Service & Engagement Payment card reader calibration with cash registers - issues?

[jackandcat]

Over the past couple of months, I've noticed a frequent tech issue involving synchronization between our payment card readers (a/k/a "PIN Pads") and our cash registers.

Those guests who are in the habit of inserting their payment cards into the "PIN pad" before the Advocate has completed scanning and hit the Total button are frequently finding their cards rejected or not even acknowledged for payment before the Total has been executed, without making the annoying "beep-beep-beep" sound or "check with your card issuer" message. The screen shows no error message, but simply that payment has not been inserted. Upon prompting the guest to re-insert their card, sometimes time-consuming because the guest likely has already put their card back into their wallet, the card payment proceeds fine with no problems.

This seems to be occurring both at our "new" registers and our "old-school" cash registers. It usually does not happen if the guest inputted their Target Circle cellphone number by typing it in. Has this problem been occurring at other stores? If so, are any of you giving guests a suggestion that they wait for you to give a heads-up before inserting?

This issue came up at the time when the mandatory Target Circle force prompts were modified to a voluntary prompt in order to shorten checkout wait times during COVID-19. Methinks there is either a programming configuration issue, a software update which is prohibitively expensive to implement with the PIN Pad payment card reader system, lack of processing power, or something else in terms of calibration.

 

[BoxCutter]

Happens more on the newer system than our older ones. The new system needs major updates, half of ours are down at any given time.

 

[jackandcat]

Like many Targets, our store kept half of our checkout lane registers with the "old" system so that TMs brought in from other parts of the store can perform the cashiering functions. We don't have enough payroll hours to retrain each and every TM in the store on how to use the "new" system. FYI the new registers have been glitchy. I don't know if other stores have had this problem. It surfaced right after Target re-coded the POS software so that the PIN-pad Target Circle dialog box became passive rather than compulsory (the guest wasn't forced to opt-in or skip). The software and configuration got screwed up and haven't been fixed.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

Omg I thought it was just me.

if the guest inserts the card *right* before you hit total it will make Glenda chime and guest has to reinsert.SUPER annoying

 

[Anelmi]

Yeah they need to fix the coding or whatever you want to call it to bypass the Target Circle screen altogether.

 

[DBZ]

It has to do with the Target Circle crap. If the guest had hit skip, had their phone scanned, or entered the number, the card reader would process the payment instead of saying "remove card"

 

[daemon]

%75 of the time the card will need to be ejected if the guest puts it in while the reader is on the red phone number prompt screen. It is not a sync issue.. it is not a bug per say... the red screen is NOT a payment screen and thus should not have any cards in the reader. I simply explain to the guest they cannot put the card in on that screen, they need to put it on the payment screen. Every card reader I have worked with in other stores is the same way. Our card readers have made guest stupid...er.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

%75 of the time the card will need to be ejected if the guest puts it in while the reader is on the red phone number prompt screen. It is not a sync issue.. it is not a bug per say... the red screen is NOT a payment screen and thus should not have any cards in the reader. I simply explain to the guest they cannot put the card in on that screen, they need to put it on the payment screen. Every card reader I have worked with in other stores is the same way. Our card readers have made guest stupid...er.

No— we have quick chip. Before target cirlce, Guest could insert in anytime and it would work.

 

[daemon]

No— we have quick chip. Before target cirlce, Guest could insert in anytime and it would work.

Quick chip? Err, in the past the card readers first screen was the payment screen. Now it is not, so guest shouldn't throw their cards in yet. It is not expecting payment yet.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

Quick chip? Err, in the past the card readers first screen was the payment screen. Now it is not, so guest shouldn't throw their cards in yet. It is not expecting payment yet.

When I first started working at target (3 years ago), they payment screen didn't appear until you hit total. it was just that basket animation. guests could insert their card, but nothing would happen until I hit total. then one day, around the time they removed signature requirement, there was communication that guests could insert anytime and the transaction would be processed much quicker (quick chip). all was well and good until this latest change with circle and now it's broken

the issue is not that nothing happens on the circle screen. that's expected. the issue is that the guest has to remove and reinsert their card. for me, it only happens if they do it RIGHT before I hit total (the most common time for them to do so). if they do it well before, the card reader performs as expected.

 

[daemon]

The issue is the circle prompt is running its own scan of the card reader and thus ask you to empty the slot before it moves to the payment screen. I don't personally know of any cards it would be looking for on that screen but that does not mean ones do not exist. in a programing and security sense I can see only wanting the correct payment card when going to the payment screen, thus prompting you to empty it before hand.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

The issue is the circle prompt is running its own scan of the card reader and thus ask you to empty the slot before it moves to the payment screen. I don't personally know of any cards it would be looking for on that screen but that does not mean ones do not exist. in a programing and security sense I can see only wanting the correct payment card when going to the payment screen, this promoting you to empty it before hand.

this doesn't explain though why if a guest inserts well before I hit total, circle prompt disappears, and card is run (and screen just holds on "please wait" until I total and complete).
why is it just when it happens when they insert just before I hit total?

