February Newsletter 2013



Current Events

Station Owners Say Prepay Siphons Sales
COON RAPIDS, Minn. – Law enforcement officials hail the city ordinance that requires prepayment at gasoline station pumps, but some retailers have found a drop in sales because of it, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The city enacted the ordinance six months ago to help stop drive-offs, which police said rose to close to 500 annually. However, gasoline station owners have experienced a significant decline in sales both at the pump and in the store, and are now lobbying the council to look into the ordinance.
Read more: http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/Daily/Pages/ND0208134.aspx 

Tips in our Area of Expertise

Recommended steps to ensure maximum SiteController reliability: 
*Ensure that all Triple E machines (Pedestal, Site Controller, Registers), Routers and Switches are connected to an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for redundant power. 
*Ensure that no printer, space heater or other non-essential devices are connected to any UPS utilized by the Point of Sale systems and/or SiteController. 
*Verify that the NexGen or Andi box is powered on its own dedicated circuit to prevent power draw fluctuations from taking the site down.
*Invest in shielded network cables to help minimize data corruption, dropped packets and other problems common with unshielded cables. Shielded cables become of greater importance when any of the factors below are present at the location:

  • Long runs of network cables (Cable length greater than 100 feet).
  • Cables near electrical interference from high output lighting, high powered conduits, or other electrical outputs
  • Radio towers
  • Microwaves
  • Network communication problems have been detected

New Enhancements and Features

Mix-n-Match or Combo
As of our late summer release, mix-n-match or combo item discounts have been added. This feature allows you to have an automatic discount added to any combination of a sale. You can create unlimited groups and put an unlimited number of items into each group. Discounts can be set as a static price (ex: 3 for $5 type promotions), or as a percentage-off promotion. Maintenance is done from a single simple-to-use screen. Unlike other systems, discounts are applied automatically by the POS when enough eligible items have been added to a sale to fulfill a combo’s requirements. This means no special actions are required of your cashiers, they simply add items to the sale and the POS identifies when a combo has been fulfilled. This functionality and upgrade are included free for customers on current support contracts. If you don’t have a current support contract, contact sales@e3tek.com about upgrading your system to add this new functionality.


New Products and Service

24/7 Support:
Proactive changes for your After-Hours Support:
We are offering an affordable option for every customer with regards to their after-hours support.  The desire is to offer a "cost per call" structure that is affordable and can be used for any of your sites, for any reason.  We are able to assist you 24 hours a day with any problem you are having.  We are just a phone call away for live support.  This ensures that you only pay for the service that you use.  It doesn't cost anything until you use it. 
Will this affect existing contracts?  No. Current support agreements are still valid until their expiration date.
The new cost will be $87.50 per call for the 1st hour of support.  After the 1st hour, you will be charged $150 per hour.  If your site is down and you need it operational at midnight, if you would like to schedule your upgrades "after normal hours", it is your decision and we will support your business.  To sign up for this after hours service, you must sign an agreement agreeing to these fees and have an active Credit Card on file for the billing services.
Please contact our Accounting Department for the necessary forms and billing information to setup your account.  You will then be issued the 24/7 after hours support number.

Replacing costly card readers in each of your pumps?
Why not utilize just one card reader for all of your dispensers?
The pedestal installs near the dispensers.  Customers swipe their cards and select which dispenser they wish to fuel from.  The pedestal can be utilized at attended and unattended locations.
*One pedestal card reader controls multiple pumps.
*Create unattended sites
*Utilize a pedestal by itself or with a Point of Sale.
*Weatherproof secure casting
*Powered by a small form factor Dell PC
*Weather-sealed display
*Weather-sealed keypad
*Durable weather-resistant card reader
*Durable receipt printer
*ADA compliant


Information and Troubleshooting Tips

Are you having an issue with a Triple E System?
*Try restarting the application (DataManager, Register, OneTouch Sync, etc.)?
*Try restarting the SiteController, CP720, Register, or Pedestal computer?
*Are all of your applications up and running on your SiteController (Tport and ccEngine)?
*Having trouble swiping a card? Try placing a plastic bag over the card and re-swiping it.
Contact Customer Support if you have any questions. (208)777-9300 or helpdesk@e3tek.com

Upcoming Events

March 1st – 2nd
PACE Show
Kansas City, MD
Booth 268

March 6th – 7th
SE Petro Expo
Myrtle Beach, SC
Booth 1606

March 12th – 14th
Michigan Petro
Grand Rapid, MI
Booth 311

March 26th – 27th
Wisconsin Petro
Saint Paul, MN
Booth 440


Training

Please let us know what you would like to see for training. Contact the helpdesk with your ideas. helpdesk@e3tek.com or (208)777-9300

March 19th at 8am PST
Trouble Shoot the SiteController
We will go over what to look for when the pumps are down.


Upgrades

We are currently upgrading sites to our new release. Customer Support will be contacting you to get this scheduled. If you would like your upgrade scheduled earlier, please contact Customer Support. helpdesk@e3tek.com or (208)777-9300