Article

Keeping your machines up and running

Even if you use a third-party service, it's important for kiosk owners and operators to know some basic maintenance tasks.

October 30, 2005 by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Self-service devices are wonderful things when they are running smoothly. But to the machine's owner/operator, there are few sights worse than a kiosk that is working poorly or not at all. Suddenly a great profit and productivity boost becomes a millstone around the business's neck.

Most businesses that deploy kiosks use some sort of third-party maintenance service, so that if something goes seriously wrong, a quick phone call dispatches a trained professional with tools in hand.

But too many times, the day-to-day problems facing a self-service device are simple enough that the owner could tackle them on their own, without waiting around for a service technician. In a business where every bit of downtime equals lost revenue, it's simply not acceptable to wait for a technician to fix a basic paper jam.

"Even if a retailer uses someone else to service the (devices), it's important that they know the basic functioning of that machine," said Jon Schallert, president of The Schallert Group Inc., a Florida-based c-store consultancy. "Some downtime is unavoidable, but the small service functions have to be known by the operator."

Joe Harris of ANS Marketing urges owner/operators to remember the old "ounce of prevention/pound of cure" adage. He notes that a self-service device is not all that different from an automobile - regular preventive maintenance won't ensure that you never end up spending time with your mechanic, but it will likely decrease those visits in both frequency and severity.

Harris points to a number of basic tasks that any device owner should be able to do on their own:

• Cleaning the card reader
• Blowing dust out of the dispenser area
• Cleaning sensors
• Maintaining proper surge protection equipment
• Changing receipt paper
• Clearing printer and bill acceptor/dispenser jams
• Check wires for wear & tear and loose connections

He also said to keep an eye on the enclosure itself, looking for holes caused by rodents. "Covering any open hole or space with duct tape or some other covering of your choice will help keep those little wire-chewing rodents out," he said.

"I think for many operators, the technical aspects (of self-service technology) - and much of their other more complicated equipment - are something that they leave to a service company," Schallert said. "But the more times a customer experiences machines not working, the less likely a repeat visit is going to be."

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