Many high street stores and supermarket chains are continually looking at new ways to improve their customer service. Adopting new technology and integrating it into the modern citizens daily lifestyle is forever a challenge as the way people communicate and shop is changing daily.

Many big stores such as Best Buy, Kohl, JCPenney and Walmart, are developing new technology driven marketing strategies to try and bring more customers through their doors. We take a look at the lengths companies like these will go to make a change in how they respond to their customer base.

Kohl – the mid price US department store – has announced they will roll out touch screen kiosks across 1,000 of its stores. The new systems will act as the connection between their actual stores and website.

“We think the kiosk implementation has an opportunity to lift our trend in e-commerce,” Kevin Mansell, chief exectutive, told investors this year.

The new kiosk systems will allows users to browse their ecommerce website as well as complete transactions if for example the products are not available in store.

JCPenney, a major rival of Kohl is also adoption kiosk systems which link to the website and expected to be rolled out across 150 of their stores this autumn. Rather than roll out a kiosk to all of their stores they are focusing it on smaller stores that do not stock their full collection. Tom Nealon, chief information officer, argues that customers equipped with Smartphones to place orders are less likely to need to use in-store kiosks.

“We are not looking to deploy a lot of hardware at great expense, when we have such conviction that the mobile devices our consumers are carrying become as much a part of shopping as swiping a credit card.

“As part of our customer experience strategy, we are constantly having to decide where we want to invest our money and resources,” said Mr Nealon. “Because you can’t go after everything at once.”

Many shoppers who have Smartphones are able to use tools from the online world in-store. Checking prices at rival stores and looking for independent product reviews is just a few ways in which customers interact when purchasing products and services. Many can use their phones to receive digital offers as well as look at access payment systems and complete transactions.

The integration of multifunctional channels gives consumers more choice in how they shop, however at the same time giving customers too much choice allows them to become confused about how to go about purchasing from your store. When it comes to kiosk systems they need to have a highly functional purpose that the customer is fully aware of. If you are using a kiosk to sell products that are not available in store, make this known using clear signage as well as encouraging your staff member’s to inform people of the services available. There is a lot involved when it comes to customer loyalty and looking after clients in the best way possible, however there is no real need in deploying a kiosk system if you don’t advertise to your customers to what it actually does.

If you are looking to deploy a kiosk system into your business then we recommend that you have a look at our critical guide which looks at the things businesses need to consider when deploying a public facing kiosk. You can access the Kiosk Guide here.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our brand new sales office in München, Germany.

The new office has been opened to meet the growing demand for our products and services across Europe.

Our brand new offices will focus on all aspects of kiosk deployment as well as our leading touch screen monitor range for a plethora of industry sectors. The new team will further develop our customer relations and support our reseller network within the European Market.

Heading the new German office will be Thomas Borck, who has worked as an International Sales Manager of Kiosks and Digital Signage Systems for the past six years. Thomas will head up the team in offering clients the same top quality professional service and support structure as is currently run within our UK offices in Camberley, Surrey. All hardware and software design and development as well as project management, installation and maintenance will take place at this new office.

The opening of the office is fully supported by the launch of our brand new German website www.protouch-kiosks.de which features our award winning Xen kiosk range as well as our Geode monitor range. The website features all of our interactive videos that demonstrate the key tools and applications of our kiosks as well as an innovative configuration tool which allows visitors to successfully customise and design their very own kiosk systems to suit their needs and requirements.

Our dedicated sales team based at our German office can be contacted on email at sales@protouch-kiosks.de or alternatively you can view the products available by visiting the site at www.protouch-kiosks.de.

Public facing kiosks are a part of our everyday lives. Whether you nip to your local supermarket and use the self check out service, or visit your bank to deposit money at the touch screen systems, self service has become a convenient solution for our every day needs and it looks like it’s not going anywhere for a while.

Top customer service is essential in today’s ever changing society and the key way to keeping your customers loyal and spreading the good word about your brand. With our society set on fast mode, with little time for rest and relaxation there is a growing need for businesses to implement efficient and easy to use kiosk solutions to meet the needs and lifestyle of today’s consumers.

