One of the complaints traditional resellers like to make is that the support service for cloud POS is horrible. Cloud POS providers, as you’re likely aware, include 24/7 Level 1 support with their software pricing. Some of these providers will go all the way through Level 4, though usually via a partnership with someone who has boots on the ground – like Boomtown.
These complaints are not unexpected as most POS resellers don’t have the scale for a 24/7 call center and they need to paint a cloud boogeyman, often so they can overcharge on traditional services since they refuse to learn how to add real value. Of course the cloud POS call center isn’t free either: it’s being covered by the recurring monthly software fees to the SaaS provider. Still, it’s nice to be able to reach someone when you’re about to throw your POS against a wall.
In that vein we called a handful of cloud hospitality POS companies because compared to the restaurant industry, retail is simple: there are no grubby hands pounding keys at 2 AM to close out at Macy’s. Here are the cloud POS companies we dialed, in alphabetical order:
- Brink
- Harbortouch
- Lightspeed
- Northstar
- Revel
- Shopkeep
- Toast
- Touchbistro
- Upserve (Breadcrumb)
We called these support centers at two different times: a weekday afternoon, and a weekend night. We would then average the response time for all weekday and weekend calls we made, respectively. We figured these two data clusters would give us a glimpse for how support services scaled as their merchants had more support volume, i.e. restaurants are busiest Friday and Saturday nights. Also included are our notes on the customer support experience.
Brink
Brink’s support number was easy to find: 800.382.6200. When the call was answered the service rep asked for the name and location of our restaurant which you will find is a common request. As with most support services you need a name and address to get support but more credentials to escalate issues.
Here were Brink’s response times:
- Weekday: 3 seconds (not kidding).
- Weekend night: 45 seconds.
Harbortouch
Like Brink, Harbortouch’s support number was easy to find: 800.201.0461. Here were their response times:
- Weekday: 1 minute 20 seconds.
- Weekend night: The call first tells me how many people in front of me. After 5 minutes of holding, a service lets us know we could input our number to either be called back at support center’s earliest opening or a time that would be convenient to us. This was a nice touch, but we chose to wait. After 9 minutes and 30 seconds we reached a support tech.
Harbortouch asks for a unique merchant ID or merchant phone number. Support told us that these are basic qualifying questions but they have other pieces of information they confirm to ensure it’s the true account owner before they can go further.
Lightspeed
It was actually fairly challenging to find a support number (it’s 866.932.1801 if you’re looking). There are plenty of phone numbers on their site, but they’re not clearly marked for support calls – they seem more like sales numbers or office numbers. In fact we clicked on Support in the top right navbar of the homescreen, then on Restaurant, and still couldn’t find a support number. Lightspeed kept trying to get us to submit a written request, and only after reading all the way to the bottom of the page did we see a very subtle Contact Us link that, upon clicking, revealed a support number.
Lightspeed did clarify that the 866 number on the top right, global navbar does get you to support if you press 2 after dialing, so maybe we’re the only ones that couldn’t figure this out? Their response times were quick, though:
- Weekday: 2 minutes, 10 seconds.
- Weekend night: 20 seconds.
Like other POS companies they asked for restaurant name and location and Customers typically follow along inside the system (on their screen) for their support needs. Without payment credentials we couldn’t move further than basic triage.
Northstar
We searched for a support number for Northstar but couldn’t find it. Northstar execs told us that there is a number, it’s just not public on their website (it’s 866.590.1411) since the number on the site is the general number for CBS. When we click on the Support link on Northstar’s website we get a comment box but no phone number, which would be frustrating if we didn’t know to dial the number on the website and go through prompts to get to Northstar support.
Here were Northstar’s response times:
- Weekday: 10 seconds.
- Weekend night: 20 seconds.
Northstar had an emergency service option as well, though we didn’t try it. Northstar told us pressing this would ring every person on the support team, but otherwise Northstar aims for a 90-second response time. The service techs also asked for our restaurant name and location.
Revel
Revel’s support number took us a little while to unearth but was ultimately on the bottom right of the support page (it’s 415.744.1433). Like a number of other cloud POS websites Revel seems to prefer users submit a ticket or engage in a website chat box. By clicking the “Talk To A Support Agent” we were able to pull up a list of support numbers. Here were their response times:
- Weekday: 10 seconds.
