[pianotech] Credit Card Service providers - which one

[William Monroe]

I agree with Larry.  For most of us in the trenches, offering credit card
services is a convenience, not a requirement to do (good) business.  Just
because I use my card for lots of things, doesn't mean I have to offer it
for my piano service business.  Occasionally I run into the same thing at
other businesses, and while it may be less convenient for me to pay cash or
check, it's just that convenience.

Larry's point is valid that as a business, we pay for our client's
convenience if we accept cc's.  We can offset that cost in many ways, but
it is still legitimately a cost.  And, I can honestly say that I have never
lost business or a sale explicitly or implicitly because I didn't take
cc's.  I've only had folks ask maybe a dozen times if I'll take cc, and
it's never been a problem that I haven't.  Not as convenient for them,
perhaps, but it hasn't lost me business.  That includes everything from a
service call to full rebuilds costing over $30K.

And, to suggest that those of us who don't take cc's are not "good business
[people]" is overly judgmental.  Define "good business person."  If "good
business person" means offering every available convenience to our clients,
then yes, I fail, and I run a poor business.  But I think there are other
measures that are more meaningful.  Plus, I think that folks have a pretty
easy time accepting that all of us enigmatic, eccentric, odd ducks that
call ourselves piano technicians often shun (select) modern conveniences.

I won't say you can't generate extra business by offering the convenience
of a cc - particularly if you do a lot of retail sales such as tools, or
accessories - it can make it very easy to buy, and customers like
convenience.  But there are trade-offs and again, in the field, my
experience is that won't make two bits difference.

William R. Monroe




On Thu, Jan 24, 2013 at 10:07 AM, <tnrwim at aol.com> wrote:

> Larry
>
> For what it's worth, not accepting cc's for the reasons you describe is
> like not tuning the rest of the pianos in a church because the church is
> now using an electronic piano in their sanctuary.
>
> Yes, many of my customers use a cc so they can get miles, or cash
> back. But I do the same thing. I used my miles to fly to Phoenix for the
> Westpac convention.  I also get a check from Costco twice a year that helps
> pay the groceries.
>
> It's also much more convenient. There are so many times that I need a cc
> because cash won't do. Just yesterday, when I flew to a neighbor island to
> tune some pianos, the airline would only accept a cc, for the $15 bagage
> fee.
>
> And last, I have "made" money, because a customer put the repairs, or even
> a tuning, on a cc because they didn't have their check book. I've had a
> brother who lives in New York, instead of sending me a check, and having to
> wait for it to clear, give me his cc to pay to have his sister's piano
> tuned as a gift, the nest day..
>
> I'm sorry you had a problem. But accepting cc's is part of being a good
> business person. It's like not using the internet because of
> scammers.  Yes, it costs a few dollars, but so does using an ETD. It's
> convenient, it's fast, and it saves a lot of time.
>
> Just my 3 cents worth. (I'm cheap, but everything is more expensive in
> Hawaii)
>
> Wim
>
>   -----Original Message-----
> From: Larry Fisher RPT <larry_fisher at pdxtuner.com>
> To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Thu, Jan 24, 2013 5:19 am
> Subject: [pianotech] Credit Card Service providers - which one
>
>   Hi Jurgen,
>
> I’ve heard good things about The Square as Wim has reported.
>
> I have had one experience with plastic.  It wasn’t good.  In 2005 I made
> the massive mistake of being part of a restaurant venture with a total
> trash talking fool.  A few months later I was left holding the bag and
> painfully lost lots of money.  A local processing company was paid off in
> full and I thought that was the end of it.  Central Processing has been
> calling me ever since to collect on a card processing machine that I paid
> off through the local processing company.  CP doesn’t have a good following
> on the web.  My story is repeated in lots of places by lots of people.
>
> It caused me to continue to take a strong stand on the idea of accepting
> plastic.  I don’t need to entice additional work by accepting plastic.  I
> can live nicely with out the perceived losses of not gaining the income
> from people that need to use their cards so that they can get the points so
> they can get something made poorly for free or dirt cheap.  In short, I’m
> supporting someone else’s spending plus a processing company by giving up a
> percentage of my income  .....  and then there’s the additional
> bookkeeping.  If that’s not enough, there’s the CP factor that endures the
> ages.  I’ll pass.
>
> Just my dollar two thirty eight.
>
> Good luck with your search.
>
> Lar
>
>
>
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