At BHD, following our favorite teams is not only a passion, its part of our everyday work load. In a great many sporting venues, Retail Pro is used at point-of-sale. For example, as the baseball season gears up for the playoffs and the NFL season gets underway, BHD technicians are traversing the country visiting parks and stadiums to provide assistance. In fact, as of this writing, technicians and trainers are visiting the legendary Soldier Field in preparation for another great Chicago Bear season.
The attached photographs were taken by BHD trainer Jeff Kenshaw while visiting Busch Stadium. A humerous photo was taken by BHD trainer Colt Riley while working at Dodger Stadium (Chavez Ravine).
What can a BHD customer take comfort in knowing? For one, BHD technical staff is arguably the leader in high-impact, mission critical support. “Retail Pro cannot stop working during a game,” states BHD Trainer Colt Riley. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise is sold in a relatively short period of time,” says Riley, who offers examples of extreme shopping, ranging from seventh inning stretches to half-time at football and basketball games. “Thousands of fans flock to the registers, which can take an enormous pounding.”
On occasion, older sports venues may experience network concerns which can limit computer performance. “We’ve literally sat in the basements of some of the greatest and oldest stadiums while the game was played above us, in anticipation, of a catastrophic incident,” says Riley. A network failure during a playoff game can be disastrous.
Has a catastrophic incident ever occurred during a game? Not according to BHD President Mick Malaney. “Our tech staff knows the team schedules better than the commissioners, says Malaney, referring to the bosses of each of the major sports leagues. However, Malaney laughs, and recites a story of an incident at Safeco Field in Seattle.
“A BHD tech was installing equipment at one of the clothing concessionaire locations. Somehow, he turned and smacked his head on a television monitor. As blood trickled from his head, the concessionaire staff escorted him to the only medical staff available at the stadium: the Seattle Mariner’s team trainer,” says Malaney. “There’s our technician and the trainer sitting in the Mariner’s dugout when former Mariner slugger Edgar Martinez wonders into the dugout. He sits down next to the trainer and watches, transfixed, as the trainer loops thread through a needle in preparation of sewing up the wound."
As the BHD trainer retells the story to Malaney, he goes from feeling woozy to shock when Martinez asks the trainer if he can sew the wound. “I’m wondering if I shouldn’t grab a cab to the nearest emergency room and the next thing I know, one of baseballs great hitters wants to play surgeon,” recalls Malaney’s conversation with the technician. Fortunately, the slugger was called back onto the field and the Mariner's trainer performed the stitching.
In recent times, Malaney claims that BHD has been at some of professional sports greatest moments. “Actually, our technicians have heard the roar of the crowd at some of the great sporting events over the last decade, but that doesn’t mean they saw what happened until they returned to their hotel rooms and watched ESPN,” says Malaney.
The following is a partial list of some of the other sporting venues that BHD staff "break every rule, and head, to take care of:
Sacramento Kings (Hometown Heroes)
Boston Bruins
Chicago Bears
Chicago White sox
Cincinatti Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
St Louis Cardinals
St Louis Rams
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco 49er's
Nashville Predators
Tampa Bay Lightening
Denver Nuggets
The next time you’re at a game, you might just see a guy or gal walking around with BHD gear on. Tell him you’re a BHD customer. He may just sign an autograph for your kid.