News

Keeping your ATM up and running

November 3, 2005

An ATM is one of the c-store's most crucial components, bringing traffic into the store and introducing fresh cash into circulation. But it also is a complex piece of machinery, and just like an automobile, smart owners will do a bit of preventative maintenance to fend off big repair bills down the road.

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"Even if a retailer uses someone else to service the ATM, it's important that they know the basic functioning of that machine," said Jon Schallert, president of The Schallert Group Inc., a Florida-based c-store consultancy. "Some downtime is unavoidable, but the small service functions have to be known by the operator."

Third-party maintenance services are almost always a necessary part of any ATM owner's operating plan, but like insurance policies, they shouldn't be relied upon for small matters.

Joe Harris, general manager of ANS Marketing, said he urges owner/operators to remember the old "ounce of prevention/pound of cure" adage.

"Merchant ATM owners do not engage in sound preventative maintenance practices in order that their ATM will continue to operate without downtime interruption," he said. "When choosing an ATM company, merchants should be asking about service and training. It is imperative that ATM companies ensure that their merchant ATM customer is trained to maintain their ATM."

Harris points to a number of basic tasks that any merchant ATM owner should be able to do on his own:

• Cleaning the card reader
• Blowing dust out of the dispenser area
• Cleaning sensors
• Maintaining proper surge-protection equipment
• Changing receipt paper
• Clearing printer and bill acceptor/dispenser jams
• Checking wires for wear and tear or loose connections
• Keeping the enclosure free of rodent infestation, and patching any holes that form

"I think for many operators, the technical aspects of an ATM -- and much of their other more complicated equipment -- are something that they leave to a service company," Schallert said. "But the more times a customer experiences machines not working, the less likely a repeat visit is going to be."

ATM owners are often tempted to think of their machines as mysterious devices that work in mysterious ways. To some, the idea of servicing the machine on you're their own -- even for very simple tasks-- seems intimidating. Owners who take that attitude risk lost sales and, even worse, unhappy customers who won't return.

This article appeared in theC-store Self-Service Executive Summary, Winter 2005.