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This thread! Out of the ashes!!
^^ Westgate import is small potatoes - and I can see most of his customer base being cash buyers, so I'm guessing his fees are hefty.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Dining
How many restaurants charge a fee to use a debit card?
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buckette13
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cheap said:
you blow a $5 sale because of a .50 fee?
I have not been there for a while but I recall Brezel in the North Market was like this. Pretzels were $4.50 but you had to spend $5 to use a credit card. I know many people who thought it was a gimmick to get you to buy other items and were put off.
I personally just made a mental note to bring cash if I was going there, but as lizless is saying it may cause more harm than good. I am not really putting in input on how to change this, but that memory really jumped into my mind's eye when I started reading this thread.
Posted 11 months ago # -
local champion
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Why wouldn't they blow the sale? Their margin might be that 50 cents.
Posted 11 months ago # -
cheap
Westgate
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Twixlen said:
This thread! Out of the ashes!!^^ Westgate import is small potatoes - and I can see most of his customer base being cash buyers, so I'm guessing his fees are hefty.
i'll go back to the place,the food is good.
ill just bring a $20 next time,if i want to buy something from the store.Posted 11 months ago # -
Twixlen
The Weston District
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cheap said:
i'll go back to the place,the food is good.
ill just bring a $20 next time,if i want to buy something from the store.I've gotten in the same pinch there, and at Luc's - they both need $10 for credit card sales. I'm not sure if Michoacana or Plaza Tapatia have the same minimums - I don't think I've ever spent less than $10 when shopping in either of them.
As for restaurants - I agree with the rest. People hate the word "fee" - it's better to build in the cost of the transaction into the overall cost; assume it's going to happen for a vast majority of the patrons and price accordingly.
Posted 11 months ago # -
DavidF
Elysium Fields
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Twixlen said:
I've gotten in the same pinch there, and at Luc's - they both need $10 for credit card sales. I'm not sure if Michoacana or Plaza Tapatia have the same minimums - I don't think I've ever spent less than $10 when shopping in either of them.As for restaurants - I agree with the rest. People hate the word "fee" - it's better to build in the cost of the transaction into the overall cost; assume it's going to happen for a vast majority of the patrons and price accordingly.
Last time I was at Michoacana they had a minimum. Bangkok grocery has one too, but I think it's only $5. I spend more than that on hot sauce.
Posted 11 months ago # -
brezel
North Market
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buckette13 said:
I know many people who thought it was a gimmick to get you to buy other items and were put off.It is not a gimmick; the $5 minimum is only on credit card transactions, with no minimum charge on debit card transactions...plus, you can always pay old school with cash, :)
Posted 11 months ago # -
jillg
Westgate
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i went to westgate import market,and got steaknpeppers and pad thai at the thai place in the back
Not to change the subject, but I have been totally obsessed with this place lately. I just want to eat there every day. Although I dislike the credit card fees too, I would pay it with a smile on my face there because if they go out of business I will be really really sad.
Posted 11 months ago # -
melikecheese
Merion Village
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agtw31 said:
beechwold dinershe didnt tell me about the surcharge until she brought me the bill
according to Visa rules,she was supposed to tell me before i even orderred
I work in payments, merchants cannot pass along the cost of transactions unless they are one of a few select merchant classifications, like utilities and rent. What they are doing is not allowed.
This goes for Chinese restaurants (or brezel) that say $XX minimum on cards, Visa, MC and all card brand rules prohibit any minimum amounts being forced on customers. If you have rights to take Visa, you have to take Visa, $1, or $500.
The cost of a charge card or debit card to the vendor all depends on the card being used. If you use a business card that is more expensive then a consumer card. If you use a rewards cards, that is more expensive then a non-rewards card. Amex is more expensive then other brands. Debit cards are often flat rate fees with no "discount" rate (% of sale).
Posted 11 months ago # -
melikecheese
Merion Village
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Twixlen
The Weston District
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melikecheese said:
I work in payments, merchants cannot pass along the cost of transactions unless they are one of a few select merchant classifications, like utilities and rent. What they are doing is not allowed.This goes for Chinese restaurants (or brezel) that say $XX minimum on cards, Visa, MC and all card brand rules prohibit any minimum amounts being forced on customers. If you have rights to take Visa, you have to take Visa, $1, or $500.