Kiosk deployment is an innovative way to offering extensive services; however many businesses are unsure of what it entails and what types of things they need to be looking for when employing a kiosk supplier for their kiosk solution.

To give businesses a helping hand, Protouch have developed a critical guide titled, Top 20 Critical Points to Consider When Buying a Public Facing Kiosk

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The guide lists the key areas that a company needs to look at when choosing a kiosk supplier and what types of questions they need to ask before they choose their kiosk supplier. With each question comes a detailed answer as to what customers should be expecting to hear back from a kiosk supplier based on Protouch’s expertise in this area.

The most significant questions cover DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) compliance, ISO accreditation’s, CE and EMC certificates and years of experience in developing kiosks. With all areas of kiosk deployment featuring in the book businesses have a comprehensive guide to check against in order for them to make an informed decision about which kiosk manufacturer to choose.

To view the complete guide as well as all our other Protouch guides in kiosk deployment, click here.

The adoption of touch screen technology into our every day devices has really taken off. From mobile phones and iPads’ to ticketing kiosks and supermarket self service systems, everyone has jumped on the bandwagon and consumers seem to be enjoying it. There are many people however who haven’t adopted self service and touch screen solutions which can potentially improve your business and customer service if deployed and manufactured correctly.

To give you an idea of what is out there, we have put together some examples of touch screen uses in today’s ever changing society.

Public information displays:

One of the main reasons to why touch screen uses are most often used as a public display is down to the fact that they are easy to use. From a young child who isn’t completely computer literate to an elderly person who has never used a computer before, everyone can easily understand how to navigate around a kiosk system and find the information, products or services they need quite easily. A public information display most commonly refers to information kiosks or trade show kiosks.  

Retail systems: We live in a fast paced environment where we are continually in a rush to get things done in a short space of time. Implementing a touch screen system into your store allows your staff to complete tasks a lot faster and training time could possibly be reduced as the system is easier to navigate around. With touch screens much of the counter space is freed up allowing for a cleaner and open spaced environment.

Cineworld Unlimited Movies kiosk by Protouch

Customer self service: Everyone hates to queue and this can be eliminated by the use of touch screen technology. With a touch screen monitor situated in your store or restaurant you can improve customer service as well as reduce customer waiting time allowing your customers to take control of their day. From ATM/s, ticket terminals, ordering kiosks, product/service buying etc, there are a plethora of ways to give your customers a more valuable experience.

IKEA Kiosk manufactured and deployed by Protouch

If you are looking to consider a self service kiosk to implement into your business then there are a few things you need to consider before you go ahead and deploy it into your company.

Our current world across all industry sectors has become so much more competitive over the last few years due to the gruelling recession we have all faced which has left many companies looking for new and innovative ways to bring more customers through the door.

Over the last five years, the kiosk industry has proven to be a huge success with may companies deploying kiosk systems and seeing a relatively high ROI.

Most kiosks today are based around touch screen systems which allow consumers to interact with the system in exchange for goods, products and services. In most cases the customer is aware of what that are looking for and a good kiosk system will easily allow a user to access the information they need with ease and efficiency.

With a kiosk you can:

Guarantee 24/7 service

One of the main advantages of a kiosk system is that the machine can be left to its own devices without the need of staff members. You can deploy kiosk terminals across various locations outside of your stores etc so that you can provide a 24/7 service to customers as and when they need it.

Supporting self service

In today’s society, most people are familiar with self service kiosks and can easily operate them without the help of staff members. Most only seek technical help and support as and when they need it. With a well programmed kiosk system, you can direct your customers exactly to the information or products they wish to purchase or see, allowing them a completely fulfilled experience while shopping in your store.

Easy to maintain

Kiosk systems are often made in bulk and then designed as a bespoke item so that you can tailor it to your company needs and requirements. If your kiosk experiences technical difficulties then most kiosk suppliers will provide technical care and support as and when you need it.

Improves market reach

Kiosks work 24/7 and can therefore increase the market you reach. Kiosks are primarily designed to be deployed in public areas, so making sure they are marketed well and stand out in a room is essential to the deployment.

