May 2004

For some people change is unbearable - especially when it comes to embracing the latest technology. After more than 100 years' reliable service Truro shopkeeper David Laity has retired his faithful old till and replaced it with something a little more modern. Mr Laity, who runs Morrab Studio in Back Quay, acquired the trusty relic when his father set up the china and glassware business in Penzance around 54 years ago.

The till was one of two handed to the firm by Turner's sports shop they took over the store in Penzance's Morrab Road. It came to Truro about 12 years ago when Mr Laity set up a store in the city. Dating back to the start of the 1900s, the "patent automatic cash till" was built by G H Gledhill and Sons Ltd, of Halifax in Yorkshire. It has been replaced by the latest cybertill system from Truro firm epostills.com that links both shops and eventually an online store, via ADSL Broadband Technology.

It was this criteria, which actually secured the funding from ACT NOW's Accelerator Fund so far it is the ONLY EPoS system to secure such funding. Mr Laity said:

"We've changed from a system that's worked very well for many, many years to the latest technology. We're looking forward to developing the business in new areas, including online. It's going to be difficult but once it's up and running it should be a big improvement. We have coped very well with the old till, when we went decimal there were no problems and we would have easily changed to the euro if we had to."

Christopher J. Ranger, sales and marketing executive at epostills.com, said he was delighted to have helped Mr Laity make the switch from a manual till to an Electronic-Point-of-Service system. epostills.com was established 20 years ago and specialises in building, supplying and installing computers and networks to both residential and commercial clients. Electronic-Point-of-Sale/Service systems have been the company's main focus recent years.

Image: CJR