Terminal Time Constraints
Sunday December 2, 2007
When you accept credit cards at shows the time it takes to use a terminal can really slow down business. You might even lose
sales if people have to wait in line too long at busy events. The only other alternative is to use an old fashioned "swiper".
However with fraud, you almost must use the "safe" way of accepting credit cards at shows: electronic. My advice would be to
use the electronic terminals and occasionally talk to customers who are waiting thanking them for their patience.
Comments
We have been manually imprinting since Jan. ‘06 and have never had a bad card. Then we key the transaction in at home after the show.
From my viewpoint, we are way ahead of the curve in terms of getting stuck with a declined transaction so the $600 + expense for the electronic POS (point of sale) equipment to get immediate authorization is not something we will invest in. If our average transaction was over $100, the I might consider it.
I do the cards manually as well and have never had a problem. Just make sure you check ID and get a phone#.
I use the manual swiper as well. I was burned once. Looking at ID and getting a phone number does not necessarily help you any. The number they gave me was not theirs and I did not write down their address. I got their drivers license number, but I don’t know what to do with it.
I have found that 50 to 75 percent of my sales these days are with credit cards. Since you get the best possible rates when you use the terminals with phone connections, versus the costs of having to submit numbers after the show, in the long run it is the better way to go. As well, I have indeed had several cards rejected. The customers either gave me a second card to try “oops, that one must be full!”, or else called their credit card company and found out what was going on.
I use knuckle-buster (manual swipe) and get immediate authorization number via my cellphone. My total swipe and phone authorization time is 1 minute. Yes, I have timed on several occasions. In fact, I can process quicker via my cell phone than the local fabric store or local office suppply store. They both use swipe terminals.