Maddening....

carmel27

Can anybody tell me what is the deal with a.) rude shop keepers and b.) this thing where you have to spend a certain amount before they will accept a laser card?

I was just in a shop in Ennis. I specifically went to this shop, because along with wanting to purchase cigarettes, I needed to withdraw some cash, and as they have an ATM, it seemed like a good idea!

In I went, and made my way to the ATM, to be greeted by a big sign saying something along the lines of "due to ongoing technical difficulties, this machine is currently out of order". This was a bit of a nuisance, but I decided Id buy my cigarettes anyway, and just drive to the next closest ATM.

So I went up to the counter, and the owner of the shop was working on the till. There was no greeting or anything. She had a big sour head on her, and when she'd finished serving the previous customer, she pointed at the counter, and grunted "here" at me. I went to the counter, and said "hello", which she ignored. I then asked her if I could pay for cigarettes with my laser card, as the ATM wasnt working. Her response to this was, firstly, to roll her eyes at me, and secondly, to say a big drawn out "yaaaaaa", followed by a 5 second pause, and then "but you have to spend €10". I politely told her to keep them and walked out of the shop.

Now I could easily have picked up something for €1.50, and I wouldnt have gone broke over it, but I was just so outraged at her horrible manner. This lady OWNS the shop! I cannot understand why people have to be so bloody rude. We're in the middle of a recession. Should they not be trying to encourage people to spend money in their shops, instead of putting us off ever going in there again. I certainly wont be leaving another cent to this wagon.

And what is the deal with this minimum spend before you can use your card? I presume its probably to ensure shop owners are covered for whatever charge the bank puts on them for having a credit card facility in the shop, and thats fair enough, but should it not be written up somewhere near the counter so the customer can see it? Ive definitely seen signs in other shops, but there was none in this one. And also, does anyone know why the minimum spend varies from shop to shop?

Im so cross right now:mad:

Antigone05

some stores will adopt policies of a minimum spend amount, some dont.

i find that having alot of signs around tills (return policies, card policies) can be messy and sometimes appear too negative and not very welcoming when your parting with your money.

regards to the cashier, people have bad days, if shes the same when your ever there again, then its her, or she has alot of bad days. bring it to the attention of the manager or nothing will happen.

carmel27

Antigone05 wrote: »

some stores will adopt policies of a minimum spend amount, some dont.

i find that having alot of signs around tills (return policies, card policies) can be messy and sometimes appear too negative and not very welcoming when your parting with your money.

regards to the cashier, people have bad days, if shes the same when your ever there again, then its her, or she has alot of bad days. bring it to the attention of the manager or nothing will happen.

She is the owner and manager. Shes never very nice, but usually not as rude as this evening. Im a fairly regular customer, so would expect to be treated a bit better. I worked in a shop for 4 yrs whilst in college, and no matter how bad a day I was having, I wouldnt have treated customers like this. and I was a student at the time, working for a fairly crappy wage.

And I know what you're saying about too much signage, but if its to save the customer embarrassment, then are they not a good idea? As for them being unwelcoming, well no amount of signs could be as unwelcoming/negative/off-putting as the head on that ignorant sow this evening.

Certainly wont be going back again.

jor el

carmel27 wrote: »

She is the owner and manager. Shes never very nice, but usually not as rude as this evening. Im a fairly regular customer,

Why are you a regular customer in a shop that doesn't appreciate your custom?

Anyway, the minimum purchase on Laser is about the fee charged to the shop for using Laser. If they didn't put some minimum on it, then they stand to lose money on the lower purchase amounts.

A decent owner would have let you away with it, since you were going to be close to €10, but obviously this wasn't a decent owner.

carmel27

jor el wrote: »

Why are you a regular customer in a shop that doesn't appreciate your custom?

Anyway, the minimum purchase on Laser is about the fee charged to the shop for using Laser. If they didn't put some minimum on it, then they stand to lose money on the lower purchase amounts.

A decent owner would have let you away with it, since you were going to be close to €10, but obviously this wasn't a decent owner.

To be honest, it was convenient as its the closest shop to where I work, and the other staff were always nice in fairness to them. And as annoyed as Id be, had it been any of the other staff members that were so rude, its so much worse when the owner. I would think, at the very least, that she should be setting an example to her staff.
I dont even mind about the minimum spend side of it. I was just curious to know why it differs. I've come across it in other shops, and have never walked out. I've just picked up extra items, that I'd end up buying at a later date anyway, and made up the balance, and not given it a second thought. The difference in those shops though, was I wasnt treated like dirt:(
Anyway, valuable lesson learned tonight! :cool:

calex71

My view on this is if there is an ATM in the shop then they have every right to enforce the minimum spend, if that ATM is out of order then they really should bend the rules.

Local shop I go to is the same, atm regularly out of cash as it's a busy place, they have no problem taking lazer for a pack of smokes when I tell them the ATM is out.

This goes out the window though if it's a small independently run place, as they might not be able to afford the hit from the lazer, I can see their point to an extent.

