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Requests from schools, charities, and other local community groups can be a challenging for a small retail business. We know of retailers who are asked daily for a cash or product donation. Often these requests come from people unknown to the business.

If you don’t have a structured approach, you’ll end up giving away a lot for little or no return.

The advice we share here is advice we first offered our customers many years ago. It has been refined over time.

Here are our tips on handling a donation request from a local community group or charity:

• Manage your philanthropy like any business activity. Decide how much money (or commercial value) you are willing to donate each year, and then stick to that budget.
• Get on the front foot. Write to community groups at the start of the year and ask them to submit a proposal if they’d like your support. This way, you can choose the groups that are a good fit for your business and your community. It also gives you a response when you are asked for support.
• Support the groups that support you. Look for groups that have members who are also your customers. This way, you’re helping both the group and your business.
• Let your shoppers choose. If you offer discount vouchers, you could let customers donate their vouchers to a local group. This is a great way to get your customers involved in your community giving.
• Reward engagement. You could offer a discount to customers who are members of a local group. This would encourage them to shop at your business, and it would also support the group. This is critical advice. There has to be a commercial benefit for your business if you are to be able to help these community groups into the future.
• Educate groups about good engagement. Let groups know that you’re looking for ways to work together to benefit the community. You could ask them to do things like promote your business on their social media pages, or write about you in their newsletters.
• Write about your engagement. Once you’ve chosen the groups you’re going to support, write about it on your website and social media. Don’t be boastful or arrogant, be grateful. This will help to raise awareness of the groups, and it will also show your customers that you’re committed to giving back to the community.

Your giving should serve both your heart and your business. By following these tips, you can make sure that your donations are a valuable investment for both you and your community.

Here are some additional tips:

• Be clear about your expectations. Let groups know what you’re looking for in a partnership, and what you expect from them in return.
• Be professional. Even if you’re dealing with a small community group, it’s important to be professional in your dealings with them.
• Be grateful. When a group partners with you, be sure to thank them for their support.

By following these tips, you can build strong relationships with community groups and make a real difference in your community.

Our customer service chatbot is providing terrific advice and customer service 24/7. Relying solely on what we train it and with no external knowledge access, this chatbot is made for Tower Systems customers. It frees our terrific help desk team for support calls that require human knowledge and experience. This is what our customers are loving too.

The chatbot answers the query and provides links to the knowledge sources on which it has relied to provide the advice.

Here are some live chatbot examples (without the source details included for this public post):

Customer query: No retailer data found.

Chatbot response: The “No Retailer Data Found” error typically occurs when your computer can’t connect to the MAIN/SERVER computer or is looking in the wrong location for the data. This is often due to network issues blocking the connection between PCs.
To resolve this:

Check if you can access the internet on both your PC and the MAIN computer. If not, try restarting your router/modem.

If internet access is working, the issue might be with the IP address settings on your POS/CLIENT computer. To fix this:

• Open Retailer Backup on the CLIENT PC
• Click Settings -> Database Settings in the left menu
• At “Server IP or Name”, enter your MAIN/SERVER computer’s name

If these steps don’t resolve the issue, you may need to perform more advanced network troubleshooting or contact our support team for assistance.

Customer query: Cash drawer not opening.

Chatbot response: There are several reasons why your cash drawer might not be opening. Here’s how we can troubleshoot and fix the issue:

Check your receipt printer: The cash drawer is typically triggered by the receipt printer. Make sure it’s turned on and printing correctly.

Inspect cable connections: Shut down the computer, then check the cable connections between the till and the printer at both ends. Ensure they’re firmly plugged in and not damaged. Unplug and replug if necessary, then restart the computer and try again.
Verify Retailer settings:

• Go to Setup -> General -> Pay Types tab. Ensure appropriate payment types are ticked to open the cash drawer.
• Go to Setup -> Point of Sale -> Terminals tab. Check that the current terminal has a till ID ticked to have a cash drawer (verify under Till Setup).
Confirm Retailer configuration:
• Click Setup -> Point Of Sale -> Terminals tab
• Note the Till ID for the highlighted row
• Go to the Till Setup tab
• Tick ‘Cash Draw’ for the noted Till ID
• Save, close, and restart Retailer

If these steps don’t resolve the issue, please contact our support team for further assistance.

Customer query: export customer list from Retailer.

Chatbot response: We offer multiple ways to export a customer list from our Retailer software. Here’s how you can do it:
Using the Export Data utility:

• Go to Utilities -> Import/Export Files -> Export Data
• Choose your export options (Basic or Advanced)
• Select the customer fields you want to include
• Click Export and choose where to save the file (TXT or CSV format)

Using the Customer Listing Report:
• Go to Reports -> Customer -> Customer Listing
• Select customer categories and sorting options
• Run the report to view or export customer information

Using Marketing Tools (if you have the Marketing module):
• Go to Marketing -> Marketing Tools
• Create a new template or modify an existing one
• Generate your customer list
• Export to CSV or Excel, or use it for SMS campaigns

Choose the method that best suits your needs. If you need more detailed instructions for any of these options, please let me know.

Customer query: My eftpos is not connecting

Chatbot response: I understand you’re having issues with your EFTPOS not connecting. Before we proceed with troubleshooting, could you please tell me which EFTPOS provider you’re using? This information will help me provide more accurate and specific guidance for your situation.

Customer response: NAB

Chatbot response: To troubleshoot your NAB EFTPOS connection issue, we recommend the following steps:

Check your internet connection: Ensure both your computer and the EFTPOS terminal have a stable internet connection. If not, try restarting your router or modem.

Verify cable connections: Shut down your computer, then inspect the cable connections between the EFTPOS terminal and your computer. Make sure they’re firmly plugged in and not damaged. Unplug and replug if necessary, then restart your computer and try again.

Restart the EFTPOS terminal: Hold down the Function and Clear buttons to restart the terminal. If it doesn’t restart automatically, hold the Enter key until you see the start-up screen.

Check Retailer settings: Go to Setup -> Point of Sale -> Terminals tab. Ensure the current terminal has the correct EFTPOS settings.

Update Retailer software: Make sure you’re using the latest version of our software, as older versions may have EFTPOS-related issues.

If these steps don’t resolve the issue, you may need to contact NAB directly for further assistance, as they handle the EFTPOS integration on their end.

Customer query: emails are not sending.

Chatbot response: There are several reasons why your emails might not be sending. First, check the Mail Queue Manager (Tasks -> Mail Queue Manager) to see the status of your emails. Here are some common issues and solutions:

If emails have a ‘Failed’ status:

• Check the Response column for specific error messages.
• Common issues include incorrect username/password, expired credentials, or authentication problems.

If emails have a ‘New’ status:

• You may need to complete the email setup.
• The Mail Queue service might have stopped responding.

If emails have a ‘None’ status:

• For Gmail users, redo the Email Setup and ensure you tick ‘Send email on your behalf’ during the login steps.

To fix these issues, you can try:

Re-entering your email password in the setup.

Restarting the Mail Queue service.

Resending failed emails by right-clicking and selecting ‘Resend Email’ or ‘Resend All Failed Emails’.

If problems persist, updating to the latest version of Retailer may help resolve email authentication issues.