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The top 5 things we learned from ADA

Corey King of American Bank Equipment kicks off his new blog with a series about lessons learned from ADA upgrades.

August 1, 2012

ATM Marketplace's newest blogger, Corey King, has an extensive background working with and for ATM service and sales organizations from a parts, machine, compliance and upgrade perspective. He currently works with American Bank Equipment in southern Indiana, and describes his role as one of "supporting companies that have boots on the ground." 

Over the next few months, Corey's blog will present a recap of the recent — and ongoing — implementation of new ADA standards for ATMs. In regular blog posts, he'll take an in-depth look at five major ADA takeaways, which he introduces in this post: 

#1 There are major differences between the ATM brands

If you are an average ATM user, differences between ATM brands are not very obvious —you just want to get your money when you need it (for free if possible!).

On the other hand, those of us in the ATM industry have always known that NCR, Diebold, Triton, Hyosung and others offered very different products. But ADA made these differences very, very clear, as we learned very soon after the ADA frenzy started. I'll discuss some of these glaring differences in my next blog. 

#2 Firm deadlines plus high demand equals "You aren't making everyone happy."

I work very closely with my customers so we often "feel each other's pain" if there is any. One night at 9:30 after a long ADA day, one of my closest tech friends from Iowa was on the phone with me and we both said — almost at the same time — "Man, I just can't seem to make anybody happy!"

There simply were not enough parts, upgrades, machines, people, techs, knowledge, clear information, etcetera, etcetera, to do things perfectly for everyone!

#3 ATMs are not toasters, and it takes a quality sales and service company to provide valuable expertise — especially in times of need

Tying back in to my comment above: Do all sales and service companies have techs who work until 9:30 p.m. if needed? Who offer clear and expert knowledge of the machines they sell and service? Or do they quote you great prices but leave at 4:00 p.m. each day? Offer no warranty or extra assurances that they're standing with you?

ADA exposed many of these types of strengths and weaknesses, which I'll discuss soon.

#4 There were lots of old, crappy ATMs in use

Would you employ a teller who comes to work dirty, has no teeth and wears clothes that haven't been washed in years — and doesn't do anything all day? Uhhhh ... NO! On the sheer basis of being worn out, nasty-looking, and never working, some ATMs were long overdue for replacement or upgrade. 

And then there is also the factor of technology. I didn't realize how many machines were more than 20 years old — and still using technology from 20 years ago! In a future blog, I'll discuss some of the new things we're fortunate to see now in ATMs.

#5 It's not over.

If you take a drive around where I live in southern Indiana, it doesn't take long to see that there are still a lot of ATMs that have not been replaced or upgraded.

People I talk to report that their bank or credit union still has no firm plans to get their machines ADA compliant, which means there is still more to do! And I'll make further observations about this in the coming months.

For more on this topic, visit the ADA compliance research center.