Digital Problems & Observations

There have been few problems with our digital machines since they replaced the elderly single machine with two new ones (and made everything we do computerised as well - which didn't go down too well with some people initially). As you would expect with any new system there were a few initial teething problems, which were sorted fairly quickly - one was as simple as a poorly sited connection point which kept coming apart (now held together with tape!). Our first major issue since November last year occured this week.

The way the system works is that the customer places an order on either kiosk 1 or kiosk 2, the order is then sent to our computer and we can then send either the whole order or part of it to the printer when we are ready to print it. This has proved itself to be extremely useful especially with larger orders and it also means I no longer dislike the customers who place them since they no longer bugger up the service for everyone else and thus, indirectly at least, make my life difficult.

Kiosk 1 is more popular than kiosk 2 as it is literally a couple of metres less to walk from the entrance to the store. If in any given day there was no point when two customers wanted to use the digital kiosks at the same time then I would estimate that 95% of them would use kiosk 1. The remaining 5% would only use kiosk 2 because they either wanted to scan something or they had come from the other direction. We have the same situation with our checkouts, with numbers 1 to 12 always being busy regardless of how busy the store is and 28 to 33 always being quieter. Even when it's busier people will stand in a queue of 3 or more people at the lower numbered tills rather than walk a bit further up where the queues are shorter or there are even cashiers with no customers. Watching the checkout managers trying to herd these people up there can be an amusing way to pass a few minutes.

Anyway, since kiosk 1 is the most popular it had to be the one to develop a problem. Unfortunately it wasn't a problem we had any chance of being aware of before it was too late. It's issue was that it was taking it's sweet time to send orders to our computer and it had lost a few of them altogether. Of course sods law states that the orders lost or seriously late (we're talking a few hours here) all belonged to the rudest, most irrational customers we have. Some of them we recognise by name alone, that's how bad they can be. Unusually for me I didn't have the dubious pleasure of dealing with any of them otherwise they would normally get a blog entry all of their own.

We took kiosk 1 out of use completely because we couldn't be sure that even if we made it 24 hour orders only that it a) wouldn't lose the order somewhere and b) the customers would pay any attention to the sign. Our maintainance company can connect remotely to each individual terminal we have so it didn't take long for them to attribute the fault to a corrupt file in one of the lost orders and to fix the problem by removing the order from the system. However, they weren't able to determine whether or not the file was already corrupt before it went into our systems or whether it was corrupted by them, so if the customer tries again we may end up with the same issue again.

To prove how blind and/or stupid some of our customers can be I saw at least 3 people walk up to kiosk 1, see it was out of use then turn and walk out. They didn't seem aware of the fact that we have two of them and although they could have assumed that they were both out of use it wouldn't hurt to check, would it?

A couple of digital related things that I've noticed recently. Firstly, the number of people who are walking off without paying for their order first seems to be on the increase. This is annoying because it states clearly that they must be paid for at the time they are ordered. It also causes problems for us because it means we have an order we can't match a receipt to and we have to be 100% sure that we don't have one before we can print a billing receipt for the order. In theory it wouldn't matter because the customer should bring back their order receipt to collect the pictures and if they had paid it would be marked as such. However, so many people don't bother that we often have to rely on the paperwork with the order. If this isn't marked as paid and it's because we lost the receipt then the customer has to prove they've paid or pay again.

We're also not allowed to actually enforce the threat, which is also clearly displayed, of no payment then no pictures. There is therefore no 'punishment' for not paying since they will still get their pictures on time, unless I see them walk away then I will call them back at increasing volume to pay for them. We know there are some people who object to the idea of paying up front and are deliberately not doing so since we get the same names time and time again who haven't paid. I'm going to put forward the idea of keeping a record of everyone who hasn't paid and then not printing orders from those who repeatedly do so. I don't have a problem with the first time since, despite it being very clear (I would take a picture but it would give away where I work), it may be possible to miss it. When it's three or four times however, it's deliberate. If I had my way, however, we would stick to the no payment no pictures rule all of the time in the interests of fairness.

Secondly, it has been officially stated to us that we are not, under any circumstances, to add digital orders together so that it makes it cheaper for the customer. This hasn't gone down well as we've always done that and there have been a few people complain to which my reponse is to show them the piece of paper with it written on and to offer them the address and phone number of the place to complain to. I don't agree with this particular one as it effectively punishes the customer for having to use more than one memory card or CD since each card or disc requires a seperate order. As far as I am concerned, if they order 150 pictures in one order or across 3 different ones then they should pay the same - it's still the same number of pictures after all. However, although I don't agree with it I don't think it's worth losing my job over, so no more adding orders together.

There was one customer who, to my knowledge, hasn't yet collected their pictures and who I really want to deal with when they do. They had a three different digital orders which totalled over 150 pictures and were initally dealt with by our newest member of staff. She was on her own at the time and apparently the customer demanded that they be added together and was quite rightly told that they couldn't be. The "lady" then proceeded to complain that she had them added together in the past and generally berate the memeber of staff for apparently not knowing what she was doing. The customer wasn't especially pleasant and refused point blank to pay for the orders until she could "speak to someone who actually knows what the hell they're doing".

My colleague handled it a lot more dimplomatically than I would have done, which just goes to show that I didn't teach her all of my bad habits. Personally, when she refused to pay, I would have simply told her I would cancel the orders for her and left it at that. Any further complaining would have been met with a mini lecture re. the pay before you go rule and how not to talk to me like she apparently did my colleague. Even if we were able to add the orders together (it was technically not allowed before but there had been no official "don't d0 it" message) she wouldn't have got very far with me by demanding that they be added together. My colleague however just wrote not paid on the receipts and sent her on her way. Damn sure I would have done.

Thirdly, and finally, there also seems to have been a marked increase in the number of people leaving their memory cards behind in the digital kiosks. There have been 4 in the last week and normally we wouldn't get that many in a month. Luckily, since most people have to pay before they leave it's relatively easy for us to reunite card with owner when they pick up their photos, or realise that they've their card behind and come back for it. That's assuming that someone is honest enough to hand it in of course. There's a notice on the whiteboard that a customer left a card in the machine but which hasn't been handed in. It says to call them if it turns up, but it's fairly obvious that someone's helped themselves and there'll be no phonecall.

Oh, and we're being moved at the end of the summer. Swapping places with the kiosk apparently, although I'm not entirely sure what benefits this will have for either department but with the amount it will cost to move everything a few feet (upwards of £100k) there must be a good reason for it. I wonder what I'll be doing while the move is made?