All Blog Posts Tagged 'card' (12)

The average restaurateur has no idea exactly what they are paying

The National Restaurant Association opposes the current swipe fee settlement saying "The current payments system is so convoluted, the average restaurateur has no idea exactly what they are paying and why they are paying large amounts to accept credit and debit cards, which are necessary in today's marketplace."

While the NRA and card companies fight it out with lobbyist and attorneys, one thing the average restaurateur can do right now is calculate and compare their cost to accept…

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Added by Ty Hardison on September 27, 2012 at 12:49pm — No Comments

Debate About Customer Contact/Feedback Systems: Social Web, Email, Paper Comment Cards, Tableside and Blogs

Technology is completely changing the game for service industries. You would not be reading this post two years ago if it weren’t for the atomic explosion of the social web.

I believe paper comment cards are dead. They have zero value today. For reasons enumerated by several sources here in FohBoh and my own observations, I declare the paper comment card an archealogical relic of an earlier age. If you are still using paper comment cards, you’re a dinosaur.

I also… Continue

Added by Jeffrey J Kingman on December 17, 2009 at 2:26am — 20 Comments

Non-Operator How Easy Do You Make It For Customers To Pay?

Isn’t it funny? You’ve gone to all that work to attract customers, spent significant sums of money on advertising, staff and food and beverage ingredients, you’ve provided great service, but on the last hurdle, the last impression, the final test, you make it difficult for your customers to pay.

How often have you been out for a meal, in a rush to leave and because the server has removed the last plates, has ignored your desperate attempts… Continue

Added by Barry Chandler on November 16, 2009 at 11:03pm — No Comments

Non-Operator Increase Wine sales with this one simple menu change

If you sell wine in your business, there is a simple way that you can increase wine sales today. I was reminded of this on a recent visit to The Wine Guy Wine Shop in Gahanna, Ohio. The Wine Guy Shop is a retail wine store with a bar and dining facilities.

There’s something special about sitting in the middle of a wine store surrounded by wines from around the world while… Continue

Added by Barry Chandler on October 29, 2009 at 12:24am — No Comments

Increasing Gift Card Sales: Are You Getting Your Fair Share?

Not too long ago, the only time I received gift cards was as a stocking stuffer during the holidays or as an add-on to a larger gift-wrapped package. Times are changing and today, in many cases, the cards are simply replacing the packages. As of 2008, gift card sales have accelerated to reach nearly $97 billion dollars nationwide annually. With the increase in popularity, every restaurant and retailer from a single site mom and pop store to large global brands are recognizing gift cards as a… Continue

Added by Jessica Lundberg on June 1, 2009 at 10:24am — No Comments

Higher Fees are Coming

Interchange & Access Fee changes are coming and restaurants with small ticket sales will experience a greater impact from these changes.

While minor adjustments have been made to the Interchange fees that issuing banks earn; the real story this spring are changes to fees earned by MasterCard and Visa. Beginning in April 2009, MasterCard will increase its Acquirer Access Fee for processing by 270% by raising this per transaction fee from $0.005 to $0.0185. In June 2009, Visa will… Continue

Added by Ty Hardison on April 23, 2009 at 6:12am — No Comments

Markets at Work

I’ve posted a new photo. That’s me at Keeneland’s thoroughbred racetrack in Lexington, KY enjoying the spring meet. I’ve really grown fond of handicapping the races. It is interesting to watch the “market” at work with the odds changing on the large digital display right up to post time based on the number of last minute bets coming in on a particular horse.

Inspired by the market dynamics at play in handicapping a horserace and the growth of niche social sites like FohBoh, I’ve… Continue

Added by Ty Hardison on April 4, 2009 at 10:11am — No Comments

Starbucks Gold (Black) Card - $25 to them, Not to You

Just call me stupid for being sucked into an ingenius marketing promotion without reading the small print. I recently purchased the Starbucks Gold card, which is actually black, for $25.00. Thinking $25.00 would also go on the card as a credit, just like the non-black/gold cards. WRONG. I bought it because I was willing to give Starbucks the use of my money, interest free, in exchange for their keeping me as a customer and my loyalty would… Continue

Added by Michael L. Atkinson on March 9, 2009 at 11:41am — 9 Comments

Gift Cards - With A Little Extra!

In my opinion, gift giving was made just a little easier when companies started selling gift cards to their customers. I am the type of person that often waits until the last minute to shop (of course, I always have an excuse about work or family related activities that kept me from this task) and even with a reduced number of choices, I still have a hard time choosing the right gifts.

I can never get the right size clothing for my wife or the age appropriate toy for my children. Even if I… Continue

Added by Jeff McLanahan on December 4, 2008 at 6:42am — No Comments

Say Thanks To Our Troops Here!

Click here to Say Thanks.

Something cool that Xerox is doing.

If you go to this web site, LetsSayThanks you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it,… Continue

Added by Michael L. Atkinson on November 25, 2008 at 9:12pm — No Comments

Customer Satisfaction Surveys - They're Not all Bad News

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a bad experience I had in a local tasting room, and the importance customer satisfaction surveys play in providing businesses the feedback they need to be able to turn around unpleasant experiences, save customers, and prevent future repeats. And while we know that there is incredible (you might even say indispensable) value in this, customer satisfaction surveys aren’t just about receiving bad news, they are also important messengers of good… Continue

Added by Margie Tosch on October 26, 2008 at 10:30am — No Comments

Non-Operator Restaurant Gift Card Programs

I've worked successfully on these programs for several independent and chain restaurants. Given the economy and that we're all looking for new ways to drive customers into restaurants... take another look at how this works:

Is your gift card program working for you? Do you have a gift card program? Is it creating loyalty and incrementally driving new customers to your restaurant, or are you spinning your wheels trying to figure out how to meet minimum card runs with your… Continue

Added by Mark on September 26, 2008 at 7:08am — 9 Comments