Reduces staff members time

Kiosks are cost effective and allow staff members to free up their time to do other tasks in and around the office. They reduce the workload and allow the option of having a a kiosk system implemented across locations outside your offices and stores, further expanding your reach, reliability and brand image to current and prospective customers.

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Jack in the Box restaurant kiosk

Kiosks are the most convenient solution to reducing customer waiting time and allowing customers to take control of their shopping experience.

However one quick service industry that hasn’t really adopted kiosk systems is the fast food industry. The whole concept started out in 2006 when Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King and Arby’s started trying out the kiosks systems which allowed customers to place and pay for orders via touch screen systems.

While they have attempted to add kiosks here and there, there has not been as massive explosion on the kiosk side as many of us had anticipated.

Tommy Woycik, president of kiosk supplier NEXTEP Systems, said that the restaurant industry is a bit of a unique industry to compare. Airports, supermarket stores and casinos have seen an explosion of kiosks where as restaurant kiosks have been few and far between.

“We’ve been doing this for six years and every year our restaurant revenue has gone up to 40 to 50 per cent. It has been good, sure, but it lags a lot behind other industries, which have doubled in that same time,” Woycik said. “We thought it would be higher at restaurants – both in the fast casual and quick-service segments – but it’s just not at the same rates.”

El Pollo Loco restuarant kiosks

Many restaurant owners are very apprehensive about kiosk deployment particularly for technophobe customers. Others are concerned about the costs involved in kiosk deployment and not sure on the idea of reducing their workforce or compromising customer service.

However it is certain that over the next 10-12 years US, European and Asian countries will embrace self service systems into their restaurants.

“It’s not that customers aren’t ready,” said Woycik, “This trend is evident in other industries, and people love it. They’d much rather self serve than wait in line. The biggest issue is restaurants worrying it impersonalises customer service. But two-thirds of their business goes through the drive-thru, an experience that minimises  personalisation. If I want to focus on customer service, I go to a nice steak house, not a fast food place.”

There is a lot involved before deploying a kiosk system which can often include parent companies of franchises who need to consult their parent company before installing a kiosk.

“Often only the parent company prescribes what technology can be used. Which is understandable since they are doing the accounting,” Woycik said. 

El Pollo Loco – an American flamed grill chicken restaurant chain – deployed kiosks at two of its California chains and Jack in the Box - American fast food restaurant - has around 230 kiosks installed throughout the country. Both companies are supplied by EMN8.

Jack in the Box began a pilot scheme in 2006 as part of the company’s strategy to reinvent the brand providing innovation guest services, menu and restaurant facilities.

McDonald's restuarant kiosk system

El Pollo Loco is at early stages with the kiosks and has set no timetable to expand its kiosk presence. At present they are focusing on the two stores where the kiosk system has been deployed.

“We expect to make changes to the physical layout of the kiosks, the order screens and other adjustments based on customer feedback from our test in the two initial restaurants,” said Joe Stein, senior vice president of strategy and innovation.

However the kiosks have received mixed reviews.

“We’ve received positive feed back from guests who like the technology, and negative feedback from guests who were initially taken aback by the kiosks in the lobby,” Stein said.

Whether the kiosks have been a success is definitely too early to tell.

“We believe kiosks have the potential to provide our guests with a better customer experience,” Stein said. “We also believe that without personal interaction between our guest and restaurant personnel, the dining experience isn’t the same for most. That is why we have an employee in the dining room to greet and assist our guests.

“The kiosks are not replacing employees. There has been no elimination in labour. In fact, restaurants can actually earn more labour if they facilitate higher transactions. We believe the kiosks can enhance the guest experience by giving them an additional option for ordering, and freeing up restaurant labour to focus on other areas of service,” said Brian Luscomb, corporate communications vice president at Jack in the Box.

Woycik further added that restaurants don’t lead to staff reduction.

“Having kiosks usually means there are more orders to fill, so it just redistributes the labour. Those employees can now spend time working the kitchen, greeting customers, cleaning tables, whatever they are needed for to make that restaurant more efficient, ” he said.

A little over ten years ago self service check in units began popping up across retail and supermarket stores. Firstly greeted with a sense of suspicion and an arrogance to why the work shouldn’t be done by staff, self check in systems have become a beloved friend to us all and often the first port of call before a manned self check out service.

