For over 45 years there has always been a farm shop on Hawton Lane in Farndon. Established by the Hardy farming family they have continuously produced the best in seasonal products for the farm shop. Over those years they have become famous for the products that they make at the farm shop, “A lot of people come in for our cooked products that we manufacture on site, our sausage rolls and Cornish pasties are some of our best sellers. We also cook our own ham, which is very popular because it actually tastes like ham, so it is much nicer than from the supermarket,” said store manager, Sharon. Alongside these products the farm shop is bursting with fresh fruit and vegetables, a wide range of meat at their butchery and locally sourced bakes like bread and cakes.

Since 2017 CSY have been there to help Hardy’s, as their previous EPOS system wasn’t working for the busy farm shop. When Hardy’s realised their existing system couldn’t help their retail side blossom, Sharon’s past experience with CSY made choosing a new EPOS system very easy. “Before I started working at Hardy’s I had used CSY’s EPOS in my previous job, so I knew it could do everything we needed it to do and more.”

One main feature Hardy’s were looking for in a new EPOS system was in-depth reporting. “We wanted to be able to control the stock and see our good sellers and bad sellers.” With our guidance Hardy’s were able to control their stock from the shop floor and price items without disruption to the running of the farm shop, “the ease of looking up a price is also very handy. If a price label has fallen off an item we can easily look up the item on the system to get the price.”

Hardy’s Farm Shop supply produce to local companies like pubs and restaurants, so being able see all their accounts at the end of the week has assisted Hardy’s in getting accurate reports. “At the end of the week, myself and our accounts team compare our reports to make sure they balance. If they don’t balance, we want to know why and with CSY we have all the information we need in one place.” Our back office reports are the perfect tool for the accounts department, “it is a fool proof way of getting everything balanced,” adds Sharon.

Loyalty cards can help any business encourage existing customers to return, Hardy’s already have a large customer base made up of many loyal customers, so they wanted to be able to give back. The Hardy’s loyalty card scheme lets their customers earn points and benefit from regular offers, “even if customers have forgotten their card most of them know their card number off by heart, so they never miss out on earning their points.”

If Hardy’s Farm Shop ever have any technical issues with their EPOS system they know our helpdesk is always available to assist them. “We have used the helpdesk a few times for both our EPOS and our weighing scales, and the issues are always resolved.” At CSY we want to make sure our customers are getting their problems resolved quickly so they can get back to serving their customers, “the CSY helpdesk is always well manned and very patient when telling you which buttons to press.”

“Over the seven years I personally have used CSY’s EPOS systems they have grown and grown, which proves they are providing a great product.” Even though Hardy’s doesn’t have any plans on expanding their farm shop any time soon, they know CSY would be able to help them if they do expand in the future. “I can’t fault CSY or the EPOS system; it is very easy to use which is great if you don’t understand technology like me.”