Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/66137
TE CHNOL OG Y her keep pace as Artesa maintains a database of approximately 55,000 people. Champagne stressed the importance of being able to generate complex reports with numerous variables to under- stand client buying habits and preferences. Tina Smith, owner of 10,000-case Cypress Bend Vineyards, Wagram, N.C., has been using VinNOW for six years. When shopping for a POS system, one of her biggest concerns was ease of use. "When we were starting up the winery in 2005 I had to train new people, and I wanted to make sure people could use the system within 10 minutes of stepping in to learn," she recalled. She added that her user-friendly POS system of choice had to be coupled with a functionality that would give her staff the level of reporting they needed. "VinNOW is extremely functional. You can click in, and you have a variety of ways to retrieve reports." Reliability, which falls under the ease-of-use umbrella, has also kept Smith a faithful VinNOW client. "It hasn't failed us in six years. It has never gone down," she said. "There are minor glitches here and there, but there's a great sup- port line. They get back to you right away." Strong technical support Craig Root suggested asking your POS provider, "If the cash reg- ister breaks down on a Saturday, how soon can you fix it? If you can't fix it over the phone, how soon can a technician be there? If you can't get it fixed, how long until you can get a replacement?" The same questions apply if your POS software system goes down. When it came time for Jenn Berman to select a POS system, having a good technical support team to back the product was one of the most important criteria. She was interested in how willing the provider was to help set up reports since every ac- The Elypsis POS system keeps the tasting room moving at Mumm Napa. countant has a unique way of looking at data. Plus, she wanted to be able to filter and be flexible with the database. "You need a strong technical support team to help you figure it out. Most of us aren't technically savvy, so it's another language. Microworks has great technical support," she said. When negotiating price with your POS provider, Craig Root recommends negotiating as many training hours and support hours as possible up front, because post-purchase support can get expensive. Count the keystrokes A N A T U R A L L Y S E A S O NE D YEAR WOOD ccording to tasting room consultant Craig Root, "It is better when the cash register is set up by the tasting room manager and staff, not the accounting department. You want minimal keystrokes, not 14 keystrokes for a paid tasting. Excessive key- strokes stress out the staff and cause lines to form." It also makes it harder to train new employees. The need for speed Some weekends at Stryker Sonoma, guests will line up three deep at the tasting room bar. That's when the importance of POS speed comes into play. Berman attributes her tasting room's client processing speed to Microworks' Wine Direct. "It has a touch screen with color-coded keys and is a 15-30 second process from keying in the order, swiping the card and print- ing a receipt," she said. Another consideration that may impact processing speed is whether a winery's Internet connection is dial-up, cable or DSL. "How fast you can swipe through to the bank has to do with your payment processor, too." she said. All the pieces have to be considered to get a clear notion of overall processing speed. Nothing is more stressful than a logjam of guests at the cash register who need their wine shipped across the country. Harvey Grant, president of Elypsis, Napa, Calif., presented one of the most frustrating retail scenarios for tasting room managers. "Imagine a tour bus horn blows and everyone has 36 Wines & Vines JULY 2011 RYAN GRANT