Paul Denimarck, who handles strategic marketing for the self checkout division at Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, the data connections and wireless communications solutions company has suggested that self service systems can be divided into one of two types; stationary and portable.

“Stationary self checkout platforms are located at the front of the store,” he said. “A customer using a stationary self checkout platform brings their merchandise to the lane, identifies the items they are purchasing with the scanners and tenders payment at the same location.

“Portable self checkout platforms disperse the transaction process at different points – the customer identifies individual items using a bar code scanner at the point of selection, and then the customer takes the items to a separate location to tender payment.”

There are a variety of different types of self service kiosks available and all work for different types of stores.

Modular Kiosk: Most commonly seen in a supermarket store. They are stand alone units most often deployed next to a few more kiosks at a fixed station.

Carousel Kiosk:

Often a lay-aside area for scanned items and a larger bagging area, which is usually situated on a rotating carousel which makes the bagging process easier.

Cashier Optional:

This option allows the retailer to change from a self service option to a manned kiosk instantly.

Countertop/In counter: Ideal for retailers with a single cash counter, such as convenience stores, deli’s and food areas.

Kiosk/Mobile checkout:

This are versatile units that can be placed anywhere in a store. Smaller than self checkout terminals and are ideal for grab and go services and products.

Behind every successful company and innovative product, there are always the people who work on the back of a company’s success re-creating, copying and conning their products and customers into thinking that their business is the real deal.

And as kiosk deployment has become just as common as having a television in the home, more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon to try and con consumers and business owners about their dodgy kiosk systems.

Just last week, the city of Washington DC reached an settlement with a kiosk leasing firm that agreed to stop harassing five African American churches for payment after they latched onto a deal that proved too good to be true.

Although this is the first case the city has filed against three equipment leasing firms and two kiosk salesmen and their companies, it is alleged to be involved in a complicated and incriminating  deal combining kiosks, con men and black churches. The con has spread from coast to coast with a number of churches hit by the scam including ones in California and Michigan, as well as the nations capital.

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Kiosk Con Artist Michael J Morris

Press reports showed that Morris and Perkins embarked on their criminal business around ten years ago. Their plan was to visit African American churches around the country as executives of Urban Interfaith Network and Television Broadcasting Online (TVBO), companies based either in Washington or suburban Maryland. Morris and Perkins lived in suburban Maryland.

Mike Cox, Michigan attorney general, stated that both Morris and Perkins offered churches free kiosks that would be placed on site to provide outreach, education as well as Internet services to parishioners. In return, the kiosks would carry a advertising from a national sponsor that sought to reach the parishioners.

As an added inducement, Morris and Perkins told some of the churches that they would earn revenue of their own from the sponsor’s advertising. Churches were told that no contract was needed and all the legality stuff was simply a formality that didn’t need to be addressed but insisted that it still needed to be signed. So as pen went to paper church parishioners signed their contract without realising they had agreed to pay the full price for the kiosk.

Kiosk Con Artist Number 2 William T.Perkins

From the contracts, Morris and Perkins contacted equipment leasing firms and asked for loans to purchase the kiosks, using the church contracts as collateral. Once they received the loans – valued at as much as $27,000 per kiosk – the pair used money to get bare bones equipment from the churches and further made initial monthly leasing payments to the equipment  providers.

Peter Nickles, the city’s attorney general said, “The churches either did not get the equipment, or if they did, it wasn’t working, and if it was, the sponsorship deals never materialised.”

On another side of town, the leasing firms were led to believe they would be seeing monthly checks from the churches for the kiosk systems. There was usually little money to pay the lease fee already, and there was no sponsor for the kiosk advertising.

The deals continued to come in and leasing firms billed the churches for the kiosks with some of the contracts having full access to the churches finances.

“The firm could draw down from the bank account of the church. They charged the lease payments. In one case the firm took $60,000,” said Nickles.

After a while the churches contacted the authorities and Michigan arraigned Perkins and Morris in October 2009. Michigan plan to begin its case against them in Detroit’s 3rd Circuit Court at the end of September, a spokesperson for AG Cox said.