There is however never usually an excuse for rudeness, all she had to do was spend 10 seconds explaining that there is a charge on them for processing lazer payments hence the minimum spend.

carmel27

They sell those little 2c sweets there. In hindsight, maybe i should've asked her for 75 of those to make up the extra €1.50
Thanks for the replies guys!:)

calex71

carmel27 wrote: »

They sell those little 2c sweets there. In hindsight, maybe i should've asked her for 75 of those to make up the extra €1.50
Thanks for the replies guys!:)

Lmao bet her face would have looked as if she was sucking one of the sour cola bottle ones

dudara

We've had this discussion many times here in the past - see this recent thread.

dudara

jpb1974

The simplest solution here is to give up smoking.

You'll smell nicer, your health will be better and most importantly you'll have more money on your Laser card to spend in the shop next time

carmel27

jpb1974 wrote: »

The simplest solution here is to give up smoking.

You'll smell nicer, your health will be better and most importantly you'll have more money on your Laser card to spend in the shop next time

Thanks for the advice! To be fair, 20 cigs lasts me a week, so could be worse! But I'll try ditch the habit. When I do I'll go back for €10 worth of cola bottles as a treat!:D

rubadub

carmel27 wrote: »

does anyone know why the minimum spend varies from shop to shop?

There is a fee as mentioned I think it is 50cent. I know the profits on cigarettes are very low so they would probably make a loss if selling you smokes on laser card, so they might be glad that you actually left without buying them (though you may not come back).

The spend would vary as they can pick it themselves, if a shop is running on a low profit margin I would expect them to have a higher minimum spend so they can be sure to get the fees back. i.e. if smokes had 10cent profit they would have to make 40cent on the €1.50 worth of stuff you would have had to buy, if you picked up a paper they might still be at a loss.

If a shop has no minimum spend they will have to increase prices for everybody to cover the laser users fees. So in effect people paying cash are subsiding the laser users who refuse to use cash.

If I had a shop I would have a minimum spend and it clearly explained why.

carmel27

rubadub wrote: »

There is a fee as mentioned I think it is 50cent. I know the profits on cigarettes are very low so they would probably make a loss if selling you smokes on laser card, so they might be glad that you actually left without buying them (though you may not come back).

The spend would vary as they can pick it themselves, if a shop is running on a low profit margin I would expect them to have a higher minimum spend so they can be sure to get the fees back. i.e. if smokes had 10cent profit they would have to make 40cent on the €1.50 worth of stuff you would have had to buy, if you picked up a paper they might still be at a loss.

If a shop has no minimum spend they will have to increase prices for everybody to cover the laser users fees. So in effect people paying cash are subsiding the laser users who refuse to use cash.

If I had a shop I would have a minimum spend and it clearly explained why.

Thats all very interesting. Thanks. Didnt realise that was how it worked, and definitely didnt know that some shops increase all prices to cover laser fees! Thats mad! Suppose it explains why some shops are so much more expensive than others. I was in a petrol station/Mace shop recently in town and I purchased a 2ltr bottle of coke, priced at €2.65. Ive since noticed in two other small petrol station shops that the same item was priced at €1.89 and €2.10. Major difference.

And I personally would much prefer to use cash. (I would've done in the afore mentioned case if the ATM was actually working.) Laser is handy if you're stuck, and its safer, but at least when you have cash physically in your hand, its much easier to keep track of what you're spending.

MistyCheese

My husband always challenges this. He asks for a manager and argues that Laser cards were brought in for the exact purpose of saving people from having to carry cash on them.

He almost always gets his way. I guess the shop would rather make a loss than listen to him all day.

calex71

Wow 50c per transaction is out right robbery for the shops, I assume it's the card company charging it?

At that cost I would find it hard to blame any shop for refusing laser altogether.

What about larger shops? or how does the charge on laser breakdown, is it more for smaller amounts spent or a % of the transaction, Or is it a rate the shop negotiates with the card provider / bank?

I have often paid for something that cost less than €2 at the self service in tesco, mind you they are big enough for a laser charge not to eat into their margin as much as a local shop.

91011

I don't agree with transaction limits for cards, but I do see their point especially for cigarettes where the margin is in cent.

Average laser charge is 25c - 35c levied by the retailer's merchant provider. (on credit cards its a percentage 1% - 2.5%)

A pack of cigarettes has a profit of about 60c - 70c for a shop, so the profit after card costs is tiny.

In this instance the shop owner should have lay aside the rule whilst the cash machine was broken.

wmpdd3

calex71 wrote: »

Wow 50c per transaction is out right robbery for the shops, I assume it's the card company charging it?

At that cost I would find it hard to blame any shop for refusing laser altogether.

What about larger shops? or how does the charge on laser breakdown, is it more for smaller amounts spent or a % of the transaction, Or is it a rate the shop negotiates with the card provider / bank?

I have often paid for something that cost less than €2 at the self service in tesco, mind you they are big enough for a laser charge not to eat into their margin as much as a local shop.

Yeah, I'm the same at the self scan, I nearly have a page on my statement of just Tesco trans! There's no limit on these small transactions, but Tesco can't give cash back on purchases of less than €10. Don't really get that one but, maybe the transaction charge is particularly high for this.

Millicent

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Yeah, I'm the same at the self scan, I nearly have a page on my statement of just Tesco trans! There's no limit on these small transactions, but Tesco can't give cash back on purchases of less than €10. Don't really get that one but, maybe the transaction charge is particularly high for this.

Whoever told you that is wrong. There's no minimum spend in Tesco for cashback.