when you buy the software

[nogginns]

Does it come with my menu programmed into it? I know this is probably a silly question but I had to ask it. I really would think that it does since the core part of a pos system is it's menu.

Can you work on multiple orders at once? What I mean is that if I am taking one order at the counter, and then I answer the phone, can I keep the first order that I am working on open, and then open a new order for the phone call, finish it, and then resume editing the first order? I will need a system that can keep at least 3 orders at a time open.

[Scott]

Does it come with my menu programmed into it? I know this is probably a silly question but I had to ask it. I really would think that it does since the core part of a pos system is it's menu.

No, you have to program your own menu. It is recommended to install the sample data first and have a look around before attempting to add your own menu. This will give you the opportunity to try a typical configuration and see how it works from a cashier's perspective and what it looks like on the back end.

We also offer menu programming for an hourly cost. It really isn't too hard however, just time consuming. There is a video series about adding menus also that starts here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Z5y8t13hM

Can you work on multiple orders at once? What I mean is that if I am taking one order at the counter, and then I answer the phone, can I keep the first order that I am working on open, and then open a new order for the phone call, finish it, and then resume editing the first order? I will need a system that can keep at least 3 orders at a time open.

Yes, you can save an order and then re-edit it at any point later. It is recommended to make all changes to an order before cashing it out however.


Scott

[nogginns]

Wow you're serious? I have to add the menu to the POS system???

I have never in my life heard of a POS system where the POS company didn't add the menu for the buyer. I would expect that you guys would provide this and employee training as a standard service. This is what the other POS companies do and I am at a loss as to why I should go with you guys if you don't even provide these basic services that are generally a standard part of a POS system.

I was expecting that I wouldn't have to deal with programming my menus or the setup or the training of my employees. Can you please tell me, exactly what services do you provide? You don't provide any hardware which I understand, but what services come with my purchase? Please let me know, because so far this is pretty much a deal-breaker.

[H-Man]

No are you serious, is the question. So let me get this straight. You buy POS software for $500 or so, and then the company is going to fly people to your location to set up the software, set up the menus, and train your employees? WOW, what a value!!!!! Heck I probably couldn't get a round trip ticket for only myself to most places much cheaper than that!

Seriously, how would this company even stay in business providing that? The answer is that they couldn't do it. Maybe you should give away a 1-oz. gold coin with each large pizza that you sell? That would be something similar to what you are asking for from Summit.

Sure there are POS companies providing the services that you speak of, but you can't touch their software for anywhere under $10K! On top of that you would be paying a monthly maintenance fee of anywhere from $200-$300 just to use the $10K plus software that you purchased.

If you need someone to set up your system and menus that is understandable and doable, and still far less expensive than the what the "other" products would cost you. Hire a local computer company to do the setup, and then hire Summit to do your menus. Training is easy, I'll fly in and do it for a fee, or you can have the company that sets up the computers do it, or one of your employee's who's tech-savvy could also easily do it. This system is very easy to use. The menus are probably the most complex thing to setup from scratch, but they are more time consuming than difficult. Maybe you should check out some of the video links that people have posted here. I didn't even have that when I did mine, I just followed the docs.

[Scott]

Wow you're serious? I have to add the menu to the POS system???

I have never in my life heard of a POS system where the POS company didn't add the menu for the buyer. I would expect that you guys would provide this and employee training as a standard service. This is what the other POS companies do and I am at a loss as to why I should go with you guys if you don't even provide these basic services that are generally a standard part of a POS system.

There are several different types of POS systems out there. There are your DIY models, and then there are the full-service models. Ours is a DIY model. This is exactly how we keep our prices where they are, by not offering the extra's that some of the larger companies do. This is great for a lot of users, but granted, it's not for everyone.

I was expecting that I wouldn't have to deal with programming my menus or the setup or the training of my employees. Can you please tell me, exactly what services do you provide? You don't provide any hardware which I understand, but what services come with my purchase? Please let me know, because so far this is pretty much a deal-breaker.

