Note: I'm sending this to our complete mailing list instead of just the Newsletter Subscribers because it's important.

      Another PGA Merchandise show has come and gone. The attendance, both attendees and exhibitors, was noticeably down. The show had extended hours for 3 days vs. the 3.5 days it used to have. In my opinion, it should be a 2-day show. While the hours were listed to run through 6 p.m. on Sunday, everyone was tearing down at 4 p.m. Driving into the show in the morning used to be a 30 minute traffic jam. This year, we drove right in each day.

The good news is that the quality was there. For the most part, people are now attending the show to work instead of play. We got the opportunity to see many friends (old and new), and we are already closing new sales from the show.

Congratulations to our good friends Clayton Cole of Cherry Hills who won the Bill Strausbaugh Award and Bob Collins of Oak Tree who won the PGA President's Plaque! Click the link below for a description if you're not familiar. Also, Pittsburgh's own Jim Antkiewicz, the PGA director of golf at The Club at Nevillewood in Presto, PA, received The PGA of America's Golf Professional of the Year Award the Association's highest annual honor. Jim is not a CPS customer (yet) but he is a hometown boy! Oh yea, the Terrible Towel was on the podium during his speech :) . You can see a complete list of winners and details here.

A couple points worth mentioning that I learned while in Orlando.

Contracts: As most of you know, we now offer our software as a service with no term contract. If at any time you are not satisfied with our service, we shake hands and part ways. I believe this should be the standard for any business transaction; and I strive to have the same terms with anyone with whom I do business. Of course, it is not always possible but it makes so much sense.

Credit Cards: I have learned that some of our customers were/are entering into long term contracts with credit card processors--some up to 5 years! I can tell you that the credit card industry is in such disarray that I would not enter into a 5 day contract with a processor. I had discussions regarding PA-PCI and PA-DSS certification with customers and competitors alike. With only a few exceptions, most people (including those in the credit card business) have no idea what this is all about and how it affects them. By default, I have become a reluctant expert in this field. If this topic weren't so freaking boring, I would write a book on the subject. However, due to its importance, I will continue to address it in newsletters for you.

If you sign a 5-year deal with a processor that is PCI certified but is not supported by a PA-DSS certified terminal/application, you just got screwed! You can also bet that the processor is not about to warn you, since most of them have no idea how this all works either. We are currently working with a few customers trying to get them out of such contracts. Also, when a credit card salesperson is offering you a lower rate, consider this: Those cards that accumulate points for travel or merchandise are charged at a higher rate than those that do not. In fact, there are about 270 different rates which depend on the card that is presented. Credit card salespeople will typically quote you at the lowest (of the 270) rates. This will typically account for one obscure card that you may see once or twice per year. The rest of your cards are charged at higher rates. Combine this with how the transaction is processed (Swiped, Card Not Present, etc.,) and you multiply the complexity.

We get calls daily from customers and/or credit card companies that want to interface with a processor that will save them a bundle. Let me be very clear--we will NOT interface with new credit card processors. We turn them away in droves and we do so for good reason. Contrary to what many merchants believe, PA-DSS directly affects YOU and YOU will be held liable if you do not use a certified application. In 2009, we will offer 3 different credit card solutions: ETS, Shift-4 (a gateway solution), and one to be announced shortly once we validate the platform. Beyond that, you can always do your credit card processing independent of the POS Express application.

Customer Support: One of our customers brought to our attention a weak point in our customer support process. When you call our customer support group, they log (or at least are supposed to) your call in what we call our Call Log application - cleaver huh? I like the personalized touch, so I prefer my people deal with you by name not by number. Because of that, our practice has been not to give you a Ticket Number like so many big companies do. When you call back, the tech should bring up your name and have available any and all "open" Tickets. This way, you only have to let them know who you are and not have to give them a Ticket Number.

The breakdown here is that the techs can get quite busy. In their haste to get to the next caller, they often write your issue on a piece of paper with the intent to log it later. Of course, things can get crazy and at times the issue is never entered. So you call back to check up on the status, a new tech answers the phone and the original Ticket was not logged. Now you have to start all over describing the issue.

So, here is what we are going to do. I am in the process of changing our Call Log application so that when you call, the Tech will not only give you a Ticket Number, but you will be emailed the Ticket Number and a description of the issue. If you do not get a Ticket Number, it is an indication that the call was not documented. Hopefully, that won't happen but I'm sure there will be some growing pains, so help us out if that is the case. There is some risk here so I will ask you to bear in mind that Tech Support can be a fast, furious and stressful job. What you will see are the raw notes of the Tech. So expect bad grammar, misspelled words and blunt descriptions. I don't want to slow down the Tech's ability to respond to all of our customers in order to sanitize the Call Log, which is designed to be an internal working document. However, I think the value in sharing it with our customers has enough value to merit the risk.

In addition, I am working on a Customer Survey. It is very brief (about 10 questions). It is easy for us to lose touch when buried in the day-to-day operations. Your participation will help us stay focused on what is important to you.

Newsletters: Finally, I talked with several current customers that were not aware of the Newsletters I write. Each one (ok, not this one) typically includes a specific lesson on how to use a feature of the software. They are all available on our web site under the Lessons From the Pro link. You can sign up yourself and/or your staff for the newsletter here. Take a look at them; they are good training tools for you and your staff and there are some great tips in there to help you grow your business.

Enjoy :)