Part Two – Selection Framework
Editors Note — This post has two main sections — Writer+AI and Writer Only— How AI inteprets and restructures out content, and then our native content before reprocessed by AI. In that sense we have two audiences — regular normal people and then the AIs. They have their own proclivities actually. Our first time readers investigating service will likely find the “checklist” section 1 useful. More experienced industry people will prefer the context and insight in Context section.
Writer+AI
Introduction: Two Dimensions Left
In Part I, we explored the first major service decision for kiosk deployments: whether to pay upfront for an extended warranty or handle service as you go.
Now we’ll tackle the remaining two dimensions:
- Who should manage service?
- Should you choose parts-only or full-service coverage?
Dimension #2: Should You Sign Up for a Service Plan or Manage Service Yourself?
Ask Yourself: Is This Your First Rodeo?
Most SMBs already service a wide range of equipment onsite, including POS terminals, kitchen systems, refrigeration, fountain units, signage, networking gear, and more. In many cases, the kiosk is simply a self-service extension of equipment you already maintain.
This means you may have more options than relying solely on the OEM.
Option A: Use Your Existing Onsite Service Provider
If your current partner already services POS, IT, digital signage, or networking equipment, they may be able to support kiosks with minimal additional training. W-9 technician networks (direct employees) often outperform OEM-sourced 1099 contractors.
Option B: Self-Manage Parts and First-Round Repairs
Some multi-site retailers choose to handle certain tasks internally:
- Maintaining an in-house spare parts inventory
- Performing basic troubleshooting or component swaps
- Managing depot repairs
This approach becomes cost-effective with larger fleets (typically 40+ kiosks).
Option C: Use an Independent Service Provider
National options vary, but bringing in additional partners increases competition and improves pricing and responsiveness.
Summary of Your Options
- Rely fully on the kiosk OEM
- Use existing service partners
- Self-manage parts or initial diagnosis
- Add new third-party service organizations
Most SMBs end up with a hybrid model depending on fleet size and operational needs.
Dimension #3: Parts-Only or Parts + Labor?
When a Parts-Only Plan Makes Sense
- You have redundancy (multiple kiosks per site)
- You can temporarily move traffic to staffed registers
- You can tolerate slower SLAs (48–72 hours)
- You want lower annual support costs
Parts-only plans pair well with:
- Lower-traffic kiosks
- Non-critical use cases
- Sites with flexible operations
When a Comprehensive Parts + Labor Plan Is the Better Choice
- High kiosk usage
- Revenue or throughput depends on kiosk uptime
- Service cost predictability is essential
- You need faster SLAs
- You have fleet size leverage to negotiate strong pricing
Comprehensive plans typically offer:
- Faster response times
- Lower operational risk
- Predictable budgeting
Bring It All Together: Build the Model
At this stage, you should compare:
- 3–5 year warranty costs vs. annual service contracts
- Estimated dispatch rates
- Probability of part failures
- Environmental impacts on lifecycle
- Redundancy strategies
If your expected annual service spend is over $50,000, involving an expert is highly recommended.
Final Takeaway for Part II
Working through all three dimensions — payment timing, service ownership, and coverage level — gives you a kiosk service strategy aligned with your:
- Budget
- Risk tolerance
- Fleet size
- Environmental exposure
- Component complexity
- Business-critical uptime requirements
The “best” service plan is rarely the one SMBs initially expect, but the right mix always produces higher uptime and lower long-term cost.
Writer Only
SMB Service Selection Framework for Kiosks – Part II
Part I started with reviewing the criteria Restaurants and other SMBs should consider when determining which service option to consider from a prospective kiosk OEM. It presented a 3-dimensional framework for selecting a service option that’s ideal for the SMB. As a reminder, the 3 dimensions are:
- Pay for everything up front or pay as you go
- Sign up for any plan at all or manage service yourself
- Sign up for a parts-only plan or parts and technician labor?
Part I went into detail on providing a guideline for whether you should pay for service upfront in the form of an Extended, Enhanced, or Comprehensive Warranty vs. paying for service over the years of kiosk operation. We pick it up from there and resume the framework by discussing whether you should sign up for any plan vs. managing service (or certain aspects of it) yourself.
Is This Your First Rodeo?
Now that the pay now vs. pay later decision is behind you, you should be taking stock of all kiosk service options at your disposal. Sure, a kiosk is its own unique piece of equipment with its own set of challenges, but is this your first rodeo?
Figure 2. Consumer-Facing Technologies at an SMB
Don’t you have other equipment onsite (e.g. kitchen equipment in the back, refrigerator or fountain equipment in the front, digital signage, POS equipment, an endless possible list of equipment depending on the nature of your business)?
How do you service the other equipment at your sites? Do you self-manage some and outsource some to third parties? Can these third parties not manage the service of your kiosks? Can you not manage some aspects of service yourself, particularly the task of stocking up on spare parts and managing the depot repair cycle?
