The secret to increased customer satisfaction, lower overhead and higher profits is here!

The number one complaint by customers today is the front-end checkout experience.  We have all been there, a few lanes open with the majority of lanes closed, resulting in long lines and aggravation.

That is why we developed the revolutionary Utopia Fast Lane X3.  It is the first and only checkout that incorporates PortalSorting, a record-breaking combination of high-speed portal scanning with contactless sorting in flexible modular configurations.

• One lane does the work of multiple lanes.
• It requires fewer employees while delivering improved customer service.
• The FastLane X3 delivers a faster and better shopping experience.
• According to DataLogic, the Portal Scan can handle up to 160 items a minute.
• SpanTech Sortation Technology is included, which directs items to the specified bagging area to assist customer flow.
• Multiple customer service style options are available, including assisted cart unloading and bagging service, or customer unload and bag.
• There are flexible payment options for your customers' convenience.
• The FastLane X3 integrates with your existing POS system.
• A dedicated employee is always present to assist customers.

To see the FastLane X3 in action visit www.utopiatechnologygroup.com

The Utopia Technology Group is a division of Pan-Oston.

NRF and Beyond. The future of retail.

We will be all over NRF having products at 7 of our partner booths including the Microsoft booth, the Digimarc booth, the Motorola booth, the Dell booth, the Datalogic booth, the Glory booth and the MEI booth.  But if you want to see our newest creation, something that has never been seen before, you'll have to come to the NGA show in February to see this amazing product in action!

Utopia Across America - Week Two

We were back in Pan-Oston's hometown, Bowling Green, Kentucky, this week, which gave us time to reflect on the first two weeks of our Utopia Across America Tour. The response from independent grocers has been phenomenal; in many ways, even better than we anticipated. Everyone seems genuinely impressed with what they've experienced on board the Innovation Centers and are appreciative to not only see the products and technology, but to engage in meaningful discussions about their businesses, and discuss opportunities for improving customer service, as well as bottomlines.

Week two for Jeff G. and Derek aboard RV #1 was spent traveling Michigan and Indiana. They made stops in Ann Arbor, Lansing, Muskegon, Traverse City, South Bend and Merrillville, visiting with the welcoming employees of Busch's Fine Foods, L & L Foods, Plumb Inc., Oleson's Food Markets, Martin's Supermarkets and Wiseway Markets.

RV #2 took Allen and Jeff R. to stops in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They kicked off the week at MEI headquarters in West Chester. MEI's Bank Note Recycler continues to be one of the "stars" of the UAA Tour and the MEI team were thrilled to see our mobile Innovation Centers showcasing their amazing cash handling and recycling technology. The rest of the week was devoted to visits with grocers - Fresh Grocers, Boyer's, Thomas Family Markets, Bill's Shop Rite, Mountain Fresh, Fetch's Foods, Village Supermarket IGA and Kilroy's Wonder Market - with the RV traveling the streets of Orwigsburg, Dallas, Moscow, Hunlock Creek, Plymouth, Ridgefield Park and Glenrock.

Day after day, we hear comments such as, "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" and "Every independent should take the time to tour the bus." Many people have been so wowed by what they've seen, they've called colleagues (even some from many miles away) to come visit the Innovation Center. People have often been surprised by what they've seen on the RVs and learned from their time spent with Jeff G., Derek, Allen and Jeff R.

We're excited to hit the road again on Monday and embark on Week Three of our tour. If you're interested in having one of our mobile Innovation Centers make a stop at your store or home office, please visit the NGA Utopia Across America website or call 866-296-2030!

Will Self-Checkout Replace the Traditional Cashier Checkout Lane?

With the introduction of EZ from Utopia, where you can now buy a self-checkout lane for less than a traditional cashier checkout lane you can't help but wonder how long will it be before the manned lane is extinct. Will the old-fashioned cashier lane go the way of the full-service gas station? There is no doubt that bottom line pressure and overhead concerns will accelerate the use of self-checkout, but what we see driving this trend even more is consumer demand for self-checkout.

Consumers are demanding self-checkout for a number of reasons. First because they want to have control of the checkout process and bag things the way they want. They also prefer self-checkout because of the speed of getting in and out of the store. They are also a number of people who prefer the privacy of self-checkout and a recent article talked about how some people choose self-checkout based on what they are buying (again a privacy issue).

Now there are a lot of stores that believe that their point of difference is their friendly local checkout experience, but there's been a lot of research that shows that regardless of store almost half of the customers would still prefer self-checkout. So if you are not offering these customers their preferred way to shop, are you at risk of losing them to someone who will offer it to them?

Now that Pan-Oston has taken the price difference out of self-checkout, you have to ask yourself why you wouldn't at-least offer your customers a choice. We are not saying you have to move to 100% self-checkout as some of our customers are testing, but to compete today both in terms of bottom-line and customer preference, you need to try self-checkout.

At Pan-Oston we are the Official Self-Checkout of the National Grocers Association, our Utopia Self-Checkout solutions are market proven with over $100 million in sales and Utopia is the only self-checkout solution that puts you in control of the self-checkout. Plus Utopia is very easily and simply integrates to your existing POS system. And with a price starting at just $14,995.00 you owe it to yourself to talk to us. Find out more about Utopia at panoston.com.