Check  out the latest edition of the Retail Optimizer with special offers that allow you to get huge savings off of Retail Pro SA as well as a FREE subscription to Radiant System’s E-commerce system CPOnline.

Retail Technology Experts (RTE) today announced the addition of Radiant Systems’ CounterPoint retail point-of-sale solution to their suite of POS products.

For over 25 years, Radiant Systems has provided point-of-sale technology to retail and hospitality operators across the globe. Radiant’s user-friendly technology not only ensures that retailers have the right products at the right price; it reduces the complexity of retailers’ lives. This allows them to connect and engage with consumers in an open, innovative and secure way. Radiant’s flexible CounterPoint solution includes a robust inventory management system, touch screen POS ticket entry, integrated e-commerce, mobile alerting, built-in gift card and customer loyalty programs and e-mail marketing.

“CounterPoint’s integrated e-commerce, secure transaction processing and affordability make it an excellent solution for retailers of all sizes, and we are excited to add it to our portfolio of POS products,” said Mahendran Ramanathan, president of Retail Technology Experts. “Radiant’s commitment to service aligns with RTE’s mission of providing excellent support for our customers. We look forward to working with Radiant as we present the Counterpoint Solution to retailers across the country.”

“Retail business owners see tremendous value in the flexibility of CounterPoint and the ease in which they can use the system to engage consumers,” said Christian Nahas, vice president of the specialty retail division at Radiant Systems. “Retail Technology Experts is known for delivering outstanding customer service and support, and we are thrilled to add the company to our reseller base.”

I saw a beautiful ad well laid out and obviously professionally done announcing a January clearance event. As an added bonus they said to go to their website to download a coupon. There was only one problem – their website had a message on it “future home of” and names the store. They spent a lot of money on a newspaper ad and sent many people to an a website that didn’t exist. When I shared this story with a friend of mine, her first comment was “oh it must be a new store and couldn’t coordinate everything.” Unfortunately the store was over 30 years old.

That’s bad business.

I was recently in Belks and I observed a woman coming up to the cash register with an item we both looked at on a clearance rack which said “the prices are already reduced 50% and until noon credit card holders can take an additional 25% off.” This woman went to the cashier with 4 or 5 items and I stood there as they were being processed.As the cashier was ringing in the sales, she rang in this one item that had an original price of $60 and it was marked down to $36. So the cashier rang it in for $36 and the customer pointed out that the rack indicated they were marked down 50% off and not 40% off. Plus she pointed out that there should be an additional 25% off. The cashier said “not on this item – someone must have put it on the wrong rack.” The customer said “this rack is right in front of you – how come you didn’t see it?” To which the cashier said “oops we made a mistake but I still can’t honor that discount.”

The customer was annoyed because she felt she hadn’t done anything wrong. She insisted to see the manager. At this point I have paper and pencil out ready to witness a fight. But not this manager as she went over to the woman and said “mam, you are absolutely right.” DUH! She said “it doesn’t make any difference we do not want to lose you as a valued customer over something as silly as this. We will honor whatever you expect.” She was sorry for any inconvenience it caused the woman and gave her a $10 coupon. Then the magic occurred when she turned to me and said “that’s why I love this store.” And I said “me too.”

That’s good business.

Another incident that occurred was when a friend of mine went into a major drugstore chain that we are all familiar with to pick up 3 prescriptions. He came out and said that they hadn’t filled all 3 and made a blatant error on the label instructing him to take one of the prescriptions incorrectly. Then the pharmacist approached him and said “instead of changing the labeling you know how to take it anyway.” And if that wasn’t bad enough, the next day he received a reminder call from the drugstore asking if he wanted to order 2 of the same prescriptions he had already picked up.

That’s bad business.

Another friend of mine wanted to share a story about great service she had experienced in a store where she was buying a special occasion dress. I chuckled a little when she told me this story but it was her point of view that was more important than mine because she was the customer. The saleswoman said to her “I will tell you honestly when something doesn’t look good on you.” And she did or so my friend thought. She came out of the dressing room with one of the dresses and the salesperson said “I love it.” The next dress she told her to take off. My friend was so impressed that she had to tell me considering my background. According to my friend she believes that what that person did was good business. And it was good business.

What the real good business was that the salesperson was so well trained to pick up the body language and the facial expression of my friend when she came out of the dressing room. She was smart enough to go with flow. You can tell when someone likes something, and people don’t buy something they don’t like. From the customer’s point of view it was good business. From a professional’s point of view it was good business, good training and a good salesperson.

That’s good business.

I have been dealing with a contractor who is putting on an addition to my home. I gave him a deposit and he tells me the date he would be starting which was about a month after he got the money. But he didn’t show up on the day he told me. After repeated calls and emails and four days after he was going to start, he told me he would definitely be there the following Monday. Again he didn’t show on Monday or Tuesday. By late Tuesday night I had it and proceeded to go online to report this to the Better Business Bureau. On the form it asked what remedy I wanted and I said that all I wanted was to have the job done as agreed to.

