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Faerman’s Cash Register Repair Shop

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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March 17th, 2009 2

[Image by Andrea Mohin/The New York Times]

Mister Jalopy on D+R points us to this NY Times piece about Faerman’s Cash Register Repair Shop in New York:

The hair dryer whines. Brian Faerman aims. Hot air blasts into a cash register that is about as old as he is, which is 46.

That is old enough for the cash register to have black-and-white numbers that go up and down, not a green, glowing electronic display. That is old enough to have rows of buttons — 10 for cents, 10 for dimes, 10 for dollars and 10 beyond that. So to ring up a $29.95 special, you have to press four separate buttons, one by one. This is the kind of machine that is slow. It is thoughtful. It is onomatopoeic. Ka-ching. But it is not ka-chinging the way it is supposed to. It is not ka-chinging at all. Hence the hair dryer.

“Steel holds cold,” he says. “Machines, they need to be warm to work.”

Where Cash Registers Go to Get Their ‘Ka-Ching’ Back

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