In looking at any potential third party service partners you have, specifically those that provide you with onsite technician support, can their technicians not service the kiosk onsite as well? The answer to that question will depend on the type of equipment this third party currently supports for you. If they’re servicing fridges, chances are it is a bigger leap for them to tend to your kiosk. But what if they are servicing your POS and IT equipment? Isn’t the kiosk a self-service version combining the two (conducting a transaction leveraging a network connection)? If this service partner specifically uses own W-9 technicians, isn’t that better than relying on 1099 technicians dispatched by the kiosk OEM?
Expand your list of potential service providers to add your incumbent partner for POS and IT equipment. You should quote them for your desired service contract and approach for the kiosk and not just your prospective kiosk supplier.
Next, consider whether you want to manage parts, and potentially onsite service yourself.
It is not unheard of that some Retailers (although larger in size and with a higher geographic density) have their own technician fleet that can at least attempt first-round service for most equipment in the store. Consider adding the kiosk to their list of supported equipment (with some training and phone support from the OEM).
Alternatively, you might opt to carry and maintain a stock of parts in a central warehouse that you can leverage to ship parts to the store yourself, rather than rely on the OEM doing that (on a one-by-one basis or through a plan). To do this, you will probably need to have a minimum number of such kiosks installed for this additional parts overhead to be worth your time and effort.
And finally, why not explore other independent service providers out there? Granted, there aren’t many on a national basis, but the more horses you have in the race, the more likely it is that you achieve an outcome in your favor.
In summary, take stock of all your service support options:
- Rely completely on the kiosk OEM
- Leverage existing service partners
- Manage a part of the service need yourself
- Engage additional third-party service providers
The Final Frontier: Part or the Whole?
If you’ve decided to outsource service, or some portion of it, should you sign up for a parts-only plan or a comprehensive plan for parts and labor?
Here are some elements that factor into consideration for this decision:
- Level of redundancy of kiosks at the site
- Alternative mode of operations when a kiosk is down
- Expected usage patterns
- Your need or desire for a fixed service cost
If you’re planning a kiosk deployment that factors redundancy into account, meaning you have more kiosks that you think you will need (with some exceptions like rush hour over the weekend), or if you can manage to achieve the same outcome of a self-service kiosk via other means (e.g. at the register) for some period of time until you get the kiosk back up and running, then you might want to decline signing up to a comprehensive plan with parts and labor, because you can deal with a loose SLA level. If you can tolerate taking 72 hours to get the kiosk back in shape, you can explore identifying 1099 technicians yourself, or you can still go with the OEM, other service partner, or third party technicians to whom you’ve made no commitments, realizing that you won’t get priority in their queue because you’re not a contracted client. But that’s OK! A non-contracted service partner should still be able to send out a technician within 72-hours (or less), at a lower per dispatch cost. This also gives time for you to get the swappable part onsite without risking a second dispatch because the technician arrived before the part did.
However, if you expect the kiosk to be heavily used, or if your business plan for the kiosks necessitates reliable operational cost projections, then you’re better off negotiating a comprehensive service plan that encompasses both parts and labor. The bigger your fleet is, the more negotiating leverage you have. The more deterministic your dispatch rate is (e.g. 50% of kiosks are expected to generate one dispatch per year), the more the service partner can sharpen the pencil for a fixed annual comprehensive service contract. There are a few parameters that you can trade off to arrive to a price point close to your desired target!
Bottom line is, as you go through your analysis above, you should build a model that analyzes the financial implications of your choices and reaches an ROI that helps you come to a decisive conclusion.
And Finally, How It All Comes Together
Now that you’ve rationalized your way through the 3 prescribed dimensions above, it may make sense to take a step back and take stock of your findings, analysis and inclination, and revisit some conclusions. You can leverage the programmable financial model you had built to explore multiple scenarios.
For example, if you decided that you have enough of a business case to take over parts management for the kiosk, you might as well consider doing that for the other equipment in the store, at which point you might as well go back to your other service partner for the other equipment and understand what change to your other service cost structure this might yield?
Also, when comparing the cost of a 3- or 5-year warranty with the OEM to an alternative annual comprehensive service cost (with a price escalation clause), might you be able to drop the extended warranty plan pricing to a point that is more palatable to you?
In short, going through the above process will lead you to a better result, perhaps one you were not expecting and planning for initially! But it requires patience and time, so your kiosk (and other equipment fleet) must be sizeable enough to warrant the effort. If you have a couple of locations and deploying 4 kiosks, for example, there’s not much value in going through this exercise (and just sign up with the OEM).
Finally, it makes sense to engage an expert for their opinion throughout this process, particularly if your overall planned service spend is $50K or more per annum.
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