Before 9:00 the next morning, I received a phone call from the President of the company’s wife and instead of making stupid excuses and trying to defend their position, she accepted the fact they had made a mistake and took full responsibility. She even asked what they could do to make their customer experience better. That to me was a WOW and the reason is that in life, as in business, we somehow have this burning desire to defend ourselves or feel as if we must compete. We are afraid to say we did something wrong so instead of making a bunch of excuses, she nipped it at the bud, accepted responsibility and we agreed on a plan which would make my life and hers better. I now have a production schedule. If they can’t make it, it’s OK because they always let me know where they are and what they are doing. I can’t ask for more than that.

That was bad business but it turned into good business.

How have you turned a possible bad business moment into a good business moment?

Visit Rick Segel at  http://www.ricksegel.com/

Retail Technology Experts 

“We are excited to announce our move to a new facility in Miramar, FL,” stated Mahendran Ramanathan, President of Retail Technology Experts. “This change in location will give us added flexibility as well as convenient access for those customers needing to reach our offices. The upgraded facility will also allow us to provide service and support in a more efficient manner while minimizing our impact on the environment.”

 As of January 3, 2011, the contact information for Retail Technology Experts will be:

3601 SW 160th Avenue, Suite 110

Miramar, FL 33027

Toll Free: 800.513.5917

Local: 305.231.0000

Fax: 305.231.0010

Web: www.RetailTechnologyExperts.com

Businesses needing to send physical mail to Retail Technology Experts offices should update their records to reflect this change. The phone numbers for the office will remain the same.

Retail Technology Experts strives to continually provide improved customer support and services to retailers in South Florida and throughout the nation. RTE looks forward to meeting with customers, prospects, and partners at their new location next year.

Retail Pro has released a new version of the Software Assurance website for customers with active Software Assurance. Located at http://softwareassurance.retailpro.com, the site features:

Retail Pro TV: a collection of training videos designed to provide customers with on-demand training and information about the rich feature-set of Retail Pro software. Our Training Department will continually add videos to Retail Pro TV.

Knowledge Base: an overhaul of the Knowledge Base providing an improved, easier-to-use interface with articles of greater relevance to the customer. Our Technical Support department will continually add articles to the new Knowledge Base.

Improved Search: The new Search tool provides improvements as it indexes PDF and MS Office documents, allowing search capabilities within these document types stored in the Documentation Portal and Knowledge Base. This will lead to better search results for Retail Pro customers.

Existing functionality will remain, including Discussion Forums, the Documentation Portal, and information on Training and Support options. Retail Pro customers will continue to login with their email address and current password. This change will be transparent, except for the additional functionality discussed above.

If you have any questions regarding these excellent changes to the Retail Pro Software Assurance website, please contact your Account Manager at 800.513.5917.

Released by the National Retail Federation

Washington, November 28, 2010 – Looking to get the biggest bang for their buck this holiday season, a record number of Americas will hit retailers’ websites this Cyber Monday to take advantage of one-day only deals, percentages off websites, and free shipping offers. According to a survey conducted for Shop.org by BIGresearch, 106.9 million Americans, plan to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up significantly from the estimated 96.5 million who shopped on Cyber Monday last year. A survey released last week found that nearly nine in ten (88.2%) retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, growing each year since 2007, when 72.2 percent planned promotions.

“As the official kick-off to the online holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday shoppers will scour the internet looking for holiday gifts from a variety of retailers, making sure to take note of specific prices and deals which offer them holiday savings,” said Joan Broughton, Interim Executive Director of Shop.org. “Hundreds of retailers have already announced special Cyber Monday promotions ranging from free shipping offers to flash sales lasting only an hour or two. When it comes to Cyber Monday deals, shoppers know they can’t lose this year.”

Finding holiday deals has never been easier, especially with retailers investing in websites and applications. While the majority of Cyber Monday shoppers will shop from their home computer (89.5%, or 96 million people), a growing number of people this year say they will shop via their smartphone on Cyber Monday. More than seven million people (6.9%) will use a mobile device for Cyber Monday shopping, nearly double the estimated 4 million who shopped that way last year (3.8%). Additionally, slightly fewer people will shop on Cyber Monday from work this year (12.1% vs. 13.5% last year). A Shop.org survey released last week estimated that 70 million Americans would shop from work at some point during the holiday season.

“Mobile shopping gives parents the opportunity to keep their children’s and family members’ wandering eyes away from the computer screen as they search for the perfect holiday gift,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. “When deciding which Cyber Monday deals to take advantage of, many shoppers will use their mobile device to comparison shop, find the best prices, or read customer reviews to help them make their final purchase.”

