Friday, January 4, 2008

Technology, wonderful technology. . .

Since mentioning our change over to a new operating system in the last post, now is the perfect time to introduce an integral part of the switch as well as the Fink’s family.

Rhonda Ellis is celebrating her first anniversary with Fink’s this month! She is our internal auditor and deals with not only the stores, but every one in corporate if there is a question about the new system. . .

I've heard many folks say that “nothing stays constant except for change”. The statement seems to hold very true for our company after reflecting over the past year. With a new store opening, two established stores moving and one of the stores closing the doors, our company was also introduced to a new computer operating system this year.

Craftsman for Windows, known as C4W, is a program with a Microsoft® Windows® operating base. This provides Fink’s employees with the more common Windows® appearance and functionality that many are already used to seeing on their home computers.

Fink’s customers will also reap the benefits from the recent computer changes. Faster processing time, more receipt detail and on-hand, immediate customer history information are just a few of the benefits our customers will see. We all appreciate your patience as we are still learning and adapting to our new system.

Hats off to Todd Stafford, Vice President of Information Systems, and to Todd Peters, Senior Auditor and Systems Analyst, who spent many long nights and weekends working on this system, ensuring that everything was ready to go. Lots of caffeine and chocolate were essential to keep them going during this long and trying implementation!

As for now, I will prepare to put my “auditing” hat back on and step back from the IT world. Good bye for now and happy shopping!

~Rhonda Ellis
Corporate Offices, Roanoke