"The ability to make size color items efficiently in RMS really chops the inventory creation job down to size."
Business Profile:
"Hustler Snowboards" is a very busy Snowboard/Skateboard store in Oakville Ontario.
David Walsh the owner has been very successful using a hands on approach with his customers for the last 14 years. www.hustlersnowboards.com
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David what do you feel has been the major factors in your success since you started the store?
I have always tried to work one on one with our customer and make sure they find what they need. If we don’t have an item then we try our best to get it for our customers. I have been careful to have staff in place who have a personal interest in boarding or skating and know the products well. We carry the top brands in the industry and maintain attractive pricing. We really work hard to keep the store clean and well organized so we can find what a customer is looking for quickly. |
What have you used for a Point of Sale solution over the years?
For many years we used a DOS based system that was adequate for what it was, however we increasingly wanted to get into a windows system that had more flexibility.
We did invest in one system that turned out to be a disaster. We just could not get it off the ground and working. It was a smaller company without much of a client base and they kind of promised us the moon. It was an expensive lesson so on the advice of our accountant we decided to investigate Microsoft. I called Microsoft and they had Ian from Retail Management Systems Ltd. call me. He took the time to show me the system and made a proposal that included training and implementation time. The fact that Microsoft Retail Management System is installed in thousands of stores across North America and the pricing was less than the windows system we tried to install gave me a lot of assurance that we would be making the right decision.
How did the installation process go?
I have a pretty crazy schedule with a young family and a really busy store but we managed to get it done by scheduling some evening hours that the RMS guys were able to accommodate for us. I am pretty detail oriented and I wanted to be sure that I understood the system well myself , especially the creating inventory part. I am glad to say I have mastered that. The ability to make size color items efficiently in RMS really chops the inventory creation job down to size.
What are some of the features that stand out for you?
Well, the ease of use in the Point of Sale are major of course. We can do transactions really quickly and the “CustomerSearch” function that allows you to add a new customer in seconds is really cool. We had a unique requirement in that we do a very large sporting goods trade show every year that is critical to our annual sales. The RMS guys set it up so we can have a live POS terminal right at the show that is connected directly to the database at the store. We can sell live inventory quantities and avoid hours and hours of manually trying to reconcile sales and quantities like we used to.
What do you see in the future with RMS?
Our current project is to integrate our website with RMS so we can improve our Ecommerce side of the business. We are well along in that project and expect to have it done shortly.
What would you say to retailers considering a Point of Sale purchase?
Some of my own customers are retailers themselves and we have recommended RMS to them which they have gone ahead and installed. Microsoft is a safe decision. Easy to use, flexible and the security of a company that will be around in 20 years.
Thanks for your time Dave, we look forward to helping you in the future.
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