Jackson Heights Life

Espresso77,  969, letys, ect...
If you own one  these business, please ditch the credit card minimum. I want to like all you, i would love to go more often. Problem is few people carry cash anymore. In fact i rarely have cash on me, so unfortunately  i spend most of my $ at starbucks. 
Its 2017, its time to modernize.
  guarantee business will increase.

  guarantee business will increase.

Have you been in the food business long as an owner or manager?  Can you share some of your experiences?

We all have our own path to follow, but for me, I would be pretty upset with myself if I frequented monolithic chains rather than unique locally owned shops just because I'm not willing to have a few bucks in my pocket. 

I understand that the problem is the fees but still I wonder if it's a good business decision by small businesses to have those credit card minimums.  For the increasing number of people who dont carry cash or don't always carry cash there is a subtle but sure drift towards the places that take cards unconditionally. Maybe I don't remember what their minimum is or exactly how much my item is--so I just go somewhere else.  Taking  credit cards unconditionally might work as a kind of a loss-leader.  One day I want to put a $2 coffee on my visa, but it gets me in the habit of going there and next time I'm buying lunch or bringing my friends.

Espresso77,  969, letys, ect...
If you own one  these business, please ditch the credit card minimum. I want to like all you, i would love to go more often. Problem is few people carry cash anymore. In fact i rarely have cash on me, so unfortunately  i spend most of my $ at starbucks. 
Its 2017, its time to modernize.
  guarantee business will increase.

You're going to miss out on a lot of great places in Queens if you refuse to use cash. A fair number of places are cash only (e.g. Arepa Lady, most carts), although there might be ways around it for some places if they are on Seamless etc

I find myself on the opposing side. There are stores like Sweetgreen in Manhattan (and other places) that are totally cashless. I find the concept off-putting and exclusionary. I believe they decided to do this to reduce possibility of employee theft/error, but it creates a two tiered society. One group has plastic to spend on a fancy salad for lunch, and the other has the funds to do so but those funds simply aren't good enough to be accepted.

I often use my debit card at places and when they ask me if I want credit or debit I respond with "whatever's cheapest for you". The laws around card fees have been changing, and I can understand that the fees can be onerous for small businesses. I try to meet them where they are at, especially since they obviously have something I want to spend money on. If they are cash only, as many restaurants in NYC can be, I make sure I have cash. I would rather have a spot err on the side of including all possible customers, that err by including only those who are savvy and wealthy enough to have a credit or debit card. Why do I want to create a trackable transaction for a cup of coffee anyway? And why must someone take a cut of that transaction? For my convenience? Eh... I just hit the ATM once in a while when I need to.

It's a lousy policy that has caused me to walk out of many a store without making a purchase. Stores could easily charge the customer $1 if one wanted to use a card under a $10 purchase, or add a surcharge to each item. They would rather sell less merchandise and deal with fewer customers.

Stores could easily charge the customer $1 if one wanted to use a card under a $10 purchase, or add a surcharge to each item.

It's not legal in New York to charge more for credit card purchases.  It is, however, legal to offer a discount for cash.  Perhaps the merchant feels that alternative would cost more than it's worth.

Square is commonly used by small businesses (I use it with my clients) to collect payments by credit card. Square charges 2.75% per transaction, and 3.5% plus 15 cents for a virtual terminal transaction (taking credit card payment from a customer over your computer). I've long understood that the reason businesses have a minimum purchase is because those fees become onerous, especially when you're dealing with a high volume, low margin business.

I notice the new Matcha/Coffee place on 80th St. near Roosevelt has no minimum. I assume the owner has factored that fee in to his overall costs. But, I can see how in a very competitive business, that could be problematic (such as an additional 15 cents for an Americano to cover the processing fees for credit cards could drive some customers to your competitor down the block who charges a bit less.) So even though that guy takes credit cards, I pay in cash when I go there if I'm not buying a lot.

I also make a point of having at least a bit of cash on me. There have been times when credit card systems have gone down and people weren't able to get cash out of an ATM machine (I recall specifically glitches that have occurred when solar storms were happening).

I also just can't with these new chip cards that take forever to process. I'd rather hand the cashier actual cash when I just need to buy a tube of toothpaste than hold up the line and waste everyone's time so I can have the convenience of paying by credit card.