Quintus Systems has installed its cashless payment system, EPnet, at the London offices of Shearman & Sterling, a corporate and commercial law firm.
It came about after a recommendation from their contract caterer, Jill Bartlett & Company, who run the staff restaurant and vending facilities on behalf of the law firm.
Jill Bartlett
Shearman & Sterling is the inaugural contract for Jill Bartlett, which was formed recently by Jill herself, with caterers including Kitch Davies, who runs this site as General Manager. The restaurant at Shearman & Sterling has a deli bar, fruit selection, salad bar and "Grab n Go" Chiller unit, besides providing a menu of hot dishes from 7am until 9pm. Since the appointment of Jill Bartlett in March 2004, usage of the restaurant has risen by 30pc.
Kitch Davies saw the shortfalls of the existing payment system and, being familiar with Quintus, introduced them to the senior partners at Shearman & Sterling. An EPnet system was installed in May 2005, which integrates cashless payment in restaurant and vending machines with security access. Using the same card that gains access to the building – it also acts as tender to pay for meals in the restaurant and to purchase snacks from vending machines. In the restaurant, although staff may pay by cash, most use their security device, a Cotag proximity card. This is read by the till and recognises the staff member, before charging their account with the cost of the purchase.
Payment
Payment for purchases is deducted from salary on a monthly basis, using EPnet’s advanced Payroll Interface. Here, since transactions are recorded in "real time", the account balance is always accurate. Once a month, the up-to-date account balance is sent to payroll and the balance cleared to zero for the next month. This is much simpler than cash on card systems and much more secure, whether used in credit mode, as at Shearman and Sterling or when used in debit mode in conjunction with moneyloaders.
Vending
The complex houses 300 staff and includes six "break-out" areas. These are refreshment and relaxation rooms dotted around the building, with tables, chairs, television and even a pool table, where staff can relax and take refreshments. Each area has three vending machines for snacks, confectionery and beverages. To make a purchase, staff pass their proximity card in front of the reader. As before, the cost is added to their account and deducted from salary. The EPnet software system is controlled by a PC from Kitch’s office. Being an on-line system means that every transaction is recorded and aggregated. This then becomes a management tool, giving Kitch a view of foodservice transactions in the building. Kitch said: "Many of our staff have had prior experience of EPnet on other sites. It gave us the confidence to recommend them for this very prestigious account. I’m pleased to report that the system has run perfectly from day one with no disruption to the existing security infrastructure.”
