After Purchase Care

After Purchase Care: Making sure you have good customer support is essential to compete in today’s global market.This is why you should ask your partner what support and services they offer after the initial purchase to maintain your Point of Sale solution. Keeping your system operating and running smoothly is what always allows you to get that edge on the competition and boost your profit line. Most service plans require a monthly or yearly support fee, but it is worth it to spend to keep your system running in top condition. Why would you buy a top of the line system if you are not going to maintain it and get the most out of the functions it offers.

Here are a few things you should look for in your Partner’s support services.

1. Off hour phone services and support
2. Training and Classes
3. Remote support  
4. Onsite services

Although starting on-going support seems expensive after your initial implementation, it is crucial to your investment. You need to make sure you establish a budget for maintaining your system. This was why when you were looking for a partner you need to compare costs and policies for ongoing support and training; keeping up with these two aspects will allow you to get ahead of your competition and keep your business growing and your profits rising. Some partners offer support contracts and discounted rates for prepaid blocks, but most run off an hourly fee that is charged for their support. Partners need to charge for even very short support calls - this will reduce long term costs by fixing small problems before they cause big issues. Fixing small problems and keeping your system working at peak performance will save you money in the long run. Note: If your partner has the technology to remotely connect to your system without leaving their office, it will significantly reduce your support costs. I know it is nice to have a face-to-face meeting when dealing with support and services, but if you want to save money, let your partner support you remotely. It will save you fees on travel as well as time.

Here are some good questions to ask your partner:

1. What is your partner’s billing policy? Are you billed weekly, monthly, annually? Can you pre-purchase time, and is there an advantage in doing so? Are you charged any fees in addition to the service rate?
2. What is their billing policy for travel time? Travel policies can vary, so make sure you find out whether you will be billed for one way or round trip, actual time or fixed time.
3. When you call for support, will you be billed an hour minimum, or do they break calls down into smaller increments?
4. How do you plan to handle down-time? Is there a way to have necessary updates and enhancements added on a regular basis without interfering with sales, and without paying through the nose to have it done after hours?
5. When was the last time your partner increased their hourly rates? Do they increase them annually? Knowing things like this will help you budget for ongoing costs.
6. How many people do they have that are dedicated to supporting their product specifically? Making sure they have a staff capable of servicing you as well as their other clients is important because, if you call in for support and the person is busy with another customer and he is the only person who knows your system, getting your problem solved in a timely manner could become an issue! Make sure your partner has the means to facilitate their customer’s needs.
7. Does your partner have a system in place that tracks your support calls? A partner who tracks your support requests with a service management tool tends to be more organized and offer better support.
8. Who will provide support for any new modifications, modules or applications? How would this be billed? Many good point of sale systems have most features integrated, but there may be some applications or modules that come from a third party source. It is important to know who will source the applications you are interested in, how/who you will pay for maintenance, and who to call if you need help

Your partners job is to service and support your equipment as well as make sure your system is running in top peak performance. Their job is to help guide you on the system and teach you how to get the most out of your investment. Any type of investment whether, it is a car, guitar or Point of Sale system, has to eventually get tuned and maintained.Knowing this,be sure to  establish a budget for maintaining your system in order to get the most out of it.