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587-1565Client Spotlight – Queensbury Sky Zone
Queensbury Sky Zone
Dan Bardin, CEO of Tech II, goes over blueprints with Rusy Saunders, owner of Sky Zone.
Founded in 2004, Sky Zone is the original and premier indoor trampoline park. It has grown its unsurpassed indoor trampoline experience into more than 200 franchises across the United States, and the world! The originator in creating innovative ways to play, Sky Zone provides an outstanding active environment in which people live in the moment with gravity-defying, wall-to-wall aerial attractions that include Freestyle Jump, Ultimate Dodgeball, Warrior Courses, Warped Walls and more.
After accidentally starting the multi-billion dollar company based on his father’s dream to create a new sport which would rival football, at the age of 21, Jeff Platt became the CEO of a brand new enterprise. In the early years, it became clear that franchising was the best way to propagate the idea across the world.
Selecting the franchisees was not an easy task. As Jeff stated in an interview with Andrew Warner of Mixergy, “…you’re giving up an element of control so you got to make sure you’re selecting people that [sic] franchise with that you respect and could have a good business relationship with.” (https://mixergy.com/interviews/sky-zone-with-jeff-platt/)
Laying the Groundwork
In 2017, Rusty Saunders became one of those trusted franchise owners with the opening of Sky Zone in Queensbury, NY. 
(https://www.skyzone.com/queensbury) Between deciding to operate his own franchise and opening those doors, Rusty had to bring in contractors to get the space set up to Sky Zone corporate office’s exacting specifications.
As any good corporate office will do, Rusty was provided with a list of recommended technology providers. Choosing to go with someone not on the list was a possibility – as long as they were vetted to ensure that they met the rigorous Sky Zone standards and could stand up to the formidable auditing process.
The safe bet would have been to go with a known, pre-approved vendor, but Rusty had an idea for a specific build that suited the Sky Zone requirements, but that coalesced into his unique vision. For his first build in Queensbury, Rusty sorted through the local and recommended vendors to come up with his team.
Decision making process:
Going with Tech II
Choosing to work with Tech II on a contract basis turned out to be invaluable to the project. Tech II stepped in to handle the entire build, right through to the infrastructure and continuing management. Becoming a full-service technology provider, Tech II provided, installed, configured and trained on a plethora of systems and services, including a voice system solution, carrier services, cell repeaters, internal and external video cameras, low voltage cabling, smart boards, data services, and TVs with all the required signage. Where necessary, Tech II coordinated with other contractors and providers, including working with the POS systems and server integration.
Ongoing local support gives Rusty the assurance he needs that help is there when it’s required, often seeing alerts and resolving issues on the systems before they ever become service-affecting problems.
After a successful venture with the Queensbury location, it was an easy decision to bring Tech II back into the project on the second build. The Clifton Park location, which recently opened its doors to the public, is a repeat of the project in Queensbury, but with the added benefit of being able to repurpose some of the infrastructure equipment purchased with the second building site. Relying on Tech II’s expertise, Rusty was able to sort through which technology needed to be decommissioned, and what was salvageable, allowing him to allocate funds to necessary upgrades and added attractions.
Hands-on Company CEO
Rusty had this to say, “After evaluating other technology providers, I chose to work with Dan and his team because he was a straight shooter from the start. He didn’t tell me what he thought I wanted to hear like a ‘sales guy’ would typically do. After evaluating the criteria set forth by Sky Zone, he made several observations and recommendations that other outfits I was evaluating didn’t. I really appreciated that he was on the front line. That’s how I run my businesses as well- in the field and actively involved. During the project, he recommended several changes to enhance the build and give us a better product. Best part was, most of the recommendations didn’t increase the cost, just the quality, of the overall technology build. Knowing that they’d be keeping an eye on my systems, and proactively making sure things were always up and running was important to me with the type of facility I have. Lastly, I knew that they’d stay ahead of the technology moving forward so that I could concentrate on my business. Exactly how I like it!”
Set aside some time to check out the fun and action at either of the local Sky Zone locations. For wall to wall action, visit the Queensbury site today (https://www.skyzone.com/queensbury) or visit the Clifton Park location online at https://www.skyzone.com/cliftonpark.
As always, Tech II Business is here to help with your technology needs. We are there to work with you to reach your goals and keep your company safe in the ever-changing world of connected technologies. For more information on the many services Tech II has available to help your business, visit us online, or give us a call at (518) 587-1565 to discuss your needs and allow us to help simplify your technology