Posted on 03/02/2005 8:41:05 PM PST by John Robertson
Watch for total cost of business. The two biggest are, of course, the equipment rental and transaction fees. Some companies though, have "statement fees" that I've seen vary from eight to fifty bucks a month. Also get some kind of turnaround time for resolving of disputed transactions estimate, and make sure you know what ALL the fees and charges are before signing a contract.
I looked at all my options, and since most my sales are internet, I went with PayPal. No monthly fees. Higher per transaction charge, but my sales are not high enough to justify monthly. There are about siz zillion credit card processing companies. Go with a pretty big, well established one. This is your customers bank account data and credit card data going through. Hope this helps.
Does he have a membership to Costco? They have a decent enough deal for visa/mastercard. I'm actually not sure if it's debit, but for most folks using their ATM's it doesn't matter if they use it like a debit/credit anyway.
He also said he's gotten offers from other sources. Some of them seem to beat Costco's price slightly but having never had trouble with Costco and there being no "sleaze factor", he's never bothered to change.
The "issue" is simply not *having* 4-5 dollars in cash. I always add my tip to the credit card receipt total.
Great intelligence gathering, thanks.
Is it really about you? This is one of those utilitarian posts, where someone's just seeking practial information, but you seem to need to keep hitting how you never have cash on you, as if it were some accomplishment or point of honor. Fine. Someday you'll really need to have cash on you, and I'm sure your explanation of "simply not having 4-5 dollars in cash" will get you out of whatever the jam is. No one in this household is ever without his or her "emergency twenty," and that includes the eleven-year-old. I'm not literally asking for a response, but I do wonder how you pay for things like a coffee that's $1.25, or a bagel with cream cheese for $1.99. Because I might be that guy behind you in line (along with four or five others), thinking, Does that person really need to do a credit card transaction for something that small?
"Keep hitting"? In reviewing this thread, I have posted exactly once, and that post consisted of two short sentences. Get a grip.
As for why I replied, I was trying to *supply* useful information, which you apparently do not want.
Specifically, your friend believes he's losing some sales due to not accepting credit/debit cards, and he's probably right. I am one of those people who almost always use a check card to pay when I go out to eat. I have literally turned around and left a local restaurant because they had a sign on the door saying 'no credit cards,' not out of spite, but because I had no cash & didn't care to bother with writing a personal check (assuming they'd accept one). So the spending habits of a person like me would seem to be of some relevance to your friend's situation, right? Apparently you don't think so.
IMO, the convenience benefit of accepting credit cards would be partially cancelled out by requiring tips in cash, since I'd still have to check to see if I had adequate cash before going in.
Fine. Someday you'll really need to have cash on you, and I'm sure your explanation of "simply not having 4-5 dollars in cash" will get you out of whatever the jam is.
I would love to hear what hypothetical situation I'd really need $4 for.
No one in this household is ever without his or her "emergency twenty,"
I don't think tipping qualifies as an emergency.
I'm not literally asking for a response, but I do wonder how you pay for things like a coffee that's $1.25, or a bagel with cream cheese for $1.99.
Typically, if I don't have the cash, I don't buy such items. Is that hard to grasp?
Sloth.
I never said tipping was an emergency. I said, our family members always have some cash on them. The "spending habits" of outliers like you are of no interest to me or or any other person in a small business. From what you've said, I'm betting you're one of those customers who's "just not worth it." You're likely one of those persons who always has to make his point. And you probably feel superior walking away from an establishment that didn't somehow meet your standards. Wondering...do friends and family members ever say, Come on, can't we just eat, and Please don't make a scene?
And yet you go on. I keep saying, we're looking for practical information. And you keep responding with YOUR customer worldview. I don't care about it, nor does my worthy friend.
Look, PistolPaknMama said the following: "If he makes me pay tips in cash then he won't get a tip. I don't carry cash, a lot of people don't." You seemed to disbelieve that there are people who don't carry cash, so I chimed in to say that I don't either, at which you appear to take personal offense. So you have already run into two "outliers" in, what, ~20 respondents?
From what you've said, I'm betting you're one of those customers who's "just not worth it." You're likely one of those persons who always has to make his point.
And you base this assessment on... ?
And you probably feel superior walking away from an establishment that didn't somehow meet your standards.
I specifically stated that I walked away, not out of spite, but because I PHYSICALLY DIDN'T HAVE THE CASH. What does that have to do with feeling "superior"? What should I have done instead, run up a bill I knew I couldn't pay?
Wondering...do friends and family members ever say, Come on, can't we just eat, and Please don't make a scene?
LOL... Uh, no. Never. I am extraordinarily non-confrontational and I have never "made a scene" in my life. I have complained about service exactly one time, and that was by letter, after the fact.
I don't care about it, nor does my worthy friend.
If your friend has successfully run a business for that long, I bet he's less thin-skinned than you.
I'm not thin-skinned at all, but we certainly seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. Let's just let it go. I'll admit to hitting too hard...and I think you should admit to overreacting. Just a thought, your call. Have a good day anyway.
As for the policy of requiring tips being in cash - that's just stupid. You will PO your customers needlessly and reduce the tips for the waitresses. Because PO'ed customers do not leave good tips.
Credit card receipts will make some of your receipts and tips traceable, and therefore, reportable, but so what? Don't you report your income and tips now?
I'm not a cheap tipper and don't mind one bit paying for good service. But to give you an example, I went to Florida last week on $5, exactly the amount of cash I had in my purse. On the way, I got a biscuit and coffee for breakfast, so I arrived in Flordia with only a couple of dollars. If I visited your friend's establishment, I would not have the cash to leave for a tip, at least not an adequate tip.
I find it a little cheesy that he doesn't want to include tips because of the service fee, however, being in business as well, I understand it. There are some places that pool their tips an divide them among the wait staff at the end of the day. Don't know if this is a solution, but if your buddy did this, taking into account the tips charged on credit cards, deducted his service charge and divide the rest, maybe that's workable. If the wait staff knows up front the service charge will be reduced from their tips they shouldn't have a problem with it. I'd get them all to sign something saying they understand this. On the other hand, the service charge is a 100% deduction for him on his tax return and is not a deduction for his wait staff. He should take the deduction and eat the very nominal charge for tips.
And now you and Sloth knock it off! :-) Neither of you has said anything offensive but it got turned into a pecking party. I understand your point as a business person and I understand Sloth's point as a co-non-cash-carrying person. In my case, and Sloth's too I imagine, your friend's exclusion of tips on credit cards would only hurt the wait staff. Again, the service charge is a business expense that is a tax deduction for your friend. A much bigger expense, that is not tax deductible, is training new employees when the old wait staff quits because they aren't getting tips.
Another alternative is to raise the prices of his menu slightly so it's not shocking to regular customers and is still reasonable. This will offset the cost of merchant services.
So what do you say? You, me and Sloth meet out back with our shovels and jump back in the sand box. Eh? :-)
Thanks for your response, it was helpful.
As for the Sloth and me...we worked it out. We're best buds now. It's gonna be okay.
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