I was recently took a call from a customer complaining of slowness on their front registers which had been replaced with brand new equipment a few weeks prior.  After the initial install, the users were impressed with the difference in speed compared to their old registers.  The problem they were describing pointed to what sounded like a network issue.  I checked all network connections and tested all cabling, they tested OK, I also checked some of the "under the hood" setting within the application and Windows to be sure nothing was set to an incorrectly from the factory. I could find nothing that would cause the slow down, so an on-site visit was recommended.

Once on-site, I started my process of elimination.  I isolated the network to just the Server and Workstations removing any existing equipment with know good equipment like switches and routers and the problem still existed.  Remembering similar problems from another customers site, I decided to check some of the device settings that control how and what devices are being used.  Also remembering that incorrect settings within the Device setup can cause strange behavior (slowness being one of those strange behaviors). 

After checking and double checking the devices, something finally stood out.  A slow serial device was set to used as a Customer display, a Pin Pad, and a Payment Display.  Under normal setup conditions only the Pin Pad and Payment Display should have been configured, but in this case the customer display was setup also.  With this device being serial and a Pin Pad to boot, the communication settings are set very low to eliminate and data errors when sending information to the bank.  This also means that every time an item is scanned, or a user logs into the ticket screen, the system is going to try to send Customer Display information to the device also, hence the slowness at the register.

In the matter of a few seconds, removing this configuration from the setup made a night and day difference in how the register performed.  "It was like new equipment was installed all over again", I heard one of the users claim. 

But what really happened was that a savvy enough user was just trying to help and reconfigured the device setup without knowing exactly the consequences his or her help may cause.  In most any other case this probably would not have had such an impact on performance, but because the device is set at such a slow speed, it made all the difference in the world.  If CCS had this information, this could have been a 15 minuet call but it turned into a 2hr support call. 

Remember, we are not here to get people in trouble, or to place blame.  We want to help you as quickly as possible.  That is why we ask for ALL information pertaining to the problem.  Weather a new employee pushes a wrong button, someone prints a 40 page report to a receipt printer by mistake, everything helps.

If you have any questions or concerns, call the CCS Retail Support Department at 800.672.4806 or email us

-Bryan