We provide 3-hours of telephone support with our package. If you use it up, you can buy 3 more hours for only $105, and they never expire (unlike other companies). Again as other users have pointed out, our system is very inexpensive so you can't compare us to the ones that cost 20 times more than ours. It's just not the same, and really isn't a fair comparison.

If you need full-service then my personal recommendation is to use one of the full service POS providers. They will do everything and get you up and running. It will certainly cost a lot more than our system, but if this is what you are looking for, then we're not really the right provider. On the other hand, if you want to attempt to do it yourself, our package can save you thousands of dollars. I would start by downloading the free [LT] version of POS Pizza and reading through the provided documentation. Try setting the free version up, and adding some menu items to it. If you are successful, then you have half of the battle won. To setup the full version, you can simply move the menus from the free version so you won't have to do them again. The only real difference would be that you would need to possibly setup shared printing through Windows. Most of the time, that isn't too hard to do, and you can always hire a network professional to assist with the setup. Even if you have to hire someone, your end cost will be lower than it would be buying one of the full service POS systems.

There are a lot of different needs for restaurant owners, so there are quite a few types of POS companies to choose from. A POS system is a big investment and you want to get your money's worth out of it. Look around at everything that is out there, and then make a decision that you can be happy with. I am sorry if our solution doesn't meet your specific needs, but any single company can't be for everyone.

Scott

[nogginns]

If it's all about the cost, then that is really poor thinking. It should be all about the customer service. If it's not that way, then that's another deal-breaker. When a company is worried too much about charging for this service or charging for that service, it just isn't going to do well in the long run. @H-Man the gold coin with a large pizza analogy is a poor one, because the gold coin is a tangible item. Customer support on the other hand is not tangible. It is nothing more than a little effort on the company's part who provides it. It wouldn't cost Summit anything at all to install my menu into the POS for me, but instead they seem to be worried about making an extra buck. This shows a lack of providing a good customer service so I will look elsewhere.

[Scott]

If it's all about the cost, then that is really poor thinking. It should be all about the customer service. If it's not that way, then that's another deal-breaker. When a company is worried too much about charging for this service or charging for that service, it just isn't going to do well in the long run. @H-Man the gold coin with a large pizza analogy is a poor one, because the gold coin is a tangible item. Customer support on the other hand is not tangible. It is nothing more than a little effort on the company's part who provides it. It wouldn't cost Summit anything at all to install my menu into the POS for me, but instead they seem to be worried about making an extra buck. This shows a lack of providing a good customer service so I will look elsewhere.

Service is labor and is therefore tangible. We have to pay our menu developers hourly. We can't just pay for their time, and then give that away because it would cause us to have a negative cash flow. If you have too much negative cash flow you don't typically stay in business for very long. Each service and product that we sell has a cost to us. We have to make enough to cover those costs, just like you do in your business. Do you charge for delivery? Most people do because you have to pay your delivery drivers, and they need to put gas in their cars, or they wouldn't do the work for you in the first place. You can't just give that away because it is a service. I seriously doubt that you could convince your drivers to do it at no charge just because it is "good customer service".

We will be happy to help you setup your system and program your menus, but there is a cost associated with this, and you must be willing to pay for it. Just because there is a cost does not make it poor customer service. I don't know of any other companies providing "free services", and if they claim that they are, the costs are simply hidden someplace else. We are very straightforward and reasonable with our pricing, and can't possibly make it cost any less than we do and stay in business.

There are lots of options for you to choose from, so I wish you the best in finding a solution that best meets your needs.

Scott

[JohnnyD]

Nogginns,

There are tutorial videos available at the link below that will show you the basics to adding menu items. It may clear up some of your service concerns as you will see what the process entails.

Hope it helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Z5y8t1 ... xw4TIeai4e


- JohnnyD

[H-Man]

@H-Man the gold coin with a large pizza analogy is a poor one, because the gold coin is a tangible item.

@nogginns - You're an idiot if you think services aren't tangible. Good luck finding a POS provider.