Inside
eCards Pay Off for Restauranteurs

Abacus Call Center Handles A Big Job

Responding to a Minimum Wage Increase

Aloha 6.0 Released

Bush Appoints Miller to Tourism Commission

Picture this: A sneakier kind of spam

Abacus Web Site Tips: The Site Map

Stay in Touch With Us

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eCards Pay Off for Restauranteurs
   How does a restaurateur earn 100% profit on 25% of an item sale without doing anything? By using Aloha eCard, an automated, Enterprise Gift Card solution. Studies have proven that an average of 25% of gift cards sold are never redeemed or redeemed in full. Bottom line — pure profit!
   Gift card usage has been proven to increase business and customer loyalty when implemented. This is a vital business tool, since repeat customers are considered the key to long-term success in the restaurant industry.
   Research indicates that 45% of adults have used gift cards, an increase of 34% over previous years. Consumers spend an average of $200 per year on gift cards, an increase of 30% from previous years. In addition, 61% of respondents who have received gift cards indicated they spend more than the amount assigned to the card, and 55% of gift card recipients find more than one trip necessary to deplete the value of a gift card. This adds up to big business for restaurateurs.

The Abacus Fast Release Gift Card Program
   For those customers who need to roll out a gift card program faster than typical design and production lead times allow, Abacus has created a Fast Release program. The company offers a pre-printed card that can ship ten business days after the order is received. Cards are available in the following quantities:
>>  100  ($167.50)
>>  250  ($310.50)
>>  500  ($469.00)

For more information, contact Michelle Batista at (800) 665-9222, ext. 120.

Abacus Call Center Handles A Big Job
   With over 150 calls coming in each day, the Abacus Call Center is a busy place.
   We believe that our people are our greatest asset. Abacus staffs its Call Center with seasoned professionals, highly trained and experienced technicians that can provide the rapid, accurate support necessary to reduce downtime. With nearly an average of 4 years of company tenure, Abacus support personnel are well experienced in troubleshooting and resolving procedural, hardware, and software problems quickly and efficiently.
   Your call is important to us, because it’s important to you. Abacus has invested heavily in telephone infrastructure, completely re-engineering its Call Center to handle incoming calls as promptly as possible. Typically 74% of calls are answered immediately and 26% are picked up in less than 20 seconds. Here’s how we manage to do that:

Mission Critical Calls. Our highest priority. If you have a challenge to your business—for example, credit cards or a terminal down—we make it our business as well. Mission Critical calls are immediately identified and corrected or escalated to the proper resource.

Hardware Calls. By offering the full range of Radiant products, Abacus can offer its customers the Radiant Advanced Exchange Depot (AED) program, ensuring the replacement of all system hardware. AED maintenance:
>>Reduces the total cost of ownership
>>Ensures that the system is refurbished
>>  Ensures 95% first-time return to service   

Abacus also offers customized on-site maintenance programs as well.

Aloha Consulting Calls. These calls are scheduled changes to your business; for example, if you want to switch to a new credit card processor. These calls also involve training programs and Aloha programming changes.

Aloha IT Calls. Abacus manages technology. These calls involve such issues as virus infections, system slowdowns, spooldown, and redundancy. IT calls can also involve such environmental issues as electrical cabling, DSL, and VPN.

Responding to a Minimum Wage Increase
   Voter mandated minimum wage increases will affect any restaurants in the U.S. in the coming months. NOW is the time to analyze the likely financial impact this will  have on your wage scale and overall labor cost and to make plans  to increase your menu prices.
   Make sure you get an accurate picture of your true costs. If your  hourly wages will go up say, 10%, don't forget about the  additional payroll taxes, workers comp and other benefits that  will also increase.
   If you estimate that your total labor cost will increase 15% and it's currently 30% of sales, you may need an overall price increase of at least 4.5% (30% x 15%) to maintain your existing  profit margin.
   The best time to implement a price increase? The day the new minimum wage increase takes effect.

Product Updates
Aloha 6.0 Released
Aloha has released version 6.0 which includes 65 new features. Users will also benefit from biometric support for login. Among some of the new features:
>>  Employee Punctuality Control on Clock Outs
>>  Implementing Employee Clock-In Movie to Reduce Training Costs and Improve Staff
      Communication
>>  Elimination of 10 Terminal Restriction
>>  Quick Combo Enhancements
>>  Coupon Audits
>>  Public Cash Drawers and Drawer Checkout in Aloha QuickService

For a complete list of features, visit the Abacus website.

FLRA in the News
Governor Bush Appoints Ruth's Chris Steak House CEO Craig Miller to Tourism Commission
HEATHROW, FL (Oct. 19) Ruth's Chris Steak House Inc. (Nasdaq: RUTH) announced that Florida's Governor, Jeb Bush, has appointed the restaurant company's Chief Executive Officer Craig S. Miller to the Florida Tourism Commission. Miller began his 40-plus year restaurant career at the Neptune Seafood Restaurant in Rockledge, Florida in 1963. He has been involved with operating restaurants within the state for over 25 years.

For information on the benefits of joining the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, please contact info@abacuspos.com.

Tech Tip
Picture this: A sneakier kind of spam
A new strain of spam popping up in e-mail boxes is confounding consumers and corporate security officials. The spam contains images spouting everything from stock scams to Viagra, and its volume has more than doubled since April, according to analysis by anti-spam vendor IronPort Systems.
   Image-based spam accounts for 21% of all spam, compared with just 1% in late 2005, IronPort says. Marketers are deploying image-based spam because it is harder to detect than text-based spam, and consumers are more likely to read an e-mail with a picture or graphic, says Craig Sprosts of IronPort.
   The newest spam uses technology that varies the content of individual messages — through colors, backgrounds, picture sizes or font types — so they appear to be distinct to spam filters. The spam is delivered to consumers and companies through millions of compromised PCs, called bots.
   As a result, the messages are like snowflakes: No two are alike, says Julian Haight, founder of anti-spam organization SpamCop. The surge in new spam has largely eluded software filters and eaten up space on e-mail systems because each message is more than seven times larger than regular spam, Sprosts says.
   Most image-based spam comes in the form of stock scams, which contain the same basic language within a shaded box. Much of it comes from spam gangs in the USA and Russia, Sprosts says. Stock scams make up about 20% of spam — about twice the share at the start of the year, IronPort says.
   Until last year, image spam was rare. Though it had been around for about four years, spammers lacked the technology to randomize images, says Dmitri Alperovitch of e-mail security company CipherTrust. Before, spammers included a link on e-mail spam to direct recipients to a site containing pictures.
   Not anymore. The new spamming tactic is the latest salvo in the battle between junk e-mailers and filter developers. As software gets better at identifying and blocking spam, spammers get smarter at outfoxing software.
   "It is a never-ending cat-and-mouse game," Alperovitch says.

Abacus Web Site Tips: The Site Map
The Abacus website contains a wealth of information on the company and its products and services, but this complexity can present difficulties in finding the information required easioy and efficiently. Enter the Abacus site map.
   The site map is available from the right side of the main menu on the home page. The direct link is
http://www.abacuspos.com/site_map.html

The site map is a quick and easy-to-use index to all major sections of the site. Simply expand the section required until the major heading appears. The map can be completely expanded or collapsed with a single click.

Stay In Touch With Us
     From the Aloha Point of Sale system and state-of-the-art Radiant hardware to our 24/7 Customer Solutions Group, we’re your total solution provider. Let us show you how we can save you money and give you peace of mind. Just call (800) 665-9222 or visit us on the web at www.abacuspos.com
     Abacus. You can count on us.