16 Apr John Dalton, Director Definitive EPoS Solutions
I’ve been working in the Hospitality EPoS sector for something like 40 years and I’ve seen many ups and downs. I’ve also been a fervent supporter of Blackburn Rovers for even more years and I’ve seen even more ups and downs around Ewood Park.
At this point the two situations are currently in paralysis, I can’t supply software and hardware to pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants that are now forcibly closed, nor can I go and watch a Rovers match. You could say hey ho that’s life, but here is a very important difference, I understand that this will be a temporary scenario and that one day, hopefully soon enough I can go and be humiliated, sorry uplifted, at a Blackburn Rovers game. However, I am unlikely to be able to affect the quality of play or indeed the team selection when games resume. Basically, I can’t really help with the success of the Rovers performances on the pitch, apart from my vocal encouragement from the stands, I’ve just got to hope and pray.
What I can do though is, look at what I can do to help our customers, I am sure there will be a pretty big party in the UK when the hospitality industry re-opens so, the more we can help prepare and thrive the better.
So the first thing we have provided has been to give all our monthly paying support customers and rental clients a payment holiday from 1st May, that’s not simply holding back payments it’s a holiday (what is one of those by the way may have to look that up in a few months).
We did this because we know these customers are going to be low on resources when we all re-open and, the last thing they will want is a large epos support invoice hanging over them from their till supplier. This way they at least have a clean sheet to start, that is unless like some of our clients, they tend to be slow at paying their till supplier ☹.
The next move has been to advise people to power up their terminals and tills for a couple of hours each week. Electronics do not take kindly to being turned off for long periods, backup batteries can discharge, in some cases, the older tills forget they’re a till at all.
Our help desk is still open (not all furloughed), although I have to say we are not getting a lot of calls currently, but you never know and just being there for one customer might just give them the help they need.
On this basis let’s just think when we have a little moan about being stuck indoors, hopefully we have our health and soon enough we can all go back to the pub, visit a restaurant or grab a takeaway and we can be thankful.
Oh and of course when the football resumes, no doubt at all Blackburn Rovers will begin a meteoric rise back to the top of the league and maybe, just maybe, promotion to the Premiership AGAIN! I’ll be cheering loudly whatever……Just as the alarm goes off and I have to get up, ah tis just a pipedream 😊
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