Thumbs Up For New IDScanner

Glasgow night clubbers are the first in the country to be able to go out without carrying ID after nightclub entrepreneur Carlo Citti installed state-of-the-art IDscanner verification SCANNET in his clubs. This means that once his customers have registered, and provided ID and a thumb print, they only have to bring their thumbs to gain admission.
Citti explains, “Our new IDscan verification equipment, which can also spot fake IDs, allows customers to register with their passport or driving licence and a thumb print. Subsequently they only have to bring their thumb when gaining access to Campus, O’Couture and Club 520, because the scanner retains the information on the passport, and attaches it to a biometric image of the thumb print. When customers arrive and give their thumb print, in future, the relevant information such as a photo and age, is already there.”
However customers don’t have to give a thumb print, if they would prefer they can be issued with a Magnetic strip card, which also links to the company’s loyalty scheme, the Eyedeal Card. Says Citti, “The Eyedeal card gives our customers special offers ranging from cheap driving lessons to reductions on pizza.”
Citti took the decision to install the equipment to ensure that he complied with Challenge 25, which now applies to all licensed trade premises in Scotland. The new legislation requires licence holders to request ID if customers look under 25, which means customers now have to carry their all important ID documents if they want to gain access to licensed premises.
Citti comments, “This means that people who look under 25 will be required to carry ID if they want to go into licensed premises. The new IDscanners, which we have put in, mean that our customers don’t worry about losing important documents, and it will help make our venues safer. It also totally supports the Challenge 25 legislation.”
During the first few weeks that customers could register more than 7,000 did. Said one, “This is a great idea. It means I don’t have to risk losing my passport. It was so easy to register too. It took a minute, that’s all.”
Citti is confident that once other operators see how effective the new IDscanning equipment is they will follow suit.
He comments, “It was a reasonable investment, particularly in tough times, but I believe that the safety and security of my customers comes first. It really is a great piece of equipment. There are of course other benefits such as the fact, at the touch of a button, I will know exactly how many people are in the clubs at any given time, and I will be able to use some of the information to business plan, such as in-depth marketing analysis and statistics.”
His initiative has also been welcomed by Strathclyde Police and Glasgow City Council as well as Glasgow Caledonian University.
Chief Inspector John Paterson told DRAM, “It is a great use of innovative technology. We fully support it. It ties in with our aims of restricting the supply of alcohol to underage drinkers and fully complies with Challenge 25.”
While Sargeant Paul Cameron comments, “Our Alcohol Task Force which came into being on 1st September aims to work with the licensed trade in Glasgow. We are being pro-active, particularly since Challenge 25 came in. This first month we were educating licensees now we are enforcing the new legislation, but if everyone adopted this type of technology it would make it so much easier for everyone. For instance, since Campus has introduced the IDscanner they have registered 7,500 people on the system, and 19 have been turned away because they were underage. Any one of them, if they had gained access, could have caused Campus to lose its licence. I think the new scanner is fabulous.”
Matte Andrews, Student President commented, “The introduction of SCANNET is another clear example of Campus and O’Couture striving to go above and beyond. That’s just one of the reasons Glasgow Caledonian University Students’ Association is proud to have Campus and O’Couture as our Official Student Venues. They provide student centered venues that give that union feel for our members. They welcome our diverse membership and work hard to provide one of the safest environments for our students to socialise.”