Hamilton ACW Credit Card Reliability

[Doug P.]

I purchased 2 new Hamilton ACW's with the credit card option in 1999. The credit card part of the machines were a disaster. I replaced them with WashGear a few years ago and the Washgear system has been very reliable and a great company to work with. I also bought 2 new Unitec WSII's in 2003 with the credit card system and receipt printers. They have been very reliable.
I am getting ready to purchase a new autocashier and I just wondered if Hamilton's credit card system is improved over the defective system I bought from them in 99. The only reason I am considering Hamilton over the WSII is the fact that Hamilton offers the option of giving change in dollar bills. I have a lot of Hamilton equipment and have had great service out of their products except for their validators and their credit card equipment. I have a lot of customers that request receipts when they use a credit card. My WSII's have a much higher percent of sales from credit cards compared to my acw's(no receipt) and I think this is because of the receipt printer. Any input on Hamiltons credit card reliability would be appreciated.

Doug P.

 

[pcb]

I put in a new Gold Line Plus about a year ago. The credit card reader has been fine as far as I can tell. The credit card acceptance has only messed up one time in the year and Hamilton dialed in and did something and it was fine about 5 min. later. The only problem I had with the unit is the dollar bill dispenser. It was hanging up where the dollar goes through the door and then just scrunching up the rest of the dollars that came behind it. After a few adjustments and some bending that has been resolved and everything seems to be fine. So far I've been happy with the machine.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Doug, I have had an HTK in service for almost two years now. I don't think I have had the first issue with the CC or bill dispensing. Even the Smart XE validator has been very good. I like the Mars better, but I wanted the option of Tokenotes in case I wanted to use them in some promotional capacity that I or my competition haven't thought of yet. Long story short, I really like this machine.

 

[Randy]

There have been a number of improvements to credit card acceptance since 1999. I’ve sold a large number of Goldline ACW’s and have only had one problem with a credit card reader that was defective from Neuron, they make the card readers that Hamilton uses. If you decide on a Goldline ACW go with the DAN system so you can do high speed internet card processing.

 

[soapy]

I have 7 Hamilton ACWS with Credit card readers and they all have been very reliable. I am sure I have not had to replace a single reader in over 5 years.

 

[MEP001]

The Goldline installed new in 2003 has been nearly trouble-free - the original reader was a touch finicky, then when it was damaged from some brainiac cramming quarters in it I replaced it with the new dual-sided reader and it's very excellent.

The D.A.N. is expensive and not worth the money spent just for a single auto cashier. There's some improved control and extra accounting features, but you'll be paying an extra fee to eXact for each approved swipe. Dial-up only takes about 15 seconds to clear a transaction - I put in a D.A.N for the bays about 4 years ago, but I have no intention of hooking the Goldline to it.

 

[Doug P.]

Thanks to everyone who posted for their input.

Doug P.