 

[daemon]

I haven't linked it a time period. I have actually just been noting they pre inserted the card and when I hit total that I should expect to tell the guest to re insert the card most, but not all the time. Why does the card sometimes glide through screen transitions? No idea. There are probably many data formats on the chip used depending on a whole host of factors like debt, credit, country, bank, and the red screen is getting triggered by some codes and not others. I have not dived into any protocals dealing with bank related smart chips.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

now that I know it’s not just me maybe I’ll mysupport it.

@taytay if you’re still around...

 

[Dream Baby]

When I first started working at target (3 years ago), they payment screen didn't appear until you hit total. it was just that basket animation. guests could insert their card, but nothing would happen until I hit total. then one day, around the time they removed signature requirement, there was communication that guests could insert anytime and the transaction would be processed much quicker (quick chip). all was well and good until this latest change with circle and now it's broken

the issue is not that nothing happens on the circle screen. that's expected. the issue is that the guest has to remove and reinsert their card. for me, it only happens if they do it RIGHT before I hit total (the most common time for them to do so). if they do it well before, the card reader performs as expected.

I had to have the guest re-insert their card numerous times because of this. It also doesn't help when the "pleasant chime" goes off and people thought it read the card.

Also at our store if you suspend the sale and go to a NON TOUCHSCREEN register it won't read the suspend slip.

I had to do that the other day because the guest wanted to open a red card so they had me to take him to guest service (IMHO for know real reason).

They had to ring up the order again. It was buying over $500 of cookware!

I would have just left the store and took my business elsewhere.

Target is just being cheap and not converting all the registers to touchscreen at once AND NOT TRAINING anyone which seems to be the norm at my store.

 

[SallyHoover]

this doesn't explain though why if a guest inserts well before I hit total, circle prompt disappears, and card is run (and screen just holds on "please wait" until I total and complete).
why is it just when it happens when they insert just before I hit total?

It happens when they do it well ahead of time too. I can tell because it make the ding ding ding (remove card) instead of the honk honk honk (remove card). It may seem as though it works when they do it well ahead of time because some guests know to press the skip or to enter their phone before putting in their card and then it will process normally.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

I had to have the guest re-insert their card numerous times because of this. It also doesn't help when the "pleasant chime" goes off and people thought it read the card.

Also at our store if you suspend the sale and go to a NON TOUCHSCREEN register it won't read the suspend slip.

I had to do that the other day because the guest wanted to open a red card so they had me to take him to guest service (IMHO for know real reason).

They had to ring up the order again. It was buying over $500 of cookware!

I would have just left the store and took my business elsewhere.

Target is just being cheap and not converting all the registers to touchscreen at once AND NOT TRAINING anyone which seems to be the norm at my store.

All our registers are touchscreen but not new POS.

It happens when they do it well ahead of time too. I can tell because it make the ding ding ding (remove card) instead of the honk honk honk (remove card). It may seem as though it works when they do it well ahead of time because some guests know to press the skip or to enter their phone before putting in their card and then it will process normally.

Huh. Maybe that’s it. I’ll start telling Guests to respond to the prompt.

I always learned the chimes as “Glenda the good witch” and “goose honk”. Not sure if that’s from TBR or workbench.

 

[BurgerBob]

All our registers are touchscreen but not new POS.

Huh. Maybe that’s it. I’ll start telling Guests to respond to the prompt.

I always learned the chimes as “Glenda the good witch” and “goose honk”. Not sure if that’s from TBR or workbench.

I know our sounds by, the machine is angry (card didn't work? For reasons??) The machine is happy ding ding ding.

 

[SallyHoover]

I know our sounds by, the machine is angry (card didn't work? For reasons??) The machine is happy ding ding ding.

Our angry- honk honk honk usually means it went through, remove your card. The happy ding ding ding usually means no it didn't go through but if it is late in the transaction and I can tell they did a pin it may do a ding ding ding and then go through.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

Our angry- honk honk honk usually means it went through, remove your card. The happy ding ding ding usually means no it didn't go through but if it is late in the transaction and I can tell they did a pin it may do a ding ding ding and then go through.

Glenda sound is also remove your card at GS for receipt lookup. I hate the goose. Sounds like an error, it should be error gets goose, Glenda means success.