"Cash only"--why?

[sockii]

My wife and I are now signing our personal cards - "show picture I.D. "

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Which technically does not make your card valid at all. Use a card signed "Show picture ID" at a government run facility--such as a Post Office--and they are required to make you actually sign the back of your card on the spot or else not take it at all.

Also, on average, how many places actually end up asking to see your ID? How many just run the charge through and don't ask at all? And that card can be used without checking at automatic check-out machines and the like.

(And yeah this is going completely off the original topic so I will hush up now. I just know a lot of people are saying doing this adds extra security to their charge cards when it really doesn't at all...)

[Miami Danny]

On the other hand, the times I have been stricken with false CC charges, all it has taken was a quick call to Amex and they were removed either that day or the next, and I was out absolutely nothing.  Heck, they even had the courtesy

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Not to belabor the point (too late?), but someone cloned my business Visa Check card, and sucked out over $5K in 4 hours. In Miami, almost everywhere you go you are asked for ID along with your card (even if your pic is ON the card!) Yet there are also places where anything goes. Maybe this problem is not as acute in other areas. Anyway, after my next 7 transactions were denied and the argument with my wife died down (what are you spending our money on?, etc.), it took me quite a while to get it straightened out. The bank was very courteous, like the airlines are courteous, when they want to be. Yes, it was all straightened out eventually, but now I pay cash when I can. You still get a receipt. Of course there was that time when a chef added a $10,000 tip to a CC. So you could look at cash only as a plus!

Also, last time I looked, tap water is still free.

[Kim D]

On the matter of cash-do you think that every cash transaction (even if the restaurant takes CC's)is simply an opportunity for the business to steal?

"Simply". Interesting word.

"Every cash transaction is an opportunity for the business to steal." Yes, I do believe that it is a possibility. Is it a probability? I am an optimist, at times, and believe it is not.

But then again, I believe that waiters are nice to me because I am a nice person and not only because being nice to me will result in a nice tip.

If restaurant owners are charged a percentage on a Debit card, they should have their own ATMs on site.

- kim

[Misa]

I prefer to go to places that accept credit/debit. I've got a visa debit card and I find that I don't spend that as capriciously as I do when using cash. Maybe if were an actual credit card, things would be different, but for me... cash is way too easy for me to lose track of how much I've spent and how much I've got left. Plus, honestly, I don't want to have to go through the hassle of trying to find an ATM (or pay the ATM fee to use a different bank's ATM) and also trying to figure out, ahead of time, how much I'll need.

And, I don't like carrying a lot of cash on me. If something happens to my wallet, and it has a bunch of cash in it, that is guaranteed to be gone. But with my debit card, I don't really have to worry about it. A few years ago, somebody stole my debit card and attempted to use it at several place - some places, the person was able to, some places not. But my money was replaced because I'd called the bank and said that my card was stolen - something that could not have happened with cash.

[ramodeo]

Oops.

Edited April 26, 2005 by ramodeo (log)

[irodguy]

Here in Texas very few establishments don't take cards. The only well known "good" place that I can think of is First Chinese BBQ. They are simply good enough that they can "get away with it"

My favorite Kaloche shop did not take credit cards until recently. I was amazed when I walked in and they had "we now accept cards" When I asked they told me that many people walked in and back out when they told them no cards. Their business has gone up nearly 70% with cards.

I can understand this, it's a rarity that I ever have cash in my pocket. Now I do have two or three cards and a couple of different debit cards on me, but no cash.

[Sam Salmon]

Without giving out too much personal info I can say that the secret to 'skimming' cash from a retail operation is to take the same amount every day.

The person who 'lays a heavy hand' after a good day is going to be caught out sooner or later.

[tupac17616]

At the same time, the restaurant business is all about service.  And nowadays accepting credit cards is a service basic.  Restaurants that don't take credit cards, like restaurants that don't accept reservations, aren't about hospitality.

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Couldn't agree more. Having never run a business myself, though, I can't completely bash restaurants that choose to operate under such a policy. It just happens to be a policy that annoys me as a customer. Cash-only restaurants are far more common here in NYC than they were where I am from (San Antonio, TX), so perhaps the fact that many mid- to high-end places are cash-only is just something I am not used to yet.

