What Should Restaurant Owners Look for in POS Support?

What Should Restaurant Owners Look for in POS Support?

When restaurant owners shop for a new point-of-sale system, most of the attention goes to features.

Does it have online ordering? Can servers use handhelds? Does it integrate with delivery services? What kind of reporting does it offer? How much does it cost?

Those are all important questions.

But there’s another question that may become far more important once the system is installed:

What happens when something goes wrong?

Your POS is at the center of your restaurant. When it isn’t working correctly, the impact can quickly spread from your employees to your kitchen and ultimately to your customers.

That’s why POS support shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be one of the most important factors you consider when choosing both a POS system and the company behind it.

Your Restaurant Doesn’t Operate 9 to 5

Restaurants operate nights, weekends, holidays, early mornings, and just about every other time imaginable.

Unfortunately, technology doesn’t schedule its problems around normal business hours.

A printer can stop working during Saturday dinner service. A payment terminal can have an issue on Sunday morning. An employee may have trouble closing out the day late at night.

When evaluating POS support, start by asking:

When is support actually available?

If your restaurant is open, you need to know what resources are available when something goes wrong.

For many restaurants, access to support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year can make a major difference.

How Quickly Will Someone Answer?

Having 24/7 support sounds great, but availability doesn’t mean much if you’re waiting an hour to speak with someone.

When a POS problem happens during a rush, every minute can feel much longer.

Orders may be waiting.

Customers may be standing at the counter.

Servers may be unable to close checks.

The kitchen may not be receiving tickets.

Managers may be trying to troubleshoot technology instead of running the restaurant.

Ask potential POS providers about their typical response times and what happens when you request support.

Getting help quickly can be just as important as getting help at all.

Will You Talk to a Real Person?

Automation has made many types of customer service more efficient, but there are times when a restaurant owner simply needs to talk to someone.

A chatbot may be able to answer a basic question.

An online knowledge base may explain how a feature works.

An automated phone system may route your call.

But when your restaurant is full of customers and your POS isn’t working, you may not want to search through articles or explain the same issue to several automated systems.

You want someone who can understand what’s happening and help you fix it.

When comparing POS support, find out how easy it is to reach an actual support technician.

Does the Support Team Actually Understand Restaurants?

Knowing how POS software works is important.

Understanding how restaurants work is important too.

A restaurant has unique operational pressures. Timing matters. Kitchen communication matters. Payment processing matters. A problem that might seem minor from a technical perspective can have a major impact on restaurant operations.

Experienced POS support technicians understand that.

They know that a kitchen printer being offline isn’t simply a printer problem—it could mean orders aren’t reaching the people preparing the food.

They understand that a payment issue isn’t something you can necessarily wait until tomorrow to resolve.

Good restaurant POS support combines technical knowledge with an understanding of restaurant operations.

Does the Support Team Know Your System?

There’s also a difference between speaking with someone who understands POS technology generally and someone who understands your particular POS environment.

Your restaurant may have:

• Multiple POS stations
• Handheld ordering devices
• Kitchen printers
• Kitchen display systems
• Online ordering
• Payment terminals
• Gift cards
• Third-party integrations
• Special menu configurations
• Multiple restaurant locations

When the company supporting you is familiar with your setup, troubleshooting can be much easier.

Instead of starting every support call from the beginning, you’re working with a team that can understand how your technology is configured and how the different pieces work together.

POS Support Should Cover More Than Broken Hardware

When people hear “technical support,” they often think about fixing something that’s broken.

That’s certainly important, but restaurant POS support should go much further.

Your restaurant changes constantly.

You introduce new menu items.

Prices change.

Employees come and go.

You add equipment.

You launch promotions.

You change hours.

You add ordering channels.

You open another location.

You may need help with all of those changes.

Look for a POS partner that can provide assistance beyond emergency troubleshooting.

Who Handles Your Menu Programming?

This is an area restaurant owners can easily underestimate when choosing a POS provider.

Menus aren’t static.

Prices change. Products are added and removed. Modifier options change. Seasonal promotions come and go. New locations may need menus created or copied.

Someone has to maintain all of that information inside the POS.

Ask your provider:

Who handles menu and database changes after installation?

In some situations, your restaurant may be responsible for making those changes internally.

That may be perfectly acceptable if you have employees dedicated to POS administration.

But if you don’t, menu maintenance can become another responsibility placed on managers who are already busy running the restaurant.

Having a POS partner that can assist with programming can remove a significant amount of work from your team.

Who Helps With Payment Problems?

Your POS and payment processing are closely connected.