The cost of a charge card or debit card to the vendor all depends on the card being used. If you use a business card that is more expensive then a consumer card. If you use a rewards cards, that is more expensive then a non-rewards card. Amex is more expensive then other brands. Debit cards are often flat rate fees with no "discount" rate (% of sale).
I think you may have missed the reason this thread was resurrected -
Posted 11 months ago # -
meltsintowonder
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I believe I was confusing the "rules" before. So fees were not allowed but you could require a minimum?
As others mention, it doesn't make sense for most businesses to even bring up anything about the credit cards. It should be built into the pricing. If you're expecting about 3% off the top with merchant service fees, build it in. Will a customer be sensitive to 96 cents versus 99 cents or $9.69 versus $9.99? Not really.
Part of the experience at a business is that the transaction should be smooth and transparent and not create confusion, awkwardness or nickel and diming. If you require cash for a certain transaction level or add a fee, you're likely getting a percentage of customers who will not return, which will be more detrimental than the 3% fee (I know some business pay higher or less than this amount but it's a normal rate). If you don't allow a customer to use their business Amex, they might go to another establishment where it's accepted next time and you could potentially miss out on opportunities with a large expense account (doesn't really apply to pretzels, etc.).
I've experienced some operators who only think about the single transaction and never think ahead about return traffic and paying it forward. In the end, you don't want to do anything detrimental to customers returning and you want to do everything you can to keep both new and existing customers coming into your door. If the merchant fees are making or breaking your business, it's not the fees. It's the business.
For businesses like Brezel, coffee shops, etc., they will have a large percentage of transactions under $5 or so, so their rate will be higher. Most businesses build it into their pricing. It's possible that Brezel gets a lot of traffic that's a higher percentage of nonreturn, undedicated patrons because they're visiting the North Market? But even for those customers, they might choose a piece of pizza instead of a pretzel if they see that they'll pay a fee for a credit card transaction because they didn't know in advance to have cash. And they'll be damned if they're using the Huntington ATM and paying the ATM fee to buy a pretzel or loaf of bread.
Posted 11 months ago # -
groundrules
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No one ever bitches about their 5% cash back or airline tickets or whatever. that money comes from somewhere, and it damn sure doesn't come from the CC companies.
I agree with Lizless that you should not tack on a fee but build it into your pricing. but I'll bet reprinting menus every time MasterCard dicks with their pricing is going to suck.
There's a sign in a certain neighborhood coffee shop that basically explains that it COSTS them money to give you a 1.79 cup of coffee if you pay with a credit card. I believe it.
snarf » Isn't the cost to vendor like 3%?
no, at least not universally. There is a per-transaction fee and a percentage of annual sales fee. but the specifics of the expenses varies a lot by type and volume of business. lots of different deals out there.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Twixlen
The Weston District
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groundrules said:
no, at least not universally. There is a per-transaction fee and a percentage of annual sales fee. but the specifics of the expenses varies a lot by type and volume of business. lots of different deals out there.A small business I worked in had to pay a monthly fee to simply have the machine on their premises - it was all based on $/month the machine was used, and if you were under, the CC company was getting their cash anyway. It was pretty burdensome, in terms of cost.
Posted 11 months ago # -
SamuraiJack
Hilliard
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Dodd Frank voided the VISA/MC/Amex contract language that prohibited charge minimums, but those minimums can not exceed $10:
http://creditcardforum.com/blog/credit-card-minimum-purchase/
I thought generally recommended industry 'standard' on pricing was food cost x 3 which is to cover all the associated costs of doing business including CC fees. That might not be accurate and obviously not everyone wants to charge that.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Scapino
Westerville, OH
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I've noticed more restaurants going to a Square or Square-clone payment system; not just food trucks, but Pie's in Reynoldsburg, HC Way in Crosswoods, etc. I believe Square is a flat 2.75% fee, no swipe charge, no set-up costs or monthly fees, etc.
Posted 11 months ago #
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