Category: Protouch News

Carnival UK, the Britain's largest cruise ship operator, is piloting our kiosks at sea.

Until now Carnival has found it difficult to remove inefficient cash on board processes.  As one of the largest vacation companies in the world with a fleet of 11 UK Ships, and 96 ships globally, the mixture of cash and other processes is unnecessarily taking its toll on man hours.

With the new automatic system, crew members will be able to use the kiosks to top up their accounts without the need for staff assistance. They simply insert their Personalised Crew cards to check their card balance, top up their account, check currency crew exchange rates and also view personal details.

Julian Banasiewicz, IT Projects Manager at Carnival UK, said: “The business response towards the kiosks has been very positive with the kiosks taking £40,000 in the first 3 weeks at sea. We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Protouch across our iconic Cunard and P&O Cruise Ships for further rollouts, and hope to extend the functionality of these kiosks in the future.”

We are providing the total solution; hardware, software and a managed service with support and maintenance.

Carnival UK elected for the Xen X4 kiosks featuring note acceptors, 80mm receipt printers and magnetic stripe card readers.

The kiosks were launched on new ship Queen Elizabeth for its maiden voyage on October 12^th. A successful trial will see Carnival UK rollout out the kiosks across its high profile P&O Cruises and Cunard, brands.  Future initiatives include a review of Passenger facing functions to extend the use of our kiosk technology to automate passenger processes on board.

If you are looking to deploy a kiosk system into your business then we recommend that you have a look at our critical guide which looks at the things businesses need to consider when deploying a public facing kiosk. You can access the Kiosk Guide here.

For more information visit Protouch today.

We received the award in partnership with XN Leisure and Aberdeen Sports Village Leisure Centre for their ‘Virtual Receptionist’ kiosk solution during the awards ceremony held at Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane on 28 October 2010.   

“The award went to a project that is helping a company to control costs, increase profitability and efficiency while at the same time increasing the standard and quality of service,” announced the Retail Systems judges.   

The 2010 judging panel included: Luke Phillips, Head of Information Systems, Kurt Geiger; Sharon Peters, Programme Manager at Retail Systems, Marks & Spencer; Hayley Meenan-Wilkin, Head of Web Operations, Tesco.com; and Scott Thompson, Editor for Retail Systems.   

Now into its fifth year, the Awards look to recognise excellence and innovation in the field of information technology within the UK retail sector.   

The ‘Virtual Receptionist’ automated the whole booking, ticketing and payment process for Aberdeen Sports Village and is now used by 80 per cent of its members.   

It has leveraged Aberdeen Sports Village resources by turning receptionist staff into Customer Service Ambassadors and has greatly enhanced customer experience by increasing the speed of transactions and efficiency with which customers can now check in and make bookings.

In a bid to bring self service kiosks to the forefront of the leisure industry, Protouch have launched a complete industry guide offering tips and advice about leisure kiosk systems.

The condensed pack features an array of information to answer all your kiosk needs as well as keeping the leisure industry in the loop on how to expand their demographic and explore new means to attract more customers.

Their tips cover:

• why not to reinvent the wheel when designing a kiosk, best practice for use and how to protect your investment
• extra tips on outside factors, such as marketing, prime locations and staff training as well as
• a few hints and advice for kiosk uses and accessories.

There are so many different uses for a kiosk and the Protouch leisure industry guide covers them all. From cinema payment systems to an internet kiosk, the Protouch

So get access to your FREE copy of 'Mastering Kiosk Deployment within the leisure sector' by clicking here.

Demand for fast, convenient purchasing has seen the self-service industry boom in the last few years and it shows no sign of slowing as customers become more and more acquainted with their robotic friends.

Customers' needs and expectations for fast and convenient service are growing which means a traditional, more slowly-paced service can leave people frustrated, downing goods and walking away empty handed, taking your profits with them.

This is one of many reasons why the self-service checkout is surging in popularity. As of May 2010, Tesco leads the way with self-service counters in 256 UK stores, where they are responsible for a quarter of all transactions. Sainsbury’s is following suit, with a growing 220 stores offering self-service, and more set to follow. Wal-Mart has had self-service checkout lanes since 2004.

The UK’s leading supplier of self-service kiosks, Protouch, believe that interactive kiosks can bring a greater return on investment for your business and have put together an in-depth guide for companies looking to boost in-store sales.

In the guide, Protouch Marketing Manager Amanda Wallace explains it’s not just a case of plonking down a new kiosk and waiting for a flurry of revenue.

“Getting kiosk deployment right goes a long way to having a successful rollout. It needs to guide the customer through a clear on-screen journey. If the home screen looks too complex, too much like an advert or simply doesn't portray the purpose of the kiosk the customer may be put off. The idea is to invite the customer in and take them on a step by step journey leading to your target action.”

For a kiosk to do its job effectively customers need to know what and where it is, so positioning is just as crucial as presentation.

“Kiosks must be placed in a prime location so they are easily seen by customers, serviceable by staff and do not detract from an existing product display. It needs to be accessible to all potential users,” says Amanda.

“Use in-store advertising to lead customers to the kiosk and promote its function with branded messaging on the kiosk body. Try shopping from the customer's perspective to see where improvements can be made.”

Last October, Tesco broke new ground by introducing an Express store in Northampton where customers were served by only one member of staff and a host of self-service tills, yet the supermarket chain has no plans to ditch traditional manpower in favour of machines; opting instead a for a hybrid of the two.

So with both self-service and staffed check-outs here to stay, it’s advisable that they both get along.

“Your employees need to know that the kiosk is there as a selling tool to help them, not as substitute to them,” Amanda adds. “Explain what their new role is and how the kiosk operates so they feel confident in educating customers. The enthusiasm of your workforce will be your biggest asset in making a kiosk successful.”

You can read the full Protouch guide to boosting in-store sales at: http://beta.protouch.co.uk/ProtouchGuides/84/Goodbye_tills,_hello_kiosks_-_3_step_guide_to_boosting_in-store_sales