Perkin’s and Morris’s attorney, LaRene & Kriger of Detroit, didn’t return calls.

The case caught the attention of Nickles and California attorney general Edmund G. Brown Jr who found that after the churches learnt of the alleged scam, there was still a continual attack on the parishes by equipment leasers enforcing the terms of the leases, filing lawsuits against the churches to collect payment, interest and late fees.

These equipment leasers in April 2009 were charged with defrauding the churches. One of the companies – Balboa Capital Corp settled their case in Washington just last week, agreeing to stop collecting on the leases with several of the churches and to pay two of the churches $4,000 in total. Balboa wrote in their legal filings that it was “not complicity in the alleged scheme” and agreed to the settlement to avoid litigation costs.

Nickles said he will continue to pursue the other two lessors and as the cases go on, the churches have worthless equipment situated in their parishes that have completely gone to waste.

Going to the airport is never a relaxing and stress-free experience. From the arrangements of getting there to the baggage allowance, there is so much to consider and the whole drama from the airport is enough for you to need a holiday for three weeks.

Airports and airlines are continually searching for new ways to improve their customer service to ensure that their passengers have a safe, enjoyable and stress-free trip.

The introduction of self service kiosks over the years has increasingly helped improve efficiency, reduce costs and simplifyed a customers journey as well as improving passenger satisfaction and loyalty.

For passengers, their primary goal is a quick and hassle-free journey avoiding crowded check-in areas and long check-in queues – not to mention slow security screening and inefficient boarding processes. Passenger satisfaction at this stage purely relies on how quickly and easily they can get their boarding passes, how simple it is to check their baggage and how much control they have had over the process.

An empowered passenger is a happy passenger and letting them take control of their whole travelling experience will truly benefit you as an airport or airline.

If you have deployed a kiosk system into your airport don’t just expect that it will work miracles. It is all about where it should be installed, how many you need to install and how the kiosk connects to the airport infrastructure.

With a kiosk system you can expect to see;

For Airports

• Reduced costs per passenger,
• Less airport congestion,
• Increased passenger flow without the need to invest in new buildings,
• New service opportunities – for example, shared or managed infrastructure,
• The chance to help passengers better manage disruptions,
• An opportunity to measure the landside/airside space needs and create a customer-friendly landside dwell area, delivering new revenue opportunities,
• The potential to delay capital expansion.

For Airlines

• A reduced and flexible cost structure,
• Competitiveness in commodity factors,
• Improved customer service,
• New service opportunities – e.g mobile check-in

For Passengers

• Empowerment,
• Reduced stress levels,
• Hassle free journey,
• Less queueing
• Better value for money.

For more information on how a kiosk system can benefit your business visit Protouch today, the leading distributor and manufacturer of touch screen equipment.

Protouch Kiddicare Kiosk Collection

Well maybe not 1000 but it can sure seem that way if a kiosk is deployed professionally. There are a great many ways in which you can deploy a kiosk system you just have to ensure you have the correct equipment and software as well as a company that you can trust to help you along the way.

To give you an idea of the different ways in which a kiosk can work for you, here are a few different ways a kiosk can be deployed and beneficial towards your needs and requirements.

Payment System

If your kiosk is deployed in strategic locations such as shopping stores, entrances to shops, supermarkets as well as train stations and air port terminals then you can provide your customers with a convenient, instant access bill payment system. 

Internet Kiosk

An Internet kiosk is an ideal way to entice customers into your store. If they can receive free access to the Internet the more likely they are to come in and further browse in your store. 

Information Kiosk

If you are providing information, help or advice through your kiosk, such as a way finder then you need to make sure it is positioned in the right places which is of use to the user. For example, if you have developed a kiosk system which allows users to learn about a product then there is really no point having the kiosk on the other side of the store away from where the product is being sold. A successful kiosk is always placed in a prime position for the customer.

Checking In/Update of Information

These types of kiosks are great for doctors surgeries or hospitals whereby the patient can update their information or check in for their appointment. This type of kiosk frees up staff members time and allows you to reduce the administration costs which can be time consuming and more costly than what they need to be.