While many retailers expect to see sales and traffic spike over lunch hours, Cyber Monday shoppers plan to go online throughout the day. According to the survey, 44.2 percent of Cyber Monday shoppers plan to hit the web early in the morning, with more than one-third of (37.5%) planning to shop in the late morning. Additionally, over one-fourth of Cyber Monday shoppers (28.5%) will shop in the early evening.

Make sure to read through the latest issue of the Retail Optimizer including POS tips, retail articles, and our Support Hours for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday and Black Friday. Click here to read.

For most of us, the holidays are also a very hectic time of year. Especially the 12 days leading up to Christmas. And that’s true even if you don’t happen to celebrate Christmas, because it still sets a very short deadline to get the word out about your shop’s holiday promotions via a marketing campaign, and for getting business done in general since most of the business world seems to come to a stop from December 25 until around January 3.

How do you reconcile the high-pressure needs of your small retail business with your family’s desire to roast chestnuts on the open fire? Having a virtual phone service can help. Toward that end, we offer up these 12 small retail business phone tips ‘til Christmas. Hope they help make your season a little brighter..

Tip 1: Use smart call forwarding to carve out a little time for yourself. A small retailer’s time is not his/her own anytime during the year. But during the holidays it’s especially precious. With smart call forwarding you can sneak out to do a little extended shopping of their own, trim the tree with the family, or a holiday lunch without losing touch. Simply forward your calls to your mobile, home or other number and you can answer just as though you’re in the shop to answer any customer’s questions..

Tip 2: Record informational messages that answer repetitive questions. Rather than taking time to answer the same questions about what days you’ll be working over the holidays or what time the shop is open, pre-record a message and make it an option on your virtual receptionist. This tip is extra helpful for shops whose hours will be varying greatly during the holidays. Retailers can also use these messages to post updates on the status of hot holiday items..

Tip 3: Spur holiday sales by offering door busters. Add a burst to your ads and/or direct mail/email promotions encouraging customers to call a particular extension you set up to promote the door buster of the day. You can even use different extensions for each advertising vehicle so you can track which ones get the most calls – thus telling you which are the most effective at driving customers to action..

Tip 4: Enable the virtual receptionist to greet callers during peak times. Many retailers still prefer to have calls answered by a live person for that mom and pop shop kind of feel. But during the holidays, the high volume of calls can make it tough to answer every call promptly. Rather than forcing callers to leave a message or call back when you’re not available, use the virtual receptionist as a backup to provide a friendly, professional greeting and help callers connect with the person or department they want quickly..

Tip 5: Use voicemail transcription to scan through messages. Voicemail messages always seem to multiply during the holidays. Choose a virtual phone service that has the ability to turn voicemails into text, so you can have those messages sent to you via email or as a text to your phone. That way you can quickly skim through them rather than listen to them one at a time. It’s a great way to stay on top of the priorities, especially when you’re out shopping yourself..

Tip 6: Give Santa his own extension. Retailers can get in on the holiday spirit by letting kids call to speak with Santa directly at the North Pole. This works particularly well if you have a toll-free phone number.

Tip 7: Put a ‘Call Me’ button on your Web site. These days customers often gather information on the Web then use other means to make the purchase. Make it easy for them to call by adding a ’Call Me’ button to your Web site. Customers click the button, input the phone number they want to use to receive the call, and are connected quickly – while they’re still looking at the product or service on the screen. It’s doubly important if you’re a retailer without a Web purchasing capability..

Tip 8: Make business calls while you’re out shopping with the family. But when you do, be sure the caller ID appears as if you’re calling from the shop. With a virtual calling card you can make outgoing calls at any time and from anywhere..

Tip 9: Use Caller ID tagging to identify business v. personal calls. By assigning a unique number to appear in front of the caller ID of incoming calls, you can tell at a glance what phone number the caller dialed – your virtual phone number or your direct number. Knowing beforehand if a call is business or personal gives you the ability to choose which calls to answer so you can make more effective use of your time..

Tip 10: Don’t stay behind waiting to receive a fax in your shop while your family heads out to the in-laws for a pre-holiday feast. Treat fax delivery the same as you do with your voicemail messages: by having faxes sent directly to the email inbox on your laptop or smart phone. Never be stuck somewhere waiting for a fax again!.

Tip 11: Use smart call forwarding to offer 24×7 customer support. When customers need help during the holidays, they usually want it right now – even if it’s 2:00 in the morning. With a small staff you can’t be in the shop or another office location 24×7. But you can use smart call forwarding to forward calls to any phone you choose. Have each person on staff take a night to provide that support during the holidays – then advertise it’s available..

Tip 12: Make your holiday bright. Not really a phone tip but still good advice. Take the time to relax, enjoy and refresh yourself for 2011. Happy holidays!.

Kevin Baker is the Product Marketing Manager for my1voice (www.my1voice.com) the cost-effective, feature-rich virtual phone service for small business. Kevin can be reached at kbaker@protus.com.