[TheFoodTutor]

I'm having a hard time understanding one thing: What is the benefit of using a debit card? I use credit cards, and I find lots of benefits in using them. No fees, cash back, guarantees on purchases, insurance on paying for airline tickets, etc. I pay off my balance every month and never pay a fee. But my bank usually offers me a debit card, with a fee attached for having it and using it. Why would I want to do that?

From a service perspective, there's one major difference between a credit and a debit card: If a server accidentally runs a card on the wrong table at my restaurant, the server can simply delete the authorization if it's a credit card, and the credit card will automatically erase the charge, but if it's a debit card, the bank places a hold on that money for the original authorization. So if a server makes a mistake like this, it usually takes a manager swipe to re-run the authorization, manually entering the authorization code, or some similar function.

So here's a nightmare scenario I'll propose that you think on, and please, please don't flame me, because I promise that I've never done this and no one that I've directly known has done it, but I have heard of this happening on the internet:

Customer comes into restaurant during Christmas season to get something to eat while shopping; screaming, cranky kids in tow. Customer proceeds to bark at server, and runs server for multiple items consecutively, repeatedly asking for one item per trip. Kids throw things at server, throw things on floor, dump sugar caddy all over table, mother ignores children's behavior. Etc., etc. Mother pays bill with debit card, and server proceeds to run the card over and over for the bill, deleting the charge and then re-running it. Bank account limit is reached at a certain point, debit card is now worthless for at least the rest of the day. No more Christmas shopping for mommy.

I know, that's horribly mean. But I have to say that the hold placed on funds, coupled with the fees my bank would charge me for using a debit card make using a debit card a ridiculous idea to me. Why do people use them?

[glenn]

Somewhat related to the cash thing... how many people actually check their check for addition and that the prices are the same as the menu? You generally don't have to worry about addition when a computer (point of sale) system is used, but menu prices might not be up to date.

I was shocked at how many mistakes my servers made in both addition and incorrect prices. (Checks that are presented to the customer are hand-written and added manually, then rung up in the cash register after payment.) I now check almost every check. What shocked me more is that I only had a couple of people point out mistakes.

[prasantrin]

Six words, really:

tax evasion, tax evasion, tax evasion.

Now, I know some people who are not American-born, and who come from a country where things like "on the books" and "scrupulous recordkeeping" are not national traits - I didn't mean that as a slur, I meant that there are lots of outdoor markets, lots of remote, tiny restaurants in microscopic villages, and it's a land where haggling is the norm.  And, they're from a generation before credit cards and record keeping existed.  (Remember, there was even a time when businesses in the US didn't report what they paid you in wages to the government!) 

So these people went into a Brookstone store in one of the big malls, and told the salesperson that they were prepared to buy the $1500 massage chair, in cash, so that he wouldn't have to charge them the sales tax.  Needless to say, the salesman just stared at them as if they were from Mars.  (And why a person working in a Brookstone would even be tempted by this on the company's behalf, I cannot imagine.)  Nonetheless, they were astounded - they just could not believe that their offer was turned down. 

But I am sure that the restaurant they own is "cash only".

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Keep in mind...this isn't a slur...but at my parents' import store, many customers (Canadian-born of European descent) would ask my parents if they would waive the sales tax if paid in cash. Now, does that tell me that those Canadian-born of European descent people come from a country where

"on the books" and "scrupulous recordkeeping" are not national traits

?

[Carlovski]

Works both ways - try paying for anything expensive in cash and people look at you like you must be a bank robber.

I think the talk of exhorbitant credit card fees is a bit misleading - yes there is a fee of 2.5-4%, but that has to be factored against the cost of cash handling - keeping change, banking money, risk of robbery etc.

[sockii]

But I have to say that the hold placed on funds, coupled with the fees my bank would charge me for using a debit card make using a debit card a ridiculous idea to me. Why do people use them?

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The fee generally only applies if a debit card charge is run through with inputting a PIN number. If you tell the establishment to run it as a charge card--which any debit card with a V/MC stamp on it can be--and you sign the receipt like a regular charge, there is no additional debit card fee. At least not on my card...

