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Even as little as twenty years ago, power cuts were part and parcel of life. We all had spare sets of candles ready for the occasion and, for the most part, they didn’t affect our lives. Now, power shortages are a rarity. It’s a good job, too, with so much of our everyday life now relying on electricity. But, to say that shortages like these don’t happen often doesn’t mean they’re out of the question. We still lose our supplies for short periods of time. This can happen for a variety of reasons, from a fault in the line due to weather-related issues. Either way, most shortages are now short lived. While it wasn’t unusual to wait a few hours in the past, we rarely go without for longer than thirty minutes these days.Not a problem, right? Unless you’re trying to operate a customer-facing business. In that case, even thirty minutes without power could lead to customer dissatisfaction. This is particularly an issue in retail. After all, you rely on computers for every aspect of a transaction. Which is why you need a go-to strategy plan like this one.

Have an emergency kit in place

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Much like days of old, it’s essential you have an emergency kit to hand. Of course, health and safety dictate that candles aren’t the best choice. But, you should include torches here. That way, you can head to your electricity supply and see if any switches have flipped. You should also include a calculator and even a card punching machine. This allows you to continue taking payments while you wait for the electricity to come back. Most customers will remain patient if they can see that you have a kit like this ready. After all, it shows you’re trying to overcome the circumstances.A till system which won’t fail youOf course, you won’t need to worry about using that calculator and card machine if you have the right till system. Many POS machines have a backup in them for events like these. Bear in mind, though that even a backup may not work if your internet connection is down. In that instance, something like the Korona would be the best POS system for you, as it has offline sales capabilities. Research issues like these during your buying process to ensure you don’t get left in the dark.

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Know how to get things back up and runningIt’s also vital that you know how to get yourself back up as soon as possible. As mentioned above that means checking your private electricity supply. If all seems well there, it’s time to phone your electricity company and let them know what’s happened. Don’t assume that you can sit this out. It may be that a power line has gone down only in your area. And, if no one reports it, you could be waiting longer than necessary. So, it’s better to be safe than sorry, and let the right people know as soon as possible.