agtw31
columbus
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i went to get a bite to eat,and the waitress at the place i went said they are now cracking customers for a 50 cent fee if they use a debit card.
what is this bullshit?
this was a place i usually go to once a week,but not anymore.
i told the waitress the restaurant just lost at least $900 worth of business from me this year,and she lost at least $180 in tips,just so the restaurant could make $20.
lifeliberty
Here
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What the restaurant is doing is fair. they aren't making money on that .50$, they are just passing on the costs of CC use to their customers. Some places won't even accept CC for this reason, one example is WildFlower Cafe on Indianola. they don't accept CC. They told me to go to the ATM at UDF next door (which of course is not my bank's= Convenience charge)
I say restaurants should either charge a fee for CC use or give a discount for cash purchases. I try to pay cash whenever I can because then the restaurant gets to keep more of the money.
lisathewaitress
SoHud
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i have worked in many, many restaurants and have never heard of such a thing! In fact, we never even differentiate between debit cards and credit cards; they all go into the same pile.
in fact, and i might be totally ignorant here, but I thought it was cheaper for the business if people used debit cards.
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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[Looks like some beat me to it]
This has been discussed here before. Some of our local retailers and restauranteurs can speak further but there are associated fees, depending on the processing company, of taking debit and credit. It's why you see many smaller companies having a minimum purchase fee to use plastic, so they can cover the cost.
Let's not even talk about the fall out a business can suffer if, when they do offer the convenience of plastic at no cost to you, something goes wrong (like getting hacked). Although the problem may be further up the chain, it's ultimately the small business owner, without the resources, that gets stuck with the image and financial issues to clean up.
There is probably good reason this place did it. Maybe their processor changed terms, upped fees, etc.
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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And just to throw this out there...
Did you speak to anyone above the waitress? A manager/supervisor?
Or are you just going to berate the server and trash a place online over something that probably could have been answered on the spot pretty quickly?
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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I'm fairly certain that businesses are supposed to build any sort of fees (credit card or otherwise) into their pricing from the start, and that adding on fees afterward might not be legal (I'm not 100% certain on that though, and someone else can probably clarify that).
From what I've heard in passing (again, not 100% sure) is that the way to get around this is to offer a discount for checks paid in cash, rather than an extra charge for checks payed with debit/credit cards.
Mister Shifter
The Kingdom of Zamunda
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A whole 50 cents? The horror.
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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agtw31
columbus
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lifeontwowheels wrote >>
And just to throw this out there...
Did you speak to anyone above the waitress? A manager/supervisor?
Or are you just going to berate the server and trash a place online over something that probably could have been answered on the spot pretty quickly?
i don't know what your problem is,and dont really give a shit.
but i didnt berate the waitress.
and im not trashing the place,im stating a fact.
Visa rules i found pertaining convenience fees are:
1.Must be disclosed to customers as a charge for alternate payment channel convenience
2.Is applied only to non face-to-face transactions (There is an exception - Please see Visa Tax Payment Program)
3.Must be a flat or fixed amount regardless of the amount of payment due
4.Is included as part of the total transaction
Cannot be added to recurring transactions
5.Is assessed by the merchant that provides goods and services to the cardholder and not by a third party
6.The customer must be given the opportunity to cancel prior to the completion of the transaction
lifeliberty
Here
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rus wrote >>
agtw31 wrote >>
beechwold dinerThanks. That goes on the "never visit list" just on principal.
well if the principal is not going to places that pass the cost of doing business on to their customers, you must have a HUGE list!
edit: I just don't get the rub here.. Sure most places hide the fact that there is a fee that they must pay and include that in the cost of their goods/services. except you pay that fee for both cash and CC transactions every time. and this place was upfront that there is a fee instead of just upmarking all of their items by .50$
and it's not even .50$ per item, it's .50$ per transaction convenience charge. I'd gladly pay .50$ instead of having to run to an atm. and hopefully that is my atm or I'll get charged by that banks $2 convenience charge plus whatever my bank charges on top of that.
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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I'm just saying, you spoke to a waitress. Did you attempt to speak with management? Give them a chance to correct or address your issue?
You've already cost them 2 customers, rus and you. Think that's fair to them if the management or ownership has no knowledge of your issue?
You run a business, correct? How would you like it if something got screwed up and a customer ran off to the internet without giving you the chance to correct?
agtw31
columbus
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it was run as credit,and i did sign.
i just don't get it.
as far as i am concerned,a business has 2 simple frigging choices:
eat the processing fee off of a $20 transaction,or have no transaction at all.
it's back to waffle house for breakfast for me
rus
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lifeliberty wrote >>
rus wrote >>
agtw31 wrote >>
beechwold dinerThanks. That goes on the "never visit list" just on principal.
well if the principal is not going to places that pass the cost of doing business on to their customers, you must have a HUGE list!
If they're going about it as agtw31 described, then they're not anyone I want to do business with.
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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rus wrote >>
lifeliberty wrote >>
rus wrote >>
agtw31 wrote >>
beechwold dinerThanks. That goes on the "never visit list" just on principal.
well if the principal is not going to places that pass the cost of doing business on to their customers, you must have a HUGE list!
If they're going about it as agtw31 described, then they're not anyone I want to do business with.
We're also only hearing his side. I'd love to hear from the restaurant.
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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lifeontwowheels wrote >>
This has been discussed here before.
Yeah, the last time around SJT made some very valid points about how it can help support small/local/independent businesses to pay in cash. I'm a creature of comfort and rely on my debit card all too often, and since the last go-around with this topic I've actually made it a point to try to hit the bank before visiting small businesses. Especially places where my total bill is going to be less than $10 anyway.
This isn't always easy though.
An anecdote:
I had a meeting with a client at Cafe Brioso one morning a few weeks back, and no cash, so I made it a point to ride a different bus (the #10) so that I could swing by the bank.
So, I walked two blocks in the 20 degree wind to catch this other bus. Hopped out at the Chase building Downtown. Walked up to the ATM to find that it was out of order. Went inside to the other ATM, which was also out of order. Went over to the teller and stood in line for 5 minutes. Went through the 5 minute process of withdrawing $20. Teller asked me if I knew about some promotion. I said that I didn't know about it. She motions to a guy at a desk who comes over and proceeds to trap me and tell me about the program. I tried to say I wasn't interested at least 5 times, but he kept hounding me. I was tempted to just walk off, but it's hard to be rude sometimes. He finally gave up and I left. From there I walked the remaining 2 blocks in the cold to Brioso.
The whole process took an extra 20 minutes out of my morning and left me angry at the bank and frozen solid from the extra walking time (the normal bus I ride picks me up almost directly in front of my house and drops me off almost directly in front of Brioso).
In the end, I saved Brioso the extra few cents by not using my debit card, but it was a huge pain for me. I can totally understand why so many people don't want to mess with getting cash out.
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