It’s a long way from South Florida to the north east of England. But Floritas Miami Bar in the heart of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne brings more than a little tropical sizzle to the party-loving city.
A vibrant city centre bar that specialises in cocktails, club nights and catered private parties, Floritas is owned and operated by the Apartment Group. Like any popular late night venue, management faces the usual logistical challenges around security and coordinating operations on busy nights when the music is pumping and the place is packed with revellers.
Floritas staff have been using two way radio for a number of years to keep open lines of communication between management, bar staff, kitchen and security. But the various unlicensed models they tried just never quite delivered consistently enough on performance, with too many problems trying to relay simple messages.
So that’s when the Apartment Group approached Brentwood to see if we could provide Floritas with something more reliable.
Simple license
Having assessed the bar’s requirements, the first recommendation we made was that management upgraded from unlicensed two way radio. Unlicensed radios operate on free-to-access public airwaves, and on busy weekend evenings in the centre of town, there will be lots of other bar operators and taxi firms clamouring to use those same bandwidths. That creates a lot of interference, and that in our view contributed a lot to the difficulties Floritas staff were having.
We recommended a Simple UK license, the first step up from unlicensed two way radio. Like the free-to-air bandwidth, a Simple UK License makes certain frequencies available to users anywhere in the country, but the lower number of license holders reduces the risk of interference.
For bar, kitchen and security staff, we recommended the Hytera PD405 digital handset, a robust, reliable all-rounder with simple controls and excellent performance. For management, we recommended the Hytera PD485, also a digital two way radio but with a display screen and an extended range of functions, such as being able to find individual users to make private calls. Individual handsets were programmed with user ID for this purpose.
One of the reasons we suggested digital handsets was for the better audio clarity they offer compared to analogue models, bearing in mind it is a club and music venue where background noise volumes are likely to be high. We also supplied two-wire and D-shape earpieces to support audibility.
Ahead of the full order being confirmed, we sent three handsets to Floritas over a weekend so they could be trialled in ‘live’ conditions. Staff and management were delighted with the devices and the earpieces and were more than happy to go ahead with the full order.
To find out how we can improve two way radio performance at your business, get in touch with our friendly and helpful sales team today on 01245 403520.