Businesses charging credit card swipe fees

[The Angle]

Without that swipe fee, the bill would have been $61.50. The swipe fee totaled $2.50. If that pushes the bill across the line between acceptable and too high, then don't go back.

They probably should have a sign, or the person who takes your card should tell you they'll add a 4 percent transaction fee. OTOH, the bartender is the one who suggested an itemized bill and he didn't try to hide the transaction fee.

If the majority of their customers pay with cash, then only charging the fee to customers who incur it makes sense. If most pay with cards, then raising prices across the board makes sense.

My reaction to these situations is, if you like this bar and generally respect the operator, then go back and tell them you were bothered by what you consider a hidden fee. Get if off your chest in an adult way so you and your wife and friends can continue enjoying that establishment. If you don't care whether you ever go back there, then so be it. But if no one complains, the bar owner will assume no one cares. If a few regular customers drift away, he's NOT going to conclude "it's got to be those hidden credit card fees! No other explanation is possible!"

 

[omahaaudio]

In my small town, I pay cash money. The owners appreciate it.

Of course they do. They're not declaring their cash income, therefore absolutely no benefit to you but a tax-free income for them.

 

[Sparky472]

No...that would burden cash-paying customers with an extra cost. Better to just put a sign on the door and over the bar indicating a fee charged for using credit cards. Many gas stations have been charging extra for credit card purchases for years...its evident on their price signage : one price for cash and a higher price if using credit. Sooner or later it will trickle down...

The idea that it burdens cash customers with an extra cost is a fallacy. Generally speaking, all the costs associated with doing business are rolled into the pricing of the product or services offered. Those costs don’t necessarily apply evenly or at all to every single product or service. The price is simply the price of that product or service and the customer either agrees to pay it or not. The only “extra” costs are those added on top of the price.

 

[CharlieO]

There are tons of videos on You Tube telling you that paying cash for a car is not smart. They claim that you should not tie your cash up in something that loses value so quickly. They say you should finance the car, and take the cash and invest it in some type of fund that will grow. Interesting view, but I wonder if these videos are just made by people who own car dealerships.

It is easy to argue that if you bought a car two years ago as I did with a 3 percent loan for 50 percent of the cost, and then invested the cash that hadn't gone into the purchase, you would have been wiser to pay cash for the whole thing. And whether you finance or pay cash, it's still a depreciating asset, despite the temporary bump in prices over the past two years.

I also have arguments against the people who tell you NEVER to lease a car because if you do, you'll have car payments for the rest of your life. I leased cars twice. The first was a Jaguar X-Type that of course turned out to be a piece of junk. Its value plummeted during the term of the lease. I was very happy to just drop it off and leave the keys. The second was a two year lease on a Chevy Volt in 2012. They took the $7500 tax credit and used it to reduce the lease payment to a number that was ridiculously low, and again the price plummeted and I turned in the keys. I then bought a brand new leftover 2012 Volt for $19,000 off of the sticker price and took the $7500 tax credit. I paid cash for this transaction. Net cost $20,000 for brand new $46,000 car.

 

[Sparky472]

The customer had a number of options available after discovering this fee, and chose the one that would cause harm to the business (and himself) rather than one that might have been beneficial to all parties.

This makes no sense at all. The customer is not responsible for how a business owner chooses to run his business, only whether or not the terms are acceptable or not. If a business owner chooses practices that are unacceptable to a customer, so be it - this is how the free market works. If a business owner chooses practices that are unacceptable to many customers, the business owner is harming his business.

 

[Knows3Chords]

In some European countries, using a credit card is looked upon as an indication of being cash-poor.....

I'm beginning to think in this country that some people are defining class distinctions between people who like to pay with cash and people who think it is habit of someone who refuses to "get with the times".

 

[421JAM]

I would find it more troublesome that I never got an itemized receipt. Restaurateurs seem to agree. I go to restaurants all the time that have signs stating that if you don't get an itemized receipt, your meal is on the house.

 

[Danb541]

I would find it more troublesome that I never got an itemized receipt. Restaurateurs seem to agree. I go to restaurants all the time that have signs stating that if you don't get an itemized receipt, your meal is on the house.

I've never seen a sign like that in a restaurant.

 

[421JAM]

I've never seen a sign like that in a restaurant.

It's common.

 

[Danb541]

It's common.

Not around here.

 

[OmegaWoods]

If it’s not posted, it’s shady and may be illegal. Personally, I might talk to the owner and let them know that you don’t go to their place because of not posting this fee.

Many people have a different understanding of what constitutes good and bad business practices and what drives a customer away. Couldn’t hurt and maybe they’ll consider being more above board.

 

[Danb541]

If it’s not posted, it’s shady and may be illegal. Personally, I might talk to the owner and let them know that you don’t go to their place because of not posting this fee.

