Gokis Kiosk Self-Service

Self-service kiosks in general

Post office latest to adopt self-service kiosks [Hampton Road article]

Hal and Beth Milgrim were a bit unsure when the postal clerk routed them away from the line and over to the new Automated Postal Centers at the Lynnhaven Station, but a few minutes later, the couple had mailed their package, purchased two sheets of stamps and were on their way out of the door with smiling faces.

The APCs, which began arriving in Hampton Roads in September, allow postal customers with debit and credit cards to do 80 percent of the tasks they would normally do at the counter with a clerk, including mailing and weighing packages at any class, buying insurance and delivery confirmation, and ZIP code lookup. In addition, they�re available as long as the lobby is open, which for many post offices is 24 hours a day.

Considering the Milgrims have so many family and friends in Florida and Maine, the couple expects the kiosks to be especially useful once they start mailing holiday gifts and the post office becomes a madhouse.

�I think it�s wonderful,� Hal Milgrim said. �I didn�t have to fight anyone in the line, and it was easy to use.�

Postal kiosks are among the newest in a rapidly growing field of self-service technology that reaches from movie ticket sales and utility payments to airport check-in and grocery store checkout. Self-checkout lanes, ticketing kiosks and other self-service machines in North America did nearly $128 billion in sales in 2003, an 80 percent increase over 2002, according to research by IHL Consulting Group.

The Tennessee retail technology consulting firm found that 15 to 40 percent of retail purchases are now made at self-checkout machines. And some airlines are seeing as many as 70 percent of their customers are no longer using traditional systems and are checking themselves into planes electronically.

The goal for the post office kiosks is $329 in business each day, and the local machines are already surpassing that, accounting for 2 percent of postal revenue. But there will be customer service associates assigned to each one through the end of the year to guide customers to them and offer assistance. The kiosks, which are in 11 area post offices, also send a message to the associates whenever there�s a technical problem.

�People are always nervous about using new things,� said Fran Sansone, a local customer relations coordinator with the postal service. �They�re hesitant about getting out of line and losing their place to use something they�re not sure about. It�s really easy to use, though, so it�s just a matter of becoming comfortable with it.�

Lawrence Dvorchik , chief operating officer for New York-based KioskCom.com , said that although there will always be people who aren�t interested in using the technology, many people actively seek out self-service options.

�Our society is much more comfortable with technology now,� said Dvorchik, whose New York company provides consulting services for and promotes self-service technology. �It�s a matter of being proactive in guiding the customers to those lines so they can experience it.

�Once they have a positive experience themselves, or see someone else use it with ease, they�re hooked, and they�ll continue to use them.�

Better acceptance of and decreased cost of technologies such as radio frequency identification and wireless fidelity and the development of touchscreen technology have helped propel the use of kiosks.

The future of the industry is almost limitless, experts say. The path has already been laid for hotel kiosks to be integrated with airline kiosks for quicker check-in, for biometrics to scan fingerprints and irises to identify users, for avatars, or talking electronic heads, to make the kiosk experience more human.

With new advances like these expanding the market and more companies embracing the technology, IHL estimates that self-service kiosk sales will increase by 73 percent in 2004 and 88 percent in 2005.

While many people think of the self-service technology as a low-cost replacement for hourly workers, Dvorchik said most stores use the employee time the machines save them and invest it in more needed customer service areas.

�They have more sales associates throughout the store to answer questions and help people,� said Dvorchik, who has been in the kiosk business since 1998. �That allows them to speed up the customer experience and upsell at the same time.�

At Harris Teeter, which has five locations in Hampton Roads, 31 percent of customers use the grocery chain�s U-Scan self-checkout lanes, spokeswoman Jennifer Panetta said. Home Depot has about a 30 percent usage rate as well, a fact that has exceeded the Atlanta home improvement company�s expectations, said spokesman Don Harrison.

�It�s been very well received, including by those people who don�t want to use it, because it shortens the lines at the manned checkout counters,� Harrison said. �And since 70 percent of our customers are do-it-yourselfers anyway, it�s a natural fit.�

Home Depot, which has eight local stores, rolled out its self-checkout pods two years ago, complete with a remote scan gun for those 90 pound bags of concrete and 5 gallon paint cans.

�No one likes to stand in line,� Harrison said. �Once you�ve come into the store and you�ve selected the items you want to purchase, your first priority at that point is to leave.�

Even that notorious wait at the Department of Motor Vehicles can be eliminated by logging in to the DMV�s Web site, using the self-service center during operating hours or taking advantage of the 24-hour extraTeller in the lobby. In 2003, 12,667 vehicle registrations were renewed through the extraTellers, and 1,004 people used it to renew their driver�s license, said spokeswoman Marcia Meredith.

The kiosk�s touchscreen technology allows users to scan the bar code on a renewal notice and quickly make any necessary payments with a credit or debit card. Documents are mailed out within three days, but the kiosk receipt serves as temporary proof.

�People who don�t have Internet at home can access the services through our facilities,� Meredith said. �We want to provide a plethora of options that fit the lifestyles of our customers, and provide flexibility and convenience to them.�

Reach Benita Newton at 446-2667 or [email protected].

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Posted by Craig at December 2, 2004 02:35 PM