Advice re: not having a card payment facility

[CG2000]

Hello

We are a kitchen business and do not yet have a card payment facility, however we have a customer who does not want to pay by our accepted methods of payment (cash, cheque or bank transfer) has anyone had experience of this?

The customer is reluctant to pay due to lack of protection (he wants to pay by credit card or debit card). Do I have any options?

Thank you

 

[Mr D]

Open a paypal account. Get him to pay online with an invoice using his card.

 

[Maxwell83]

Hello

We are a kitchen business and do not yet have a card payment facility, however we have a customer who does not want to pay by our accepted methods of payment (cash, cheque or bank transfer) has anyone had experience of this?

The customer is reluctant to pay due to lack of protection (he wants to pay by credit card or debit card). Do I have any options?

Thank you

He might be a one off right now, but he's not going to be the only customer who wants to pay by card.

Get set up to take card payments one way or another - its going to be beneficial to you.

Look at it from the customers POV; kitchen suppliers are (unfairly?) over-represented in the media when they go bust - we have all seen the stories of ppl being out of pocket for a kitchen ordered when a company folds. We (as consumers) are told to ALWAYS pay for things like kitchens and holidays on a credit card for the protection. Many people will take that advice.

 

[estwig]

Tell him to either pay by your terms, or go elsewhere, don't let the punters dictate your business.

There is also the problem, he may already be planning on doing a chargeback, looking to screw you over. Punters trying to dictate to me when we haven't even started any work for them, always sets alarm bells ringing, if they are being difficult now, what will they be like when the final invoice is due.

Don't spend time chasing bad customers, spend your time generating good ones.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

Tell him to either pay by your terms, or go elsewhere, don't let the punters dictate your business.

My barber does this and manages to still make a living. If he was running a kitchen business though it might be different?

 

[Maxwell83]

Tell him to either pay by your terms, or go elsewhere, don't let the punters dictate your business.

Always an option in any scenario. Doesn't always make business sense though - depends on what is being requested, how many other customers will probably make the same request, and how much profit you stand to make...

If you're going to be inflexible and not offer something most people consider standard for your industry, then you better have a damn good USP that will stop potential customers going elsewhere.

There is also the problem, he may already be planning on doing a chargeback, looking to screw you over. Punters trying to dictate to me when we haven't even started any work for them, always sets alarm bells ringing, if they are being difficult now, what will they be like when the final invoice is due.

Don't spend time chasing bad customers, spend your time generating good ones.

Maybe, but asking to pay for something by card is not exclusive to scammers. Only the OP knows if this particular customer raises suspicions in that regard for other reasons.

Perhaps the customer is worried that his cash/cheque/bank transfer will disappear into the ether... Its not an unreasonable concern.

My barber does this and manages to still make a living. If he was running a kitchen business though it might be different?

He'd probably still make a living, but lets face it not taking card payments in 2019 for something costing 000's will put off some potential customers.

 

[Mr D]

My barber does this and manages to still make a living. If he was running a kitchen business though it might be different?

Difference between paying whatever few quid versus paying thousands.

Hopefully none of us pays thousands to a barber?

OP, perhaps widen your range of payment methods? In this day and age I would expect some would choose to use credit card over cash.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

Difference between paying whatever few quid versus paying thousands.

His excuse is the extra cost but when challenged with 'just put your prices up 50p' the real reason is that people are less inclined to tip when paying by card. Which is fair enough

OP, perhaps widen your range of payment methods? In this day and age I would expect some would choose to use credit card over cash.

One of my clients sells mid-range furniture and a ridiculously high proportion of sales are on credit. If they relied on cash buyers they would be struggling.

I fail to see the logic of buying stuff like furniture on credit (other than for the consumer protection element) but this is the world we live in.

 

[Mr D]

His excuse is the extra cost but when challenged with 'just put your prices up 50p' the real reason is that people are less inclined to tip when paying by card. Which is fair enough



One of my clients sells mid-range furniture and a ridiculously high proportion of sales are on credit. If they relied on cash buyers they would be struggling.

I fail to see the logic of buying stuff like furniture on credit (other than for the consumer protection element) but this is the world we live in.

Some of us use credit card then pay the card company with cash.

My parents buy a 3 piece suite on credit once they have the cash in the bank. 0% interest and they get interest on their cash in the meantime.

 

[Maxwell83]

Some of us use credit card then pay the card company with cash.

My parents buy a 3 piece suite on credit once they have the cash in the bank. 0% interest and they get interest on their cash in the meantime.

If something is interest free, always use someone else' money, even when you can afford not to! It is literally free money provided your cash is working for you in other ways. That, plus the added protection of having the finance company on the hook if the retailer goes bust.

 

[ecommerce84]

I can see why you wouldn’t want to accept a card for a kitchen when BACS does the job with no fees.

One potential solution could be to allow them to pay a deposit of £100 on card and the balance with one of your other methods.

The credit card company will still be liable for the full amount, even if just a deposit is paid on card. And you’ll only have to pay fees on the £100 (it has to be £100 minimum for the customer to receive their cover).

In reality my advice would be that if you are busy and have plenty of customers who are happy to pay using your methods, then give the ‘fiddly’ ones a miss.

 

[CG2000]

Thank you everyone for your comments. To be honest this is the first time a customer has asked to pay by card and so I have never looked into it before, I think it will be beneficial for us to look into this for the future but the fees have always concerned me - if anyone knows on where is best to start getting some quotes for a card machine I would be grateful. Thank you

 

[Oryza]

Hello, new to the forum but saw this topic and had to comment!

Square are by FAR the best I have experienced. I have been using them for a couple of years with my LTD company.

There is NO monthly fee and you can use it as little or as often as you like.

There is no contract, nothing.

You can process payments in a few ways, on your PC or Phone with the app, just tap in the customers card details and the money will be in your account the next business day (you can request an instant deposit, but they take an extra 1%.

You can also get a portable card reader (no landline needed or anything like that, just a mobile signal) and customers can insert card or use contactless.

Fees:
They are more costly per transaction than traditional merchant accounts as there is literally no hoops to jump through and it's all set-up instantly.

Monthly fee: £0
Inserted Chip and PIN Cards: 1.75% per payment
Contactless Cards and Devices: 1.75% per payment
Key-in card numbers / customer not present: 2.5% per payment


First £1,000 free processing
I have a link for £1,000 free processing (for both of us) but not sure if I'm allowed to post it on here?