How Twelve helps v.v. VRC in Veenendaal serve 1,800 members and fans every Saturday
The club of your life, now also with the cafeteria of your life
v.v. VRC is the largest football club in Veenendaal. With 1,800 members, nearly one hundred teams, and 45 to 50 home matches taking place every Saturday, its sports complex is packed from early morning until late afternoon. Players, parents, grandparents, but also people from the neighbourhood all stop by on matchdays.
We spoke to Marius Penninks, Board Member and Treasurer, responsible for finances and food & beverage operations, and Faye Baars, Snack Corner Coordinator at VRC. We asked them how Twelve’s payment systems help the club make it through their busy Saturdays without a hitch.
A club where the whole neighbourhood meets
VRC was founded in 1952 and has been located at its current complex since 1978. The club runs on around 300 volunteers who keep everything running smoothly: from the bar and the kitchen to the actual pitches and the club’s overall organisation. The club’s slogan is “de club van je leven” (the club of your life). And for good reason.
“On Saturdays, this place is a real gathering point,” says Marius. Parents stand on the sidelines while grandparents come to support their grandchildren, and the younger generations often stick around the entire day to watch other teams play. And there’s more than just football: VRC regularly organises events that attract people from outside the club, as well.
On the pitch, the club is doing quite well. The first team recently won the second division, got promoted to the first division, and managed to hold that spot straight away. Almost all top youth teams compete at division level, and it’s one of the club’s most important ambitions to train players from their academy through to the first team.b.
From lost receipts to a full kitchen display system
VRC’s food and beverage operation is split into two parts: the bar, which mainly serves drinks, and the kitchen, which offers a full menu on Saturdays. From fresh sandwiches and sausage rolls early in the morning to chicken nuggets, chili chicken burgers, and chips throughout the day.
Faye, who manages the day-to-day kitchen operation as Snack Corner Coordinator, vividly remembers what things were like before the kitchen display system. “We had a POS register that printed receipts, and we’d stick them all over the kitchen. But those receipts went missing all the time. Orders got lost, people picked up each other’s food, and sometimes guests had to wait a really long time.”
Now, the kitchen also has two of Twelve’s kitchen display screens. One screen hangs in the preparation area, the other one at the side of the kitchen, so staff can see exactly which order each product belongs to, even during preparation.
As soon as an order is entered at a POS register, it shows up on the kitchen display screen. The kitchen team marks the order as in progress, then works through each individual item in a structured way. By ticking off what’s done and what isn’t with a single tap, items are rarely forgotten, which drastically reduces the number of incorrectly delivered orders.
When everything is ready, the status is updated from ‘in progress’ to ‘ready’. No more paper receipts getting lost in the kitchen.
“Digital orders can’t get lost,” Faye laughs. “Before, things used to be pretty chaotic, but now that’s actually fixed.”
Guests notice the difference, too. The pick up screens in the cafeteria show when an order is ready. With their receipt in hand, guests walk over to the counter and collect their food. No more unnecessary shouting across the cafeteria, and no more orders left uncollected.
“Someone who spends 10 minutes getting instructions can start processing orders right away.”
Marius Penninks
Board Member / Treasurer, v.v. VRC
A POS register any volunteer can operate straight away
With 300 volunteers and teams that are constantly changing, ease of use is essential. Marius is very clear on this: anyone who spends 10 minutes receiving instructions can start using the POS register and work independently, immediately.
The POS registers are set up with separate screens for the bar and the kitchen. For certain products, pop-ups appear automatically. Enter an order of chips and you immediately get an overview of all available sauces. Pick an order, payments are processed, guests get their receipt, and the order appears automatically on the kitchen display screens. No switching between tabs or complicated steps, for anyone.
VRC has been working with Twelve for over ten years now. It started with two or three fixed POS registers. Then came the handhelds, followed by the digital kitchen display system, and most recently the kiosk. Marius also mentioned that the club is planning to experiment with QR code ordering on their outdoor terraces soon.
The kiosk: an extra queue without the need for extra staff
VRC placed a kiosk at the entrance to the cafeteria, clearly visible. Guests can place their order independently, from snacks to drinks. They receive their receipt, and the order works exactly the same as if it were placed at the counter: everything goes to the kitchen display screens, with the status being visible on the pick up screens.
“Especially when it’s busy, our members know there’s a faster way to order,” says Marius. Younger members navigate the screen at lightning speed, but the system is accessible for less tech-savvy visitors too.
Faye highlights the practical benefit from the kitchen’s perspective: “Orders come through on the kitchen display screen exactly the same as from the POS register. And the great thing is: we don’t need extra staff for it. So when the queue at the POS register is long, we can serve two queues at the same time.”
The idea for the kiosk came about when someone at VRC spotted one at another club. After a conversation with Twelve and a board discussion, the investment was approved. Marius looks back on it with satisfaction: “It’s an investment you have to make, but looking back it’s really paid off.”
Handhelds for the outdoor bar, the burger stand, and busy queues
In addition to the fixed POS registers and the kiosk, VRC has a number of handhelds available. These are always charged and ready to go, deployed whenever it gets busy: when queues grow long in the cafeteria, at the outdoor bar on sunny days, or at a burger stand elsewhere on the complex.
Everything available on the fixed POS registers is also available on the handheld. VRC can scale up quickly during peak moments without needing an extra, separate system.
Stocked display cases as a revenue driver
This season, VRC invested heavily in their kitchen. A new counter was installed with both an integrated refrigerated display case and a heated display case. The refrigerated case is stocked with rolls, juices, and fresh products. The heated case keeps sausage rolls, cheese rolls, chicken nuggets, and chicken burgers at the right temperature throughout the day.
The instruction to the kitchen team is clear: the display cases must stay stocked all day. “When people see the food on display, they order faster and can pick it up straight away,” Marius explains. “But if you look at an empty display case, it’s less inviting. We’ve genuinely seen our kitchen revenue go up significantly.”
The fact that the kitchen is ready by half past seven on Saturday morning with a display case full of fresh rolls is no minor detail for VRC. It’s part of the premium experience the club wants to offer its members.
A great day, each and every Saturday
What Marius enjoys most? “That I really look forward to coming out here on Saturdays. It’s a mix of watching matches, meeting people, and turning the day into yet another great day, together with other volunteers.”
And Faye? She opts for her colleagues as the most enjoyable part of the day, without hesitation. “Not always,” she laughs. “But in general.”
With 1,800 members, nearly one hundred teams, and a kitchen that now runs like a well-oiled machine, VRC is ready for the future. Every Saturday, again and again.
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