When something goes wrong with a payment, restaurant owners shouldn’t have to spend hours trying to determine which company is responsible.

Payment-related support may involve:

• Declined or failed transactions
• Payment terminal issues
• Batch or settlement questions
• Gift card issues
• Chargebacks
• Processing questions
• Transaction research

Ask who you’ll contact when these situations occur.

A support partner that understands both your POS and your payment environment can help eliminate some of the finger-pointing that can occur when multiple technology providers are involved.

Can They Help Remotely?

Modern POS technology allows many problems to be diagnosed and resolved remotely.

That’s a major advantage for restaurants because waiting for someone to physically arrive at the location isn’t always practical.

Remote support may allow a technician to help troubleshoot configuration problems, software issues, printers, settings, and other parts of your system quickly.

Ask whether your provider offers remote support and what types of issues can be handled without an on-site visit.

For many situations, the fastest service call is the one that doesn’t require a service truck.

What Happens When You Actually Need Someone On-Site?

Remote support is extremely valuable, but some problems require hands-on assistance.

Hardware can fail.

Cables can become damaged.

Equipment may need to be replaced.

Network issues can occur.

New hardware may need to be installed.

That’s when having access to local service resources can become especially valuable.

When evaluating a POS provider, ask whether on-site service is available and what happens when a problem can’t be resolved remotely.

A provider capable of offering both remote and on-site assistance gives your restaurant more options when problems arise.

What Happens When Hardware Fails?

Every piece of technology eventually has the potential to fail.

The important question is what happens next.

Ask:

• Who determines whether the hardware needs replacement?
• Who helps configure replacement equipment?
• How quickly can replacement hardware be obtained?
• Can temporary equipment be provided if necessary?
• Who installs the replacement?

A replacement POS terminal isn’t very helpful if it arrives in a box and no one knows how to configure it for your restaurant.

Does Support Include Training?

Not every support call is caused by something being broken.

Sometimes an employee simply doesn’t know how to perform a task.

Managers change. Employees turn over. New features are introduced. Procedures evolve.

Training shouldn’t necessarily end after installation day.

Ask whether your provider can help answer operational questions and provide additional guidance when needed.

A knowledgeable support team can help your restaurant get more value from technology you’re already paying for.

Ask What Is Included—and What Costs Extra

“Support included” can mean different things depending on the provider.

Before signing an agreement, understand exactly what you’re receiving.

Ask:

• Is phone support included?
• Is support available 24/7?
• Is remote troubleshooting included?
• Are menu changes included?
• Is on-site service available?
• Are there hourly service charges?
• Is replacement hardware covered?
• Is additional training available?

There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with certain services carrying an additional cost.

The important thing is knowing what to expect before you need them.

Don’t Wait Until Something Breaks to Evaluate Support

POS support is difficult to evaluate during a sales demonstration because you don’t actually need it yet.

Everything is working.

The salesperson is available.

The demonstration system is configured perfectly.

That’s exactly why you should ask support questions before you buy.

Find out who you’ll call six months after installation.

Ask what happens at 9:00 PM on a Saturday.

Ask who handles your menu changes.

Ask what happens if your credit card terminal stops communicating.

Ask whether someone can come on-site if remote troubleshooting isn’t enough.

The answers may tell you just as much about the POS solution as the feature demonstration does.

Your POS Provider Should Be a Long-Term Partner

Installing a POS system shouldn’t be the end of your relationship with the company that sold it to you.

In many ways, it should be the beginning.

Your restaurant will change. Your technology will change. New products and services will become available. Equipment will eventually need replacement. Questions and problems will arise.

The right POS partner should be there through all of it.

A POS system is something you purchase. POS support is the relationship that helps keep it working.

Experience the DBS Difference

At Delaware Business Systems (DBS), support isn’t an add-on to what we do. It’s one of the most important parts of our business.

DBS has been supporting restaurant and retail technology since 1983, and our relationship with customers doesn’t end after installation.

Our team provides 24/7/365 support with real people available to help when our customers need us. We assist with POS hardware, software, menu programming, database changes, payment processing, gift cards, troubleshooting, training, and more.

Many problems can be handled remotely, while our local service resources provide additional assistance when an issue requires hands-on attention.

Whether it’s a quick question or a problem affecting your ability to operate, our goal is simple: get you the help you need as quickly as possible.

Because when your restaurant depends on its POS, you should be able to depend on the people standing behind it.

Your POS should come with people you can count on.

Contact DBS today to learn more about our restaurant POS solutions and the support that comes with having DBS as your technology partner.