Customer Service – Self Service / Interactive Kiosks
An interactive kiosk is an electronic computer-like device that is deployed in a public location to give people self-service access to services and products. Kiosks are normally found in stores, libraries, airports, company reception areas, and other places where 'normal' computers are not available but self-service applications can provide benefits. A standard kiosk allows people to access the internet, view multimedia files and run software applications. What exactly people can do it on it is up to you though, as you can have it set-up in any way that you like. So, if you do not want people to be able to access the internet from it, then you can turn off that option. They work best when they optimized to do certain tasks. You can just have a single tailor-made software application running on it if you like, which allows users to only do a particular thing, such as buying a product or entering their personal details. Kiosks require a processor, RAM and a hard disk to run, but these are not particularly expensive as the same ones that are used for home computers are also used for kiosks. The user will not actually see any of the hardware though as it will be encased within an outer unit. How the outer casing looks is up to you. You can get plain, box style kiosks, branded, curved kiosks, and everything in between. Also within the casing will be a display screen, which can be either a standard looking computer monitor or a plasma / LCD screen, depending on your needs and the image that you want to present. You can get kiosks fitted with whatever devices are needed to make the kiosk experience as user friendly as possible for the intended users. For example, you can have a printer, barcode scanner and credit card reader if you wanted to. A touchscreen is the most common upgrade, and is something that should definitely be considered if you purchase an interactive kiosk. As with home computers, repairing and replacing individual parts of a kiosk is no problem, so if one part of it develops a fault after prolonged use then you will not have to purchase a brand new kiosk. Software applications for interactive kiosks can be as simple or as complex as needed. There is the option to have them run standard home computer applications, such as Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer, and also the option to have them run specialist software. Off the shelf applications can be installed on it or you can have new applications specially coded if there is nothing currently available that is suitable for your needs. If you tell kiosk manufacturers what exactly you want the kiosk to be used for then they will let you know what the best course of action for you to take is.
Read On : Ticket Kiosks
