Bringing a Kiosk into the World Vs. Keeping it Alive
It’s an exciting moment when you deploy a kiosk for your business. So many months have gone into bringing the kiosk project to fruition, from the initial concept to the design of every screw and bolt to the software and user experience. Congratulations! Now your kiosk is in the field, being used every day to fulfill its purpose, delight your customers, and make you money. However, this is only the beginning. Now you’ve got to keep it alive.
Many people forget about this step or don’t realize that it is going to be a part of their experience with the kiosk. After all, it’s easy to overlook the fact that things don’t last forever. You assume that it will work, kind of like you assume that your laptop will work once you buy it. However, just like any laptop can experience a virus, software crash, or broken screen that requires you to take it into the shop at some point during its life, your kiosk may need some attention as well.
It’s kind of like raising a child. The 9 months of pregnancy is important, but that’s only the beginning. There’s a lot more to keeping that child alive than just ensuring that it’s healthy at birth.
Since our company does a lot of kiosk maintenance and repair for companies nationwide, we see our fair share of the types of things you’ll encounter in the process of keeping your kiosk alive.
Installation
Deploying a kiosk for the first time requires more attention to detail than you’d think. The installation step of a standalone piece of technology comes with many detailed considerations.
Typically, this starts with the site survey. Someone needs to visit the proposed location where your kiosk will be installed and check it out with an eye for all the potential pitfalls or obstacles that could stand in the way of a successful installation. For instance, where will it be standing? How will it be secured to the floor or the wall? Is it going to be possible to run electrical hookups to that point? Are you going to need to take out permits for re-wiring the installation site?
Once all these questions are answered, you’ll also need a technician who is able to perform the actual installation on the scheduled delivery day. This person will need the skill set and the knowledge base for setting up your kiosk successfully.
Site Safety
Depending on the location of your kiosk, keeping it alive could mean that you have to periodically do repairs due to vandalism or accidents. This is particularly true for outdoor kiosks.
Software Upgrades and Repair
When your kiosk needs a software upgrade to increase its capabilities or patch a vulnerability, you’ll typically be able to perform this remotely through the internet. However, if the kiosk is not online and you need this to be done in person, it’ll be a hassle for you, especially if you have to perform multiple visits to kiosks across a broad geographical area.
Hardware Repair and Replacement
There’s a wide range of hardware in a kiosk, from the screen to the motherboard to the housing that contains all the parts. When you need components to be repaired or replaced in order to keep your kiosk up and running, finding someone to do this can be difficult and time consuming unless you already have a go-to source like Site Services Now! to get this done.
Data Retrieval
If your kiosk is not connected to the internet, you may have the need to periodically retrieve its data in order to gain insight on customer behavior, kiosk usage, and other points. This may be a simple task, but it still takes time, and if someone from your company has to do this in person, it takes them away from other things they could be doing.
Downtime on your kiosk is bad for your bottom line. Now that you’ve brought your kiosk into the world, keep it alive with a seamless service plan to ensure that it gets the scheduled maintenance it needs. Site Services Now! offers you an easy-to-implement solution of nationwide field service calls to your kiosk. Count on our kiosk expertise and enjoy a kiosk that works when you expect it to.