Welcome to EpoS Wizard!
Been looking at the TouchPoint software as a possible candidate replacement for our feature lacking, ageing and rather convoluted Sam4s systems.
I really thought I had found the "one".
Software appears to be very well priced considering its feature set. Spent some days getting to know the software and its features. Much more configurable than Sam4s and considerably easier to configure too!
But sadly it all goes down hill from here! Which is a real shame.
Support...... Only via a dealer/partner/reseller, ICR will not, under ANY circumstances deal with end users directly. The old "speak to your dealer" story every time.
Whilst I understand that the majority of ICR's customers would not have the first clue about how to configure an EPoS system, there are customers, like me, who have a vast amount of experience with software and hardware alike. Personally I have over 20 years experience in various IT roles. I dont need to have my hand held! But maybe a nudge in the right direction now and then mind you!
I dont want to call or email "a dealer" (and possibly wait for days/weeks/forever) to resolve a simple issue that could be resolved by having access to simple resources. Which leads me onto my next point. Their support forum, or should I say lack of support forum. As you will undoubtedly be aware, ICR's support forum is a closed forum, only fully accessible to partners/resellers, who also have to buy 12 licenses in six months from ICR to keep this fabled access.
I would happily pay to have access to this forum so I could support myself. Lets face it, Its not difficult modifying XML files is it now! Why do ICR take this stance with end users? What exactly are they afraid of?
Great software, but also a great shame. For me, ICR is a no go purely because of this restrictive support policy. ICR should provide options for the more tech savvy customers!
Rant over and flame suit is on as I know that 90% of people will defend ICR to the moon and back!
The company I work for deal almost exclusively with ICR precisely because of their business model and how good the software is.
They have a business model that works for them and the dealers. Simple as that. Dealers are not just a gateway to ICR resources, they are (or should be) also experts who can solve 99% of the problems themselves. That means that ICR don't need to employ 1000s of support people to man the phones, because they know the dealers can do most of the support themselves.
If they dealt direct with end users then the price would likely be significantly higher due to the additional resources required.
We, as a dealer, will supply a complete system of hardware, software and set up, tailored to our customer's requirements, then we will provide a support contract for a monthly fee which covers hardware, software, bug fixes, programming assistance etc, all for a very reasonable price.
If you don't like it, then I'm afraid you have no choice but to go elsewhere for something different, but ranting about a company's business model just because it doesn't suit you is a little bit like shouting at God because He won't let you control your own weather.
Hate to be devils advocate but I have to agree with a lot of what the Original poster states.
Your company may be different Simon but the one I dealt with had extremely bad business practices.
When I was enquiring about TouchOffice Web, the monthly quote was almost 4x what I ended up paying with a alternative company.
It also charging a set up fee of £200 plus VAT which the other company didn't even charge for as it was literally 2 minutes work. I felt uneasy after this experience because I now had to deal with 2 companies for using the same software - one for Touchpoint Support and one for Touchoffice Web. I stopped using their support contract soon after as there were charging extortionate numbers which they plucked out of thin air. This business model leaves it open to sharks, which can also ruin the reputation of the software as some may not recommend it. I know its one example but it shows you one of the drawbacks.
I know you said its pointless ranting about the business model but from a consumer point of view, there are alternative business models which may be more appealing to somebody looking for a new Epos provider. One such model may be EposNow who provide the whole system for £10 a week including software support and hardware.
The article which featured on BBC ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37218791 ) shows that it is feasible to have a inhouse support system and at a price point is appealing to small businesses. I personally only know one person who has used EposNow but they seem to be very happy with the user friendly. The main point im trying to get across is that there are alternative models.
Your company may be different Simon but the one I dealt with had extremely bad business practices.
Almost certainly. There are sharks out there, but the same is true in any industry. We do not charge for setting up TOW, but we also will not provide it unless the customer has a support contract with us that covers the hardware and everything else. The reason being that otherwise they will be paying a minimal fee for TOW, but will constantly be on the phone with setup issues which are actually caused by the till - and to try arguing that isn't part of the contract would be a nightmare.
As for EposNow - I wouldn't touch them or their hardware with a bargepole. They buy extremely cheap hardware which has a habit of going wrong, and will charge over and above for anything that they possibly can. I've taken out enough of their systems to have heard the horror stories direct as to how bad they can be. The same goes for most, if not all, of the 'On-line' EPoS suppliers.
I can tell you quite honestly that if ICR decided to open themselves up to direct supply and direct support of end-users it would be the end of them. All the major dealers, those who bring in 95%+ of the revenue would simply abandon them and find a different software to supply to their end-users, there are plenty of them out there.
Thanks for your input, but a couple of points.
1. I am an Atheist!
2.
but ranting about a company's business model just because it doesn't suit you is a little bit like shouting at God because He won't let you control your own weather.
And then you write....
As for EposNow - I wouldn't touch them or their hardware with a bargepole. They buy extremely cheap hardware which has a habit of going wrong, and will charge over and above for anything that they possibly can. I've taken out enough of their systems to have heard the horror stories direct as to how bad they can be. The same goes for most, if not all, of the 'On-line' EPoS suppliers.
But I agree, EposNow is a definite no go!! Hidden charges and 100% undeniable review manipulation.
I think I have found a local company, an official partner of ICR, with a very good reputation. Meet with them and it looks like they will be more than happy to provide me with everything I need to support myself going forward. So it looks like I will be joining the ICR movement after all!
I never said that ICR was a bad product, and I understand that dealing with end users directly requires a lot of resources, I was in IT for 20 year remember!
It would just have been nice to have access to the support forum to ask question there directly. I could not see that being a problem for ICR as the forum is full of resellers with lots of knowledge. Of course it would have to be a paid access, which I did mention in my post above. This way you keep the riff-raff out so to speak.
But I am happy to roll out the ICR system in my business, it is very good software and very configurable, if it goes how I think it will, I will be rolling it out in my other premises.
