Environment
Student Life, MiWorkspace, Windows, M|Dining, Catering
Issue
Overview of common Point of Sale (PoS) issues and how to troubleshoot them.
Resolution
Context
There is an assortment of point-of-sale devices in use across all U-M organizations and departments. These include Aero MCard readers, Micros WS5a Workstations, and Credit Card terminals. These devices support Cash, Credit, Blue Bucks, Dining Dollars, and meal plan sales. In general, Student Life Technology Solutions (SLTS) supports all of the aforementioned equipment and workflows across all locations and organizations on the Ann Arbor campus, including outlier units such as the Michigan Medicine and Rec Sports.
Information Gathering
In order to better troubleshoot an issue, the customer will need to specify the type of device experiencing issues. Currently, there are 6 types of PoS hardware supported by SLTS. If an issue is occurring with a type of PoS hardware not listed below, it will need to be routed to a different support team. For supported hardware, the following troubleshooting questions will need to be answered by the customer before a ticket is routed to SLTS:
Aero Reader (MCard Stored Value Credit)
- Is it online?
- Do cards pass through it easily?
- Has it been recently installed or moved?
- Have other cards been tried?
Micros Workstation 5A
- Have they tried restarting it? The power button is on the bottom-right side of the unit. Holding for 10 seconds turns it off. It must be pushed again to turn it back on manually.
Micros Cash Drawer
- Has the Micros Workstation been restarted?
- Has a manager turned the lock core the wrong way by accident?
- Have you tried logging in as another user?
Receipt Printer
- Has the Micros Workstation been restarted?
- Has the receipt printer been restarted?
PoS Scanner
- Has the Micros Workstation been restarted?
- Has the scanner been restarted, or unplugged and plugged back in?
Order Printer / GET Printer
- Does the printer have enough and the correct paper loaded?
- Is it powered on with a green light on the front?
Customer Information
Additionally, the following information needs to be included with any PoS ticket routed to SLTS:
- Site Name and Location Number (white barcode label with black lettering found on the side of the device)
- Name or names of on-site contact
- Best time for on-site troubleshooting
Supported Hardware
Aero MCard Reader
The Aero MCard readers will have a white barcode label on them with the location abbreviation like the one in the picture below and will not accept credit cards. The label will be descriptive of the location (e.g. CCRB_194_PROSHOP). These devices are used by dining halls, as well as any vendor on campus that accepts Blue Bucks.
Note: Aero MCard Readers do provide certain transaction services, and consequently will sometimes be mistaken for Verifone Credit Card Terminals. This is because the Aero 3 MCard readers support BlueBucks and Dining Dollars, with Blue Bucks being more common and accepted at various non-Michigan Dining locations - such as the UM Golf Course. Making this hardware determination ahead of time will inform which team is responsible for assistance, regardless of physical location. If a unit is determined to be a Verifone credit card terminal, these should follow the Merchant Services escalation outlined above. If a unit is determined to be an Aero MCard reader, only then should a ticket be routed to SLTS for follow-up.
Aero MCard Reader Is Offline
So long as the Aero was logged in prior to a networking outage, it is able to perform transactions in an offline state. It won't be able to validate balances at that time, but once it is online, it will automatically upload any offline transactions to the server. There shouldn't be any additional interaction needed for this behavior to trigger.
To assist with identifying network issues, the Aero units have link lights on their network port, and the ">>On" indicates connectivity. Best practice is to avoid full resets of the device, as this will erase any offline transaction records. However, this can be done if all else fails. If resetting the device, record all offline transactions (if possible) and verify there are no network connectivity issues before power-cycling the device.
An Aero unit going offline after previously working can occur if the unit gets moved and then plugged back in incorrectly. The picture below shows the correct connection sequence with a scanner. Notice the scanner cables lead to the RS232 port, while the purple data cable leads to the ethernet port.
TAMPER Lock
The Aero 3 Card Readers have a built-in security lockout mechanism to prevent theft of transaction data. One consequence of this is that whenever they detect a strong physical impact or power surge, such as the unit being dropped or a power fluctuation in the area where it's located, this mechanism can be triggered.
When this occurs, the problem unit needs to be serviced by the vendor and have a replacement swapped in and programmed by SLTS.
Send this type of ticket to SLTS.
Unsupported Hardware
MDining FreedomPay Credit Card Terminals
For MDining contacts who have a hardware issue with their integrated FreedomPay Credit Card Terminal, they should send an email to sl-freedompay-notifications@umich.edu and mds-systemsupport@umich.edu listing their location and describing their issue(s). These are treated as high-priority incidents by the teams that monitor these email inboxes, so response times should be prompt in most cases.
MDining Verifone Credit Card Terminals (Stand Alone)
SLTS does not support the Verifone Credit Card Terminals, which look identical to the Aero MCard Readers. All issues with credit card terminals should be directed to Merchant Services at the Treasury Office - they can be reached at 734-763-1299 or merchantservices@umich.edu. Have the customer contact them directly. Merchant Services does not use Team Dynamix.
Additional Information
In addition to locations on the Ann Arbor campus, SLTS supports all Picasso Dining locations throughout the University of Michigan system. This includes Michigan Medicine, as well as satellite locations in Brighton and Flint. All such tickets should be escalated via TDX to the SL-Operations group.
Escalation Paths
- Aero MCard Reader issues = route ticket to SL-Operations
- Micros Cash Drawer Issues = route ticket to SL-Operations
- Micros Workstation 5A Issues = route ticket to SL-Operations
- Point of Sale Receipt Printer issues = route ticket to SL-Operations
- Point of Sale Scanner issues = route ticket to SL-Operations
- MDining FreedomPay Credit Card Terminals = See Above
- MDining Verifone Credit Card Terminal Issues = See Above