overall system is very user friendly. It uses a graphical user interface approach with using the mouse to select things and icons to represent selections. Once one part is finished, it goes onto another window, which avoids clutter and allows the user to view a screen which has the same layout which just a different question. Each page gives sufficient details on how to answer the question and a help button is there is help is required.
