Asheville’s ABC Liquor Board’s mission is all about their customer — they know exactly what they’re looking for, and want to get in and out with their spirits in a smooth, efficient manner. Managing nearly $25 million in sales revenue each year, the Asheville ABC Liquor Board had been struggling with outdated POS hardware and software, and was unable to ensure their customers’ payment information would never be compromised. Knowing the time had come to upgrade their aging POS systems, and in the wake of credit card breaches in other systems in the State, Asheville ABC began the search for a solution that would boost the security of their POS transactions as well as further improve the overall customer experience.
During a visit to the National trade show (NABCA), specifically organized for ABC Boards, Asheville met with Toshiba’s business partner Systems Technology Group, Inc. (STG). This meeting led to an extensive evaluation of STG’s solution, and other competing solutions, by Asheville’s team and a professional consulting group. STG met the functional and technical requirements of the project and quickly won the confidence, trust and the opportunity to assist Asheville ABC in implementing the STG solution. Working with STG, the Asheville ABC Board of 10 locations in North Carolina quickly and methodically implemented the industry leading Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions SurePOS hardware running STG’s POS software, immediately increasing electronic payment security, speed and reliability. A key requirement challenge was to implement advanced security features of point to point encryption and tokenization that would guarantee that no customer credit or debit card information was ever stored or transmitted in the system, and therefore, would never be compromised. Asheville also had to have a smooth transition to the new systems, a key to customer and employee satisfaction. STG helped develop a comprehensive project plan to implement the new hardware and software solution and provide training to all staff. And with nearly a dozen locations, Asheville was pleased that the new system was implemented overnight, providing a smooth, event-free cutover.
“We chose Toshiba hardware to upgrade the Asheville ABC Stores because of its reputation in the POS industry, durability, and advanced features that it provides for both merchant and customer,” said Mark Combs, Asheville ABC Stores General Manager. “Asheville ABC Stores needed an easy to use, reliable and easy to maintain solution with cutting edge capabilities that together with STG’s POS software, protects customer credit and debit payment information and allows for the continued customer service that is ever present with Asheville’s ABC Stores.”
Toshiba’s SurePOS 500 point of sale provides a positive experience for store personnel, with advanced touch capabilities, large customer display and integrated payment terminals. This solution simplifies the checkout process and enhances the customer’s experience. Fast and accurate transactions, performed by informed employees, ensures customer satisfaction and their loyalty.
“We did our homework as we are very serious not only with how our store operations works, but with our customers’ experience in the store in regards to a swift, accurate and secure checkout process,” said Mark Combs, General Manager, Asheville ABC Stores. “We were really impressed with the winning combination of Toshiba’s hardware and STG’s POS software—from the minute our customers swipe their cards, the credit and debit card data is immediately encrypted and tokenized; there’s no credit or debit card data transmitted or stored in our system. We’re very confident that we have one of the most robust hardware, software and electronic payment processes in place anywhere.”
A winning combination, STG’s nearly twenty years of expertise in electronic payment security and industry-trusted POS solutions, have tightened security measures for the Asheville ABC Stores. Now the Asheville ABC Stores and their loyal customers can quickly and securely checkout and be assured they have the best protection against any potential credit or debit card breaches.
