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Sunday, November 04, 2007
Go with the flow...
I hate plastic.
It's a coffee shop and yet you have this one problem that keeps getting worse and worse... the credit card transaction. There's nothing worse than a line full of people to the door and somebody pulls out a card for the $2 cup of coffee. People in the line groan and the person at the register swipes, swipes, swipes.... dialing.... dialing... printing... signatures... copies... ugh! Add to that the fees and a percent of every transaction, it really slows you down and really cuts your profitability.
The irony is the slick marketing campaigns bombarding people nowadays to 'use the card' because cash slows you down. So many customers still present the plastic with 'sorry' but one would wonder why cafes still accept credit cards?
Anyone who has ever worked behind the counter of a coffee bar knows two things:
The card slows down the line.
More cash equals better tips, more plastic equals less tips... ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 10:03 PM
I hate plastic.
It's a coffee shop and yet you have this one problem that keeps getting worse and worse... the credit card transaction. There's nothing worse than a line full of people to the door and somebody pulls out a card for the $2 cup of coffee. People in the line groan and the person at the register swipes, swipes, swipes.... dialing.... dialing... printing... signatures... copies... ugh! Add to that the fees and a percent of every transaction, it really slows you down and really cuts your profitability.
The irony is the slick marketing campaigns bombarding people nowadays to 'use the card' because cash slows you down. So many customers still present the plastic with 'sorry' but one would wonder why cafes still accept credit cards?
Anyone who has ever worked behind the counter of a coffee bar knows two things:
The card slows down the line.
More cash equals better tips, more plastic equals less tips... ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 10:03 PM
Comments:
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absolutely right...WE held off until the college kids overwhelmed us, but we have a 10 dollar min...Cash only is so awesome, though
haha that is why you have to have a minimum for your card purchases!!! say 10$ sounds reasonable. visa commercial sucks .. they will do anything to put u into debt
Cards can be a pain, but there are a couple of shops I go to that the process is smoking fast ... I don't know if it's the way it's tied into their POS or what. Cash is cool for the tip aspect, but the way people make purchases has changed.
I know in the region where I live, most people carry little to no cash. If someone walks into a shop and places an order and then attempts to hand a card over while being told "Sorry, we don't take cards" ... that person (CUSTOMER) is going to have to walk out of the shop without what they wanted and possibly feeling a bit stung. They might not come back.
Not taking cards is one thing ... setting minimums is a bunch of crap. Either honor the cards fully or go all cash. It's a sucker punch to the consumer. The customer is not the one charging the business percentages and surcharges on card transactions. Plus, if the business accepts MC or Visa, they technically are not allowed to set minimum purchases.
I know in the region where I live, most people carry little to no cash. If someone walks into a shop and places an order and then attempts to hand a card over while being told "Sorry, we don't take cards" ... that person (CUSTOMER) is going to have to walk out of the shop without what they wanted and possibly feeling a bit stung. They might not come back.
Not taking cards is one thing ... setting minimums is a bunch of crap. Either honor the cards fully or go all cash. It's a sucker punch to the consumer. The customer is not the one charging the business percentages and surcharges on card transactions. Plus, if the business accepts MC or Visa, they technically are not allowed to set minimum purchases.
I think this depends on what kind of coffee shop you want to be.
If you strive to provide a "total quality coffee experience", payment is part of the whole experience (and from the customers' perspective, this comes even before they have the coffee in their hands). Just as you would invest a significant amount of money in high quality beans and state-of-the-art equipment, i believe it is highly worth it to get a newer POS system which can give you a seamless operation. The investment will payoff in the long term with better profitability.
And of course, if you want to be a coffee shop with attitude and character (and i mean this in a good way), forget about the cards all together and have "cash only" policy as part of your attitude. I know a cafe owner in Taiwan who would turn customers away if he thinks the customers don't know how to appreciate his coffee. Now that's big attitude and not every cafe can afford it...
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If you strive to provide a "total quality coffee experience", payment is part of the whole experience (and from the customers' perspective, this comes even before they have the coffee in their hands). Just as you would invest a significant amount of money in high quality beans and state-of-the-art equipment, i believe it is highly worth it to get a newer POS system which can give you a seamless operation. The investment will payoff in the long term with better profitability.
And of course, if you want to be a coffee shop with attitude and character (and i mean this in a good way), forget about the cards all together and have "cash only" policy as part of your attitude. I know a cafe owner in Taiwan who would turn customers away if he thinks the customers don't know how to appreciate his coffee. Now that's big attitude and not every cafe can afford it...
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