To the ignorant fuck that served me at the skate shop downtown….you’re an idiot, why does it matter that i wanted to pay for my sticker with my debit card.Thats what people do today it 2008…weither it’s $2 or $20000. who gives a shit and thanks for embarrassing me in front of your boss, so here’s the deal…when i want to drop $200 on a new pair of skate shoes you can bet your ass i wont be going to pro skate and neither will any of my buddies until you learn some customer service skills douchebag.
This article appears in May 22-28, 2008.
I hate that, I don’t care if I want to debit 1.00 if it’s in my damn account and I have no cash one me then you’re damn right I’m gonna debit, there’s no rules or law that says I can’t!! Fuk you Pro Shop SNOBS!!
Is that the Good Jenn or the Bad Jenn???Apparently there are two of you now…
BAhahahahahaha I know eh…This is the “good Jenn” who LOVES HALIFAX LOL
Oh good.. That other Jenn is a nasty mean hateful thang…
Ut oh that might create another bitch Floyd LOL maybe she should have to be Jenn2 since I was here first LMAO!!
Actually Jenn the merchant can demand a minimum purchase to cover his per-transaction cost billed by the debit terminal provider. Some places pay 10 cents per swipe and others can be 25 or 50 cents depending on volume of sales and the contract they have with the provider.So if you come into a corner store to buy a $1 pack of gum and the store only makes 30 cents on that sale, why would you expect them to take your card and maybe make 5 cents profit after the transaction or worse still lose money.
But I think that’s the point ex-haligonian… The merchant has the choices… either he accepts debit cards or he doesn’t… If he does then he damn well better be nice about it… or the customer is pissed like the OP… and he goes elsewehere…Customer-1 Store-1I thought you knew about busses AND businesses…
…. should be Customer +1, Store -1
Floyd, go look at some of the smaller convenience stores and see the handwritten sign saying $5 minimum purchase for debit card use. And even better one is the lotto booths and some dollar stores charging 35 cents or another amount for debit use. It all comes down to the profit margin on small sales and that margin either become very small or a loss of money when debit is used.Would the OP and Jenn be okay if the shop had charged the 35cents to use the card? It would have kept everyone happy at least.
Yup and I have been charged that small service fee and pay it with no bitching!! I expect it sometimes and pay it with no problem, I worked retail for years so I know they get charged but if it’s not posted that there is a minimum purchase in order to use debit then it should be no problem, and I think the OP’s bitch was more of the clerk looking down his nose at him BECAUSE he chose to use debit
Sure that would have been fine… The customer then has the choice to pay the 35 fee or not buy the product… But by not charging the fee, does that give the store owner the ok to embarrass the customer… Why purposely do something that you know has a good chance of alientating him against a future purchase??? as a former business to business operator,,, er I mean qwick-e-mart proprietor… who cleaned the place up… I think you would know about customer relations… and understand this rant…
Floyd, I don’t get why you get all smart-assed over my reply. Yes I ran a Needs store and turned the place around and now I operate a non-retail business. What do you do for a living? I haven’t lowered myself to childish, unfounded comments.We don’t know if the clerk got cocky because the amount was too low or if he was just being lazy and didn’t want to swipe the card. But its not my problem that the guy got lousy service and the customer should have demanded to see a manager right then and there to resolve the situation and see that the employee was held accountable.The OP says the clerk’s boss was right there so why didn’t the customer demand action from the boss at that time? Something isn’t adding up in this matter.
Oh, come on Ex-Hali. The smart-assery is at least half the fun on this site. Where’s your sense of ha-ha? Try participating in the smart-assery. You’ll like it, I promise. Unless, of course, you’re just not funny.
Lets just say I have a business background also…I am just saying the first job of a retail business has to be to get the customer in the door… The second job is to get him to come back again and refer other business… Why put the onus on the customer to report the situation to the manager… The manager is aware of what’s going on,,, so why doesn’t he step up, fix what’s wrong, and salvage the relationship with the customer… The store has the first 2 choices, what to offer and what to charge… The customer has the final choice though… Where to shop…
Floyd, I also took that same position when it came to the boss not reacting to what was going on. Its obvious management doesn’t care. Perhaps the best thing for the customer to do is stick with his original plan and shop elsewhere.
I agree with the “shop elsewhere” if enough people experience this and feel this way and stop taking their business there then, it will eventually hurt the business
I’d like to know what product or service I’m purchasing if I agree to a service charge on a debit transaction? Am I paying tax for this service? Is the vendor submitting tax collected for these transactions?Get this, I’m paying for a service that ensures the vendor gets my money hassle-free without risk of finding counterfeit bills in the nightly deposit, getting robbed on the way to the bank with cash, etc. This benefits me, the customer, how? It doesn’t. It benefits the business, pure and simple, by providing payment flexibility for customers who would shop elsewhere if such flexibility wasn’t offered (businesses have to remain competitive). The way the banks charge vendors for debit processing is based on a percentage of dollars processed through the machine, NOT per transaction. Per transaction charges lead to, get this… PROFIT. ESPECIALLY when all you want to buy is a sticker or a pack or gum.If the company wants my business, processing debit and other payment options is a business expense they’ll just have to suck up (and write off). I immediately walk away when the machine asks me if I want to tip a self-serve or no service joint or pay a service charge for the vendor’s convenience of collecting money directly from my bank account.
kay, are you sure all debit terminals are installed with the same conditions from every bank? I was pretty sure that some places were charged per transaction based on my conversations with some store owners. Also, Ex-Hali seems to think that’s the case too. If it’s true that retailers have to pay per transaction, it is up to them wheter they want to eat the costs as a business expense or pass the cost onto the customer. And the benifit of debit to you, the customer, is that you don’t have to worry about carrying enough cash around with you at all times or fuss with the inevitable change that cash generates which usually sits in a jar not collecting interest until you deposit it. Also, it is better than using credit because it can ensure you do not spend money you don’t have, and it is more convenient than cheques, because your money is gone right away with no chance of NSF charges. Finally, debit transactions are posted online with your account so you can keep convenient and accurate records of how you spend your money. Debit is a super-convenient way to do business and I think the fact that Canadians are some of the heaviest debit users in the world reflects this.
Kay – some institutions have 2 ways of setting up your debit terminal, it depends on who they use for processing services (ie. Moneris). When I started to set up my business last year I paid a higher percentage on each debit approval plus a set fee of 10 cents or so per approval as some service fee. Now I pay 25 cents per approved transaction without any percentages taken off. This new contract suits me better seeing how the lowest sale for me is $17 and my profit margin is above the norm. Visa and Mastercard still get processed on a percentage basis.