A POS solution that saves time and money
Hiukatti Oy, located in the center of Sotkamo, has served as a Neste service station since the early 90s. Last fall, Hiukatti experienced the biggest change in its history, when the company had to end fuel distribution due to stricter environmental regulations.
Since he was a little boy, Antti Zitting has held various positions at Neste in Sotkamo, i.e. Hiukatti. At first Antti worked as an assistant to his father who was a service station owner, and in the summer of 2005, he became a service station owner himself.
When the environmental board’s decision came, Antti Zitting decided not to throw in the towel: – We own both the property and the plot of land it is situated on, right in the middle of central Sotkamo, next to Sotkamon Jymy’s baseball stadium. We already had a large customer base, and we decided not to give up but to continue our business without the support of an oil company. We continued under our own name and brand, focusing on café, restaurant and kiosk operations as well as vehicle and trailer rental services.
The most suitable POS system was found at Winpos
When Zitting learned that the company could no longer use Neste’s POS system, a frantic search for a new system began. – Only the year before, we had renewed our POS equipment, so it was important for us to be able to use the existing hardware, says Zitting.
– I asked for offers from several places and at Winpos I finally found the POS solution that was best suited to our needs. When Jouni Mäkynen from Winpos called and said that our existing POS terminals could be used in the installation, the decision was clear. After three weeks, the Winpos system was installed and the staff trained. A big thank you to Winpos’ experts. Everything worked smoothly and on schedule.
The Winpos software works on all newer Windows computers. – We always try to use the customer’s existing equipment if we see it as the best solution for the customer. First, of course, the old equipment is checked. After that, we can carry out the installation at a rapid pace, since the customer already has the equipment in place. The customer saves both time and money. In this case, the customer had year-old high-quality HP POS terminals, which were worth using, says Winpos sales manager Jouni Mäkynen.
User-friendly software
Everyone at Hiukatti has been satisfied with the new system. – The Winpos program is very similar to our old POS system, especially the cash register functions, so it was easy to start using the new system. It says a lot about how easy the program is to use that the phone used to ring, if not every night, then every other night. The staff called and asked for advice regarding the use of the program. Now the phone hasn’t rung once in the evening because of problems with the cash registers or the program, says Zitting.
The entrepreneur also says that the new system has more comprehensive functions than the old one. – The background functions are much more comprehensive. The old program was a so-called chain program, where user rights were carefully limited. Winpos also has a handy Sales Dashboard function, where you can see daily sales information even on your mobile phone while watching the evening news at home on the sofa. I have used it every day, says Zitting happily.
– I have been very satisfied with Winpos, and I can absolutely recommend them to others, says Zitting and continues:
-Winpos can be adapted to the needs of different types of companies and offers a comprehensive solution as a business tool, regardless of whether it is used by a service station, shop, kiosk, café or restaurant.
– We have also considered a Winpos self-service POS terminal, as it could be a good solution for us. A self-service checkout would allow the customers to pay directly for their lunch or order a hamburger or pizza. It would free up staff time for other customer services, and speed up our checkout services, especially during rush hour.
Pictures: Kimmo Rauatmaa
