CategoryCustomer Service

We appreciate the thoughtfulness of suppliers and colleagues as they thank us at Christmas time. This year already we have received an abundance of gifts we are sharing with colleagues in-house.

This beautiful box of Krug Vintage 2000 will be especially appreciated. It is a fine drop.

While we are thrilled to work with so many wonderful companies and people in those companies in what we do here at Tower Systems, this special appreciation of the bottle of Krug from them is something for which we are most grateful.

Christmas cheer is in full taste.

Here are tell-tale signs a POS software company fails its customers:

1. Software is updates without advance notice and without allowing small business retailers to choose whether to use the update or not.
2. Support calls take hours or days to be responded to.
3. No regular free training.
4. No user meetings.
5. No easy to navigate plain English online advice.
6. No comprehensive video training library.
7. No transparent process for choosing what is in software updates.
8. No easy ace to senior management or the ownership of the company.

POS software companies that fail in these and other ways damage the reputation all software companies. They make our job harder.

Small business retailers love being able to talk directly with our software development experts.

Our customers love being able to find out more about the software, discuss future plans and explore opportunities beyond what may be covered in a help desk discussion.

Too many software companies hide their development experts away from customers. Not Tower Systems.

Our leadership team and out software development team are accessible to our customers, giving our customers an advantage over retailers using POS software from companies that do not provide such transparency.

This is a Tower systems difference, an advantage for our retail partners over others, a way we help our retailers and how they help us as we have a shared goal of providing the best solution for we know that will help us grow market share.

Last week we mailed, yes through the post office, a print newsletter to our 3,500+ small business retail customers. This is in addition to our weekly email newsletter.

We figured an update by snail mail would be good to catch those who do not read emails. It did. The contact from customers following the mailing has been terrific.

The experience we have had is a reminder for any company service small businesses that it is important to have more than one or two channels of communication with your customers. We are thrilled with the response.

It was great to catch up with retailers using our specialist POS software in Auckland earlier this week. These meetings along with our other recent user meetings help keep us close to our customers, provide feedback on our plans and open other opportunities for us to explore as our customers take us into their confidence.

Being close to your customers is vital to any POS software company today and the best way to do this is through face to face contact between the decision makers.

Even though our head office is in Melbourne and it is a public holiday for the race that stops a nation, we are open today for support calls. All our usual numbers are operating.

Tower Systems has a structured approach to helping new owners of small businesses are e our POS software is in use. From admin to the help desk to management, we welcome new owners into our community with free assistance and support, to help them settle into their use of the software smoothly and efficiently.

With retail businesses changing hands at a considerable pace, we have found that a structured process brings certainty to the new small business owners, helping them to settle in sooner and helping them to benefit from our POS software.

Our new owner training and support is another difference from Tower Systems that serves small business retailers. Our approach demonstrates a commitment to certainty and structure that delivers practical business outcomes. We are thrilled to be in a position to commit resources to this work and grateful to our new owner customers for their support.

Taking over a retail business can be challenging with many different parties wanting you to immediately understand their engagement with the business. Our role is to help facilitate efficiency so time is available for these other parties, to ensure technology is not a burden.

For us, the new owner engagement starts with this brief welcome video, which then leads to free training.

We are looking forward to our sessions next week in Auckland with retailers using our POS software. We are investing time and money to ensure we are in front of as many customers to share news about software updates and other benefits delivered this year to Tower Systems retailers.

The POS software user meetings being hosted by Tower Systems around Australia and in New Zealand this week and next are generating terrific engagement and appreciation as everyday users get to learn, ask questions and make suggestions.

The meetings are also proving an opportunity for users of other software to compare the Tower experience and consider joining our user community.

The user meetings are a point of difference of which we are proud.

We are grateful for customer support.

We are spending a considerable sum flying people around the country, paying for good venues and catering. The pay-off is happier customers who themselves get more from their POS software experience.

The whole experience is an example of actions speaking louder than words. For us this is important as we do believe in providing the best possible customer service experience and the best possible service must include these face to face opportunities.

The free POS software user meetings Tower Systems is hosting later this month are filling fast. Here are the dates you can book now:

• Oct 26: BNE 10am.
• Oct 27: SYD 10am.
• Oct 28: ADL 10am.
• Oct 29: MEL 10am.
• NOV 5: PER 9am.

We have also added Auckland for November 2. We are about to add the Gold Coast.

At these events our customers will have direct access to senior software development managers as well as the owner of Tower. We will discuss future plans and business innovation – as well as seeking suggestions for future development.