The benefit for me of using a debit card is quite simply being ultra-aware of how much I'm spending. Having been through bad credit card debt once (ooops!), it's not something I want to ever go through again--so I *very* rarely use an actual credit card these days, only for very large expenditures, hotels & air fare, things like that. Using a debit card, I know I'm only spending money I actually *have* at the moment, in my bank account. Yeah, I could take the cash out of my bank account as well and just pay cash, but I don't always know exactly how much I may need to spend when I go out shopping for something, to a restaurant, etc. So using a debit card keeps me more aware and in control of my spending than using a regular CC. And as long as I get the establishment to run it the right way for me, there is no extra charge for it.

[sockii]

Works both ways - try paying for anything expensive in cash and people look at you like you must be a bank robber.

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Let's not forget the problem of counterfit bills. I've had more than a few shady characters try to pull paying for a $10 purchase with a $100 bill (or traveler's check that decidedly did not have any of the security marks/foils/etc on them.) Also had a guy grab a $100 bill he was going to use to pay for an item and run out the store as soon as I reached for my Currency Testing Pen.

There are definitely risks to cash transactions, as well as credit ones...

[Osnav]

Interesting thread. I guess the options come down to:

Owners can decide the form of payment they want.

Customers can decide if they want to abide by the Owners mode of payment.

Isn't Amerika wonderful!

We have a choice.

[Matsusaka Ushi]

In my small midwestern city there are only a few decent higher-end restaurants. One of these has high quality dry aged beef and the old school dark wood panneling and dim lighting that recalls memories of country clubs "mens only" bar areas and perhaps the occasional mob deal scene in a movie. The steaks are about $30 each, all sides extra... the standard for these types of steak houses. The non 'moo' food isnt spectacular but the steak is probably the highest quality in the city or possibly even in the surrounding larger cities 60-90 miles away in every direction. This restaurant PRIDES itself on not taking CC's. It seems to add to the mystique or allure of this type of restaurant for the patrons. I'm sure this has never really been a problem for them, and I think that it only adds to the draw of making this a sort of destination restaurant for the people here who might not otherwise ever choose to spend the $$ on a meal. Of course, this concept only probably works in Ohio or other such backward places, and only if the restaurant has been open long enough that when the world turned in its paper for plastic they had the choice of not making the switch.

I know that it is easy to skim off of the customers money, wether it be cash or plastic, for a few good reasons:

Servers can keep open checks, ring drinks and other things on these checks and so long as they make sure they deliver it themselves there should be no notice that its on the wrong table #. If you work in a place with parties of 6+ that go on one bill fairly frequently you will find that almost NO ONE checks the bill for items they did not purchase. So ring two tables together, one small top, and one large. Gamble that the small one will pay in cash (I'm thinking you could just 'get a feel" for this). Split out a bill for the large one, which will almost certainly be a credit card, take the payment. Split again for the small one. Now you just charge the small table paying cash the full ammount for what they had, part of their bill having already been paid for, and close the check pocket the cash, claim the tip... unless you make it obvious, or your manager is a particularly suspicious individual, you will make more than you would have in tips every night of the week.

I'm not saying that I, myself would EVER have done this, but I know how the system works. So... that having been said, check the bill.

[Chris Amirault]

Folks, let's remember that the forums are for discussion of food, eating, dining, and other related topics. Discussions that veer into general speculation about people and money, or that focus utterly on the cash versus credit debate, are off-topic.

[TheFoodTutor]

The fee generally only applies if a debit card charge is run through with inputting a PIN number. If you tell the establishment to run it as a charge card--which any debit card with a V/MC stamp on it can be--and you sign the receipt like a regular charge, there is no additional debit card fee. At least not on my card...

Most of the banks I've used charge me a monthly fee for having a debit card as well. I wasn't aware of the transaction fees.

I suppose I could shop around for a bank that has debit cards with no fees, but since I've got several credit cards that charge me nothing, and one of them gives me cash back, I don't bother. The only time I had a debit card, the bank offered it to me with a new account, so I said OK, but after a couple months, I noticed they were charging me a fee for the card each month, and then I looked at the card and noticed that I hadn't even activated it, because the sticker was still attached, so I went to the bank and told them they could have their stupid card back. I guess I just assumed that they were all like that, and I've never considered getting a debit card since.

[jhlurie]

Are we being vague somehow about the meaning of "food, eating and dining discussion"? We've exausted the relevance of matters like debit cards, credit card fraud, etc. Please, let's move on.