- Weekend night: 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
Each time we dialed Revel’s support the tech was obviously foreign. Revel told us these are not contractors but long time Revel employees overseas. Revel aims to have 80% of their calls answered in fewer than 60 seconds and 75% of issues to be resolved on the first call. Tier 1 and 2 support is 24/7 and Tier 3 is Monday-Sunday, US business hours.
Shopkeep
Shopkeep’s support number was hard to find. Their support page only allows for ticket creation but doesn’t give us a way to call anyone. Eventually we gave up our search and dialed the 800-number on their homepage (800.820.9814). After going through some prompts the service told us to dial a different number for support (929.371.3744).
When we dialed this number Shopkeep’s voice prompt asked us for a 6-digit code unique to our business for verification. We didn’t think most Shopkeep merchants – the smaller type – would have or know this number but Shopkeep did tell us that >90% of merchants have this code available on the first call. Part of that could be because Shopkeep recognizes authorized phone numbers and matches those to accounts quickly. Shopkeep put the 6-digit code in a number of places on the POS, as seen below on the back office Help screen.
Ultimately we kept pounding the # sign until the phone forwarded us over to a support tech. Upon answering, they asked for our restaurant name and location. To move much further than basic support we would need that merchant ID. Here were their response times:
- Weekday: 10 seconds.
- Weekend night: 40 seconds.
Toast
Toast’s support number (617.682.0225) was in the footer of the support page. Not the easiest to find but not the worst either. When we clicked “Contact Support” from the support page it forwarded us to a login screen. Maybe merchants have this information handy?
These were the call response times. Toast also asked for restaurant name and location.
- Weekday: The voice prompt required us to somewhat know the issue with our system – hardware, software, payments. We don’t think the average operator would know what their real issue is so this might route callers to the wrong place. They had nifty feature to call us back if we didn’t want to wait on hold. Response time was 20 seconds.
- Weekend night: 20 seconds.
Touchbistro
Touchbistro’s support number (888.342.0131) was very easy to find and clearly labeled on their Support page.
- Weekday: 14 minute wait time. There was also a feature to ring us back if we didn’t want to wait.
- Weekend night: The first thing that happened was a voice prompt telling us that Vantiv’s processing is down. A number was then provided to call Vantiv if that was our issue. We didn’t get the prompt every time we called, but this reminded us of Touchbistro’s previous complaint that all variety of payment problems came to the POS company first – no doubt because payment companies are not exactly known for their support. Response time was 10 seconds, by the way.
Touchbistro asked us for our name and location.
Upserve
Upserve’s support number (888.514.4644) was also very easy to locate. When we called they asked for restaurant name and location. However they also required we have a PIN number or MID number to make changes. This offers extra security for significant changes. These were their response times:
- Weekday: 20 seconds.
- Weekend night: 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
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Just because we were able to reach someone doesn’t mean our make-believe issue would have been resolved on the call. But it’s better to be able to reach someone – anyone – at a time of need than wait for a legacy support resource to make themselves available.
Resellers who have hocked both legacy and cloud POS systems believe that the trend of Level 1 POS support only grows.
“We find that iOS devices are way more stable than any Windows devices,” comments one reseller. “Both on the hardware and the OS stability.”
Another reseller tells us that user errors are about the same for both types of systems but cloud POS “is much more stable.” A third points out that, with the database in the cloud, servicing the database is much easier with a cloud POS. In theory all of this should drastically decrease support costs, as a further reseller expands upon:
“Installation of legacy and cloud systems takes the same amount of time. But there’s a lot of tuning and maintenance required with legacy POS systems. On a per-call basis, there’s 2x the support needed to support a legacy site. Cloud POS is more about data management and its much more intuitive – we can bring new person up to speed on cloud POS much faster than a legacy system – both customers and service techs.”
Still, there’s a limit to what the cloud POS companies will support.
“We’ve found that [cloud POS] support around their software is great, but the overall business? Not so much. That’s why we’re banking on the notion that operators will need their systems to work holistically with their businesses.”
Ah yes, the fabled Managed Service Provider (MSP). Too bad the majority of cloud POS companies haven’t ventured far enough to understand this merchant dilemma, and the dealers that are supposed to be providing this value are more interested in chasing payments revenue.
That means there’s a big opportunity for someone willing to roll up their sleeves.
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