Retail Checkouts – The Best Last Impression

It’s at your checkouts where your customers will have their last impression before they leave the store. Your point of sale (POS) checkout systems can literally make or break you.

Just last week, my wife and I needed a few things for our house, so I slipped out one evening to head to a national retail chain located nearby with my young daughter in tow. I was in a rush, so as soon as I arrived, I grabbed a shopping cart, raced around the store, collected everything I needed, then proceeded to the checkouts. This is where it fell apart.We walked up to find that out of 14 checkout lanes, only one was open that evening. The line-up was about eight shoppers deep, but I figured it shouldn’t take that long, so we would just wait. Apparently, the cashier was having issues with the checkout system and she needed to call a supervisor up for assistance. I thought at least once the supervisor came up and saw the line up, perhaps they would either call up another cashier or jump behind a counter themselves. Neither happened. The supervisor came up, addressed her issue and simply left.

After that, there seemed to be more issues with ringing people in. So after observing everything, it was obvious to me that they weren’t overly interested in my business, or anyone else’s for that matter. I did what every retailer hates to see; I moved my cart out of the way, left it full (with over $300 worth of merchandise) and walked out of the store.

Yes, customer service, quality products and a pleasant shopping experience are necessary. However it can all fall apart if your systems are cumbersome and your checkout process does not run efficiently.

Make sure that you have fast and friendly checkout. And no matter what, make sure that your cashiers and especially supervisors are customer oriented and willing to do whatever it takes to service their customers.

Don’t let customers finish shopping only to leave the store empty handed when it comes time to make the purchase. As I tell our staff all the time, never ever let a person wait unnecessarily, especially when they’re waiting to hand you money.

Disclosure: I use Moneris for payments which are integrated with Retail Pro as a Retail Management Solution. Both are great, reliable solutions and essential to my business.

If you are interested in a POS System below are some resources:

1. Typical Features of a POS Software/Hardware Bundle

2. Demo of a POS Interface

3.  Article from About.com – Cash Register vs. Point of Sale (POS) System

4.  Article from Allbusiness.com – The Benefits of Moving to a Point-of-Sale (POS) System

5. Business from EzineArticles.com – The Benefits Of A POS System