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1.
Why should I use a Flip lid drawer rather than a conventional
horizontal opening drawer?
Typical horizontal opening cash drawers
have a 400mm throw to fully open the drawer. This space
has to be left simply to accommodate the cashier moving
backwards to allow the drawer to open. When the drawer is
open all the cash is fully exposed to anyone at the point
of sale, increasing the temptation for theft.
A flip lid drawer is typically mounted
into a counter or checkout, so that the drawer lid is flush
with the counter top, and positioned between the cashier
and the customer. When the drawer lid flips open, the customer
has no line of sight into the drawer and cannot see any
cash. Further, if there was a temptation to try to grab
the cash, it is far more difficult to lean over the top
of the drawer, and a relatively simple matter for the cashier
to slam the lid shut.
Because there is no horizontal movement
with a flip lid drawer the cashier can sit close to the
drawer saving almost 400mm on the required width of a checkout.
This might not seem a great deal of economy, but when you
consider a 30-50 lane supermarket it can mean the difference
between one or more additional checkouts. Any supermarket
owner will tell you that they want to maximize the number
of checkouts in a given space to aid the flow of customers
in busy times.
2. Can I easily
move my cash drawer between different POS systems?
Historically, different POS manufacturers
have used very different connections to link the cash drawer
with their POS system often requiring different solenoid
voltages within the cash drawer. Today, more and more are
using a simple RJ12 connector and connecting the cash drawer
with a retail receipt printer, but some POS suppliers, such
as IBM, Micros etc still require special connections.
To provide simplicity of moving a cash
drawer between POS systems you should choose a cash drawer
that has a multi-voltage solenoid. With the addition of
the appropriate adapter cable the drawer can operate from
whatever POS system the retailer may choose.
3. Why do
you have a lock on a cash drawer?
Most retailers believe the lock on
a cash drawer actually locks the drawer. Well, this may
be true if they have a 3 position lock on the drawer, but
the real purpose of the lock is to provide a simple means
of OPENING the drawer. Indeed, if you look at the locks
on the majority of low cost cash drawers it would be a very
simple procedure to gather together no more than 10 keys
that would open almost every drawer. How secure can this
be?
It is much more secure to have a drawer
with NO lock; then you can be sure that anyone requiring
to open the drawer must go through a No-Sale transaction
on POS system with all the required security access codes
to make this possible. Only by this means can you ensure
who is gaining access to the cash in the drawer and prevent
illegal entry.
4. How do
I open a cash drawer that has no lock when the power fails?
Most retailers will have a UPS system
that will give them around 20 minutes operating time in
the event of a power failure, which is more than enough
time to remove cash from the drawer. In any event, all CustomMatic's
drawers that are made with no lock always have an emergency
release facility that is discreet and accessible only to
nominated supervisory staff.
5.
Are there any benefits to storing notes in a cash drawer
vertically, rather than the traditional layflat with note-
clips?
It is proven that in a given space,
you can store more notes held vertically than you can with
them laid flat. The obvious benefits of this is that you
can offer a smaller cash drawer to hold the same capacity,
saving the retailer valuable merchandising space and offering
the alternative of a Flip lid drawer with the attendant
benefits already discussed.
Further, from a security view point,
if someone should try to snatch money from an open cash
drawer, it is far more difficult to gain a grip on notes
stored in a vertical compartment than fully exposed laid
flat.
6. How long
should I expect my cash drawer to last?
The cash drawer is one of the few remaining
mechanical devices left on the point of sale and, clearly,
the wear and tear will depend on its usage. All Custommatic
designed cash drawers are tested to a minimum of 1 million
openings, and come with a 2 year warranty. If you consider
a quite high usage retailer then 1 million openings would
equate to something like 7-8 years trouble free usage, which
would indicate that the retailer would look to replace their
POS system well before they should anticipate any problems
with their cash drawer.
7. Why should
I consider a customised cash drawer?
All retailers are different; or all
retailers believe they are different from their competitors!
This is easy to understand for retailers who are selling
different products such as food supermarkets and fashion
stores; they have different types of customer and they have
different requirements at the point of sale. But, how can
different supermarkets be different from each other because
they clearly sell the same commodity products?
The difference between retailers in
the same trade is that they ALL do believe they are different
from their competitors because, if they didn't believe they
had any differential, how would they ever be able to convince
their target customers that they had anything different
to offer from their competitors. Consequently, retailers
customise the style of the counter/checkout to aid the flow
of customers, and customise the keyboard to their specific
requirements, and customise the customer display to give
the customer specific information on their purchase, even
resorting to advertising to the customer during the process
of the transaction. They even customise the message illustrated
on the customer receipt to encourage additional and future
purchases!
Cash drawer customization should be
considered with regard to reduction in size to give more
merchandizing space, increased security to prevent theft,
increased storage to store items, such as discount coupons,
and increased storage for promotional items, such as loyalty
stamps, gift tokens or telephone cards; given the chance
to discuss what else they need to store in their cash drawer
most retailers would welcome the opportunity and open the
door to making themselves different from their competitors.
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