Client News
Gary Waters
President
Retail Technology Centers, Inc.
122 Prospect Place
Alpharetta, GA 30005
Phone: (800) 905-6075
Company Survives Katrina, Wins Selection as a Kentucky Derby Technology Vendor
Alpharetta, Ga. – (May 5, 2006) – Last September Retail Technology Centers overcame the disruption of Hurricane Katrina to its Louisiana operations. Now a little more than a half year later the company is enjoying another success: being selected to provide point-of-sale terminals for the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby.
"We're thrilled to be chosen to provide advanced technology for the Kentucky Derby," says Gary Waters, president of Retail Technology Centers. "At its essence, the Derby is about the combined efforts of owners, trainers, jockeys and horses to create enough speed for a winning performance. At R-Tech we have a similar goal—to deliver reliable, high-speed retail transactions that provide a winning experience for businesses and their customers."
Retail Technology Centers has installed 43 point-of-sale terminals in 23 stores at the Derby.
Waters says his company's high-speed, point-of-sale systems are especially ideal for high-traffic events such as the Kentucky Derby, LSU football games and PGA events, where temporary stores have only a short period of time to ring up tens of thousands of transactions. "What also nice is that our systems are very easy to learn in a short amount of time," he adds.
Waters says his company's selection as a Derby vendor and its success in overcoming the challenges of Katrina are a result of teamwork and communication.
Prior to Katrina, Waters says his company had considered the possibility of a major hurricane and had general contingency plans in place. However, he says no one at the company imagined the level of destruction that actually occurred.
Waters says that the company's phone system and 800 service were knocked out as was its main server. "The New Orleans operation had to work from cell phones, so our Atlanta associates took over support and installation backed up by our New Orleans staff," he says. "Our office in New Orleans was located on Convention Center Boulevard. You could see it on CNN. Somehow it survived the flooding and looting."
Waters credits the efforts of the company's associates in keeping its operations running throughout the crisis. "During Katrina, we were in the middle of several major system installations. Fortunately, one of the largest installations was in Dallas. One of our most talented and experienced associates evacuated to Fort Worth and was able to complete the installation on time and on budget," he says.
"Many New Orleans clients lost their businesses and information systems. We worked with our clients to get them back up and running and to restore their data even though several of our data servers were destroyed," says Waters.
Since Katrina, Water says his company has installed a new VoIP-based telephone system that allows it to stay in full communications with clients no matter where its associates are located. It is virtually impossible for the system to be disrupted by any disaster.
Also since the storm, R-Tech has installed a new off-site backup system that completely protects client data.
About Retail Technology Centers
Retail Technology Centers (R-Tech) provides advanced point-of-sale terminals and inventory control systems for independent retail and specialty organizations throughout the southeastern United States. R-Tech has been in business 16 years and is headquartered in Alpharetta with field offices in New Orleans; Greensboro, N.C.; and Jackson, Miss. To learn more about R-Tech, visit www.rtechcenters.com