"With the Touch POS, training's so easy that you zip right through it. The register itself guides the sale and practically finishes it for you." Chris Prescott,
Co-op Bookstore Owner and Manager
Client Challenge
Owned and operated by the Prescott family since 1933, Baton Rouge's historic Co-op Bookstore serves both Louisiana State University students and the community as a whole. In 2004, after more than 70 years in the same building, the Prescotts moved into a new space three times the size of their old store in order to accommodate more customers and to make room for more inventory. The Co-op Bookstore expansion project was sure to generate greater traffic and a higher sales volume, so the Prescotts needed more registers and the latest in point-of-sale (POS) technology.
The new Co-op Bookstore was scheduled to open in January 2004—just in time for the semester’s rush. Being familiar with the challenges of rush, the Prescotts were looking for a POS system that was high-tech, ergonomic, and easy for employees to master. As rush was quickly approaching, the Prescotts were hiring many temporary employees to run the registers. Manager Chris Prescott was adamant that his new registers require minimal training and that the first rush at the new Co-op Bookstore go off without a hitch.
Solution
MBS Systems presented the Prescotts with the newest in POS technology: The IBM
Touchscreen POS Register with Suremark printer and WelchAllyn scanner. Impressed
with the Touch POS’s innovative capabilities and how seamlessly the system communicated with their MBS text management software, the Prescotts agreed that the Touch POS was the right register for Co-op.
Setting up the registers was quick and easy, and training time for the Touch POS took about an hour—significantly less training time than for other register systems. The Prescotts were able to use the time they saved to put the final touches on their new store. Co-op's first rush in the new facility was a smashing success, and Chris was particularly impressed by how quickly and efficiently the cashiers were ringing sales at the registers. He attributes this to the Touch POS’s on-screen prompts and the easy-to-read display screens. Chris also noticed fewer cashier errors, something he says stems from the fact that the Touch POS system "won’t let you push the wrong buttons."
