SummerEyes Woodcrafts Serves Customers More Efficiently With Mobile POS and the Star TSP143LAN
SummerEyes Custom Woodcrafts is a small business that specializes in the creation of wood products for the home and garden. The owner of Summer Eyes, Ross MacKay, prides himself on his custom wood planter boxes, arbors, trellises and different types of nesting houses and feeders.
During the warmer months, Mr. MacKay and his staff attend many craft shows and farmers’ markets to showcase their wares. SummerEyes only accepted cash or check, but Mr. MacKay and his staff saw that it would be more convenient for customers to be able to pay with credit cards as well. He began to look for a mobile POS solution that would allow him to begin accepting credit cards, easily process payments and print a receipt.
“We cater to a specialized audience of gardeners, naturalists and people who want to beautify their living spaces,” he said. “So we travel a lot to meet our customers and needed a solution that was easy to take with us.”
Mr. MacKay selected Square’s free point-of-sale application, Square Register and Square credit card reader, coupled with an Apple iPad. Square Register is a full point-of-sale system that allows businesses to accept payments and track inventory with a user-friendly interface, smart analytics, continuous updates and low processing fees. The new Square credit card reader is free and attaches to an iPhone, iPad and Android devices, allowing anyone to accept credit cards anywhere, at anytime.
For the printing portion, he sought help from the Star Micronics team and purchased the TSP143LAN all-in-one printer and WiFi Power Pack. The printer included all of the software and parts—internal power supply, interface cable, power cable, mounting kits and even a paper roll—needed to set up and start printing receipts right away.
Star’s WiFi Power Pack is designed to make any Star LAN interface printer wireless without a lot of messy cables. Using the WiFi Power Pack, the printer is able to connect with tablets, smart phones and other portable electronic wireless devices.
Star’s Marketing Solutions Team worked with Mr. MacKay to set up the WiFi Power Pack so it would work in conjunction with his mobile hotspot. After the setup was completed, SummerEyes was able to ring up sales the same day.
“SummerEyes needed printing capabilities that were going to be mobile without being complicated,” said Christophe Naasz, Business Development Director of Star Micronics. “Their main concern was processing credit card transactions and printing receipts. Once we were able to connect everything via the WiFi Power Pack, SummerEyes was up and running. It’s an ideal solution for a small business that is constantly on the go.”
Since implementing the new system, SummerEyes has been able to provide a higher level of customer service to the shoppers who stop by his booth and craft fairs and farmers markets. Mr. MacKay and his employees can process credit cards quickly, provide a printed receipt and have access to new revenue tracking capabilities and record-keeping functions that they may use in the future.
“The new printer makes it a lot easier on us, especially during busy times,” said Mr. MacKay. “People don’t need to wait while we hand write receipts and staple everything together, it’s just a quick swipe and our customers are on to their next stop. If you’re in the market for a custom wood project, stop by and see us. We’ll give you the fastest service at the fair!”
