Trying Something New
By nature, I am a person who likes to stick to a routine, or a daily schedule. This includes all things, such as work, the tech writing business, martial arts, working out, etc. But I also realize that “variety is the spice of life”, and so after being with my beautiful girlfriend Anita, I have learned to broaden my horizons just a bit, and try different things, especially when it comes to eating different kinds and types of foods. Probably the best example of this is just about two weeks ago. I am not a huge fan of Italian food, but we ended up going to a fairly nice and romantic restaurant called “Brio’s”, located very near to where I live. It was a very special and sweet time for the both of us, and believe it or not, I have come to like Italian just a little bit more now.
But since we are on this topic of places to eat, have you ever wondered how your waiter or waitress can juggle around so much cash and credit cards at the register, and still keep everything straight??? I have sometimes wondered that, and so far, I have always been tendered back the right change and credit card. A huge point of frustration for these workers, is in during peak rush times, getting that cash register open and closed as quickly as possible, and trying to keep up all those passwords straight which are needed to open it. Well, a solution is now available from a Biometrics Vendor known as “Digital Persona, Inc.”, and the eatery where this is deployed is known as “Sailormen, Inc.”, which is a franchise of Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits.
The inside goop: “DigitalPersona, Inc., a global provider of authentication and endpoint protection solutions, today announced Sailormen, Inc., the largest Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits franchise in the U.S., is rolling out U.are.U Fingerprint Readers to 148 locations throughout Alabama, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri. Sailormen, Inc. has found that the deployment of fingerprint biometrics as a part of their point-of-sale (POS) systems, has improved employee accountability, increased sales, and reduced both unauthorized transactions and payroll fraud . . . This Popeye's operator uses U.are.U fingerprint readers and point-of-sale software for verification of manager overrides and for employee time and attendance tracking. Prior to the use of fingerprint biometrics, managers at the company's Popeye's locations used swipe cards to authorize overrides and voids, and employees "punched in" using a pass code. By using the biometric readers for time and attendance, employees can no longer punch in for one another, dramatically reducing payroll fraud. In addition, with fingerprint biometrics, employees cannot "borrow" a manager's card for transaction authorizations, thereby increasing the assurance that a manager has approved all overrides and followed the proper business and loss-prevention processes. As a result, the Popeye's locations with fingerprint-equipped POS systems have experienced a decrease in overrides and inventory losses due to fraud.”
Final Thoughts On Today’s Posting
The immediate benefits from this Biometrics solution are very obvious:
*Increased sales;
*An enhanced level of employee accountability;
*A virtual elimination of payroll fraud (which can cost SME’s up to 5% a year in terms of the overall payroll budget), which stems from “buddy punching”;
*An almost irrefutable audit trail, and this is a prime advantage for managers at high volume restaurants. For example, there is now proof if a manager has authorized a POS override or not versus if it was done illegally by an employee;
*A huge decrease in shrinkage;
*Ease of integration into POS Systems;
*There is a very quick rate of return (ROI) by using this type of Biometrics solution; for example, it is claimed that a positive ROI can be garnered in just 30 days, and best of all, “ . . . A growing number of merchants are telling us these savings alone can pay for a whole POS refresh . . .” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9055/).
This Biometrics solution will be a massive one, as it will be deployed across in almost 150 restaurant locations, with a geographic target of states in the Midwest and the South. My view on this??? I think this is great. I just wish other fast food types of restaurants would employ this kind of Biometrics solution into the future.
A prime example of this is the McDonald’s which is just right across from my apartment building. I go there every day for my hazelnut coffee (used to go to Starbuck’s, but McD’s is much cheaper), and there is often a long line at the POS terminals. Why???
Because the poor cashier has to open the cash register each time there is a cash sale, and have to enter their POS passwords each and every time. Perhaps, with the swipe of a fingerprint, customer lines and wait times will be greatly reduced, making everybody all involved very happy and satisfied. After all, there is no business like repeat business.
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