Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have noticed the emergence of self-service point-of-sale systems, most commonly at airports and grocery stores. These appear to be fast becoming the way of the future and have meant that customers no longer have to wait in long lines to be served when they are more than capable of helping themselves. The following is a short guide to self-service POS.
Why?
Self-service options can make it far quicker and easier for a person to come into your store, make a purchase, and be on their way in no time, making it far more likely people will still come in even if they don’t have much time to spare. With more people serving themselves, you will likely be able to save on labour costs or, free up your staff to provide better customer service.

How?
The most popular setup for self-serve POS systems is to have a section at one end of your registers designated as being for self-service. This way, customers will simply need to scan the products the same way they will have seen their cashier do a million times before, and then transact via the kiosk using the preferred method. Thermal roll receipt paper will then provide a high-quality receipt, resistant to smudging or fading.
Providing help
It is important to still provide a staff member to be able to answer any questions as people get used to dealing with the new system, so it’s a good idea to have at least one staff member stationed close by the self-serve POS kiosks. Most of these kiosks also have a voice prompting customers so that they know what to do next, and it may even say thank you once the transaction is completed. Regardless, many people are reluctant to embrace change, so until everyone is comfortable with the system, make sure you have staff available to help customers become acquainted to this new technology.
Monitoring
A big concern for a lot of businesses looking to self-serve POS as a possible solution is making sure that they aren’t providing an easy way for people to steal. To incorporate a little more oversight, you can have a separate screen installed to monitor the details of all of the transactions taking place at the self-service kiosks; this allows a staff member to keep a general eye on whether or not people are being honest and paying for their purchases accurately. However, there is always a possibility for product loss, making it worthwhile having a few extra security measures in place, at least then if something very valuable is stolen, you should be able to track the thief.
If your business has decided to embrace a little more self service, make sure you introduce it slowly and explain it well. You don’t want to lose business simply because your customers don’t know how to give pay for their goods.