Many people have a different understanding of what constitutes good and bad business practices and what drives a customer away. Couldn’t hurt and maybe they’ll consider being more above board.

Owner knows why I don't go there and it is illegal. I'm guessing it's posted by now, this was a year ago.

 

[421JAM]

Not around here.

I'm not convinced Raincaster, Oregon is a real place, so that checks out.

 

[OmegaWoods]

Owner knows why I don't go there and it is illegal. I'm guessing it's posted by now, this was a year ago.

Well, you did what you can do then.

 

[CharlieO]

I wouldn't use and would walk away from any business not taking cash, especially one trying to sell a loan

I ran into a place that does not accept cash for the first time on my vacation last summer. It was a fast food restaurant in a mall food court in downtown Milwaukee. I prefer to pay cash for purchases up to $100, don't use a debit card, and don't really want a lot of small charges on my credit card bill, so I wasn't very happy. Of course, I paid on my card, but I probably will never visit that restaurant chain again.

I'm sure that the restaurant won't miss my potential future business, but have they really thought through their "no cash" policy? How much does it cost them to service a cash transaction when compared to the fees that are paid on credit or debit card transactions? How much business do they lose every year from people who can only pay cash or simply prefer to pay cash? In the case of this particular restaurant in the mall food court, if I had known in advance I easily could have chosen another restaurant 25 feet away on either side

 

[Danb541]

I'm not convinced Raincaster, Oregon is a real place, so that checks out.

I'm in Eugene, OR. Go Ducks! You a football fan? I'm thinking the Georgia Bulldogs win the natty, sure smoked us in game 1. They look unbeatable.
I like the idea of the itemized receipt signs posted, just never seen it around hear.

 

[2HBStrat]

With all due respect, poor analogy.
I’m in Oregon, no sales tax. But I do visit neighboring states that have a sales tax and I am very aware it will be on my bill. It’s no secret.
I was not aware I was being charged 4% to my tab for a swipe fee. It was not posted anywhere and I was not told.
Two Very different things of which the later is actually illegal in my state.

AFAIK it isn't illegal here.

 

[Intubator]

I would find it more troublesome that I never got an itemized receipt. Restaurateurs seem to agree. I go to restaurants all the time that have signs stating that if you don't get an itemized receipt, your meal is on the house.

I agree. See post #18.

 

[chris m.]

I ran into a place that does not accept cash for the first time on my vacation last summer. It was a fast food restaurant in a mall food court in downtown Milwaukee. I prefer to pay cash for purchases up to $100, don't use a debit card, and don't really want a lot of small charges on my credit card bill, so I wasn't very happy. Of course, I paid on my card, but I probably will never visit that restaurant chain again.

I'm sure that the restaurant won't miss my potential future business, but have they really thought through their "no cash" policy? How much does it cost them to service a cash transaction when compared to the fees that are paid on credit or debit card transactions? How much business do they lose every year from people who can only pay cash or simply prefer to pay cash? In the case of this particular restaurant in the mall food court, if I had known in advance I easily could have chosen another restaurant 25 feet away on either side

A lot of small businesses such as restaurants lose a lot of money when cash is involved, due to employee theft. Employees can be pretty slick about not ringing up some of the purchased items into the register when ringing up the transaction, and then pocketing the dollars no longer needed to square the amount of cash in the register with what has been rung up. If the customer doesn't ask for and look closely at an itemized receipt, no one's the wiser. By dealing with credit and debit cards only, it is much easier for a business to prevent this kind of easy and common embezzlement. I used to work in restaurants so trust me, I know.

Another classic practice is a friendly waiter will give you lots of free drinks, or free desserts, or whatever....knowing that you are likely to then leave an extra generous tip. They thereby pad their tip earnings at the cost of the restauranteur giving food and drink away for free without agreeing to it. Similarly, bar tenders will pour extra stiff drinks to get bigger tips...and so some bars now have these electronic shot dispenser devices that count the number of shots poured from liquor bottles.

To summarize, these practices that often seem ass-backwards from the customer's perspective are focused on reducing internal theft, which can be very high, especially when the manager is in on the scams, and not just the rank and file employees.

I remember cooking in a restaurant where one of my fellow cooks actually got caught, red-handed, leaving at the end of his shift with a bunch of raw steaks snuck into the big inner pockets in his big, puffy jacket. He had probably been stealing steaks for months before they caught onto him.

 

[Danb541]

I would find it more troublesome that I never got an itemized receipt. Restaurateurs seem to agree. I go to restaurants all the time that have signs stating that if you don't get an itemized receipt, your meal is on the house.

That's a good point about not getting an itemized receipt. I could have asked for one at any time, but it is strange not to get one with every tab. like I said earlier, the owner is the bar tender. I should also add, there is only one other part time employee who cooks. In retrospect, I'm guessing the books are pretty cooked all the way around at this place.