Checkout the lotto fitout in a Whitcoulls store in downtown Auckland I was in on Monday.
With fitout costs being top of mind for newsagents in Australia I figured seeing what’s required in NZ could interest some.
The space requirement is smaller and the shop fit requirements simpler than what we see in Australia. However, for the fifteen minutes I was there the lotto counter was not buys so it could be that this was the wrong store to compare.
What you can see in the photo was the only corporate branding for lotto in this store.
It appears that this is not the only thing that should raise questions. How about the Copy paper at 5 for $NZ 22.00. including the higher GST in NZ. Cheaper that GNS pick up by far. Perhaps the paper pulp is NZ grown!! .
It will interesting to see how the QNF negotiations for a better bulk deal for Lotto fitout cost goes.
As lottery trends to static growth in stores, and Tatts move towards online sales, the commitment of replacement fitouts in existing stores is becoming quite questionable. With a fitout lasting 10 to 12 years, who knows what will be happening by then? The current large space requirement is not justified.
I would like to see lotto in a booth instead of dominating the whole counter. This way I only have to pay 1 staff to serve lotto. If I have 3 staff at the counter and 3 customers with lotto they each want to be served immediately. We are really pushing the self check, 90% of customers are fine with it but the other 10% ‘I will not pay for a machine to serve me’.
not sure if i like the self checker . You loose the customer interaction and loose all chances of another sale offer .
Yes I am not in love with the self checker. Less interaction can never be good long term.
I observe very few customers using the self-checker, I have not promoted it, neither do I tell customers that they can
look up the lotto results online. Why cut your OWN throat !
I promote the ticket checker.
I do not get paid to check tickets.
Because the new lotto machine is a lot slower it is good for the customer as well as us to self check. Not always but when it’s busy especially on a Sunday when they just check and leave. I wish we had promoted it more when it was new. Isn’t that how the TAB works?
I don’t get paid to check tickets either Max, but it is FAR more profitable to have an interaction over a losing ticket which leads to a future sale (because I ask ” do we go again for next week” or similar), than let the customer leave without any interaction at all. People truly do want customer service.
Jenny, we find the lotto machine very slick now after 12 + months (nsw here) – speed is not an issue AT ALL.
h glad to hear about the speed in NSW on the lotto machine. We did a time trial when we had the two side by side and the new one take three times longer! We hope it improves over time.
The ticket checkers were put in to save us time. PROMOTE them.
I do not have time while customer searches wallet / handbag for ticket. They then look at ticket and go…. oh yes..I bought this last week…it might be drawn….. They then do this with all their tickets and then give them to me.
With the ticket checker, you can tell if the customer has won by the look on their face. Some of my customers have made a game of it, knowing I am watching them while doing other stuff. Generally you can tell when a customer has finished checking their tickets and then ask them If they want tickets for next week.
I have been abused by a couple of customers for asking them to check their tickets. I would get something like ” Thats your job. I ‘m not doing it. The newsagent at “insert name here” checks them “.
Sorry, but it shows very poor form to not promote the ticket checker. It makes the other agents look bad.
Move into the future and promote the ticket checker. You can’t guess how customers will behave if they don’t even know its there.
Spend time off the counter demonstrating how it is used and then they can make the choice.
You might be surprised at its popularity.
I’d love a second one in my shop.
Spot on Jenny. We have promoted the ticket checker from day of installation and it has proved to very popular with customers, especially people who only want to check tickets. Saves time, but some agents just seem to not promote its use. We still get the occasional customer who insists we run it through the machine because “thats what my local does” i ignore this and show them how to use the checker.
If you havent got time to check a ticket, you haven’t got time to promote, inform and offer a prospective customer another product. I must admit I’m trying to keep customers in the store for as long as possible.
Depends whether you are selling lotteries or transacting lotteries.
Yes MAX, agents who care about customer service will make you look bad if you don’t.
While you are checking those tickets, who is serving the customers who want a paper only or a mag etc? What about the customer who wants to know if you have a ….. They line up and get annoyed. That is poor customer service.
Just because you check the tickets for customers does not mean you care about customer service.
While a customer is checking tickets through the checker, I check tickets for the next customer through the machine. That way you can serve the customers twice as quick.
We mostly use the line “if anybody would like to check their tickets while you are waiting” during our peak times, or when people come in and say “I got 50 scratchies for my 50th birthday and dont know if they are winners”, or “I have just moved house and found these under my fridge” we will show them the barcode location and how to use the scanner. There are always people that prefer to use it and some that dont but I always think an educated customer is better than an uneducated so why not let them know its there and they can make their own choice
If the customer is getting annoyed because you refuse to check their tickets, that’s bad service.
The self-checker is useful for busy times, but personal interaction is ALWAYS the better option.
Steven,
The customer was annoyed because I ASKED them to check their ticket.
There is a difference between asking and refusing.
My staff and I do not have to put up with abuse from customers EVER.
If the ticket checker is useful for busy times, who decides if it is a busy time ????
Having said all the above, 99% of customers have no problem with it.Most enjoy using it.
MY customers are generally great. My papers were about 4 or 5 hours late. I am off to finish my deliveries. I have not had one complaint yet.
Have a good day.
There are some customers that will get annoyed over anything, we have a lady who comes in once a month to buy Who do you Think You are magazine, she never makes another purchase, she came in to tell me she was setting up a subscription to the magazine but was worried it would get damaged as she only has a small letterbox so wanted to know if she could arrange for the magazine to be delivered to my newsagency and she pick it up from here, when I advised her that I was not able to do that but could organise a putaway for the magazine she informed me that was pointless as she was trying to save money and that I was inconsiderate as she was a regular customer and she wasnt happy that I had not a)informed her of the better deal she could be getting and b) not willing to help her purchase the magazine elsewhere and store it for her until she picks it up.
So everybody has a different idea of customer service I guess.
Jessie,
Thanks for that one !!!!
( PS I have finished my deliveries 4 or 5 hours late and no complaints!!)
The ticket checkers are great but I’m amazed at how many customers don’t look at the screen because they think it going to ring like the main terminal if they get a winner.
Steve,
I will agree with you on that one. We had to really educate our customers to look at the screen. The screen could be bigger as well.
We promote the ticket checker and then some customers want it put through the
“real machine” because the checker doesn’t give them a “not a winner” ticket.
It sure is hard to smile sometimes.
Jessie, She sounds like a beauty. How lucky you are to have got rid of her. Good luck to the magazine subs people.