Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Do you charge your customers a service charge if they pay with a credit card?

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Topic: Do you charge your customers a service charge if they pay with a credit card?

Jason Black
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1723
From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 11-26-2006 07:39 PM

There would not have been a .99 fee on the CC transaction. There would, however, be one on the debit transaction. An no matter how you slice it, for providing cash back, the .99 fee is a BARGAIN compared to most ATM's.

As best I know, you can NOT charge a FEE for a client paying with a CC. You either accept the payment and pay the user fee to gain additional $$ from folks such as myself.. who use cards for points back rewards... or you lose the business...

It took Carmike FOREVER to figure this one out... [Roll Eyes]

I miss the business.. not the single mindedness of the company...

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David Buckley
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 525
From: Oxford, N. Canterbury, New Zealand
Registered: Aug 2004

posted 11-26-2006 07:53 PM

If you dont want to pay card transaction fees, then dont accept cards, it's that simple.

We dont accept any sort of plastic, and never have. New Zealand is almost a cashless society, debit cards (what we call EFTPos) is almost universally used, schoolkids buy a $0.49 bag of sweeties with EFTPos, market traders (yes, even in temporary flea markets in car parks) have radio EFTPos machines, they're everywhere. We're a very rare exception [Smile]

What did bug me in the UK was if you booked a ticket over the web you got charged a booking fee. It bugged me because the cost of completing the transaction electronically, where the customer did all the work was vastly lower than employing projectionists-in-training to actually take the money and give me a ticket, and that had no surcharge on top. Grrrr.

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Jarryd Beard
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 229
From: Hellertown, PA
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 11-26-2006 08:51 PM

quote: Jason Black
As best I know, you can NOT charge a FEE for a client paying with a CC.

So how is it that some gas stations can charge higher rates per gallon for credit payments over the cash price?

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Chad M Calpito
Master Film Handler

Posts: 435
From: San Diego, CA
Registered: Apr 2006

posted 11-26-2006 09:34 PM

I think they charge more at some independent gas stations (or whoever else) to offset the cost that they have to pay for CC usage where as paying cash keeps their costs down, Jarryd. Of course, that's just my guess.

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John Joseph Fink
Film Handler

Posts: 60
From: West Hartford, CT
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 11-26-2006 09:56 PM

I'm shocked they don't charge customers. Some companies rely on ABO style box offices to cut down lines and personell - I guess Carmike doesn't really opperate in the kind of areas that people go to the movies and require purchasing tickets online or by phone the way that LA and New York and Northern NJ does. It's rare a chain doesn't, in fact I dislike it, but what I dislike more is chains with Pay Pass that haven't trained their staff on how to use it. My Regal Entertainment Group Mastercard has a blink chip in it but whenever I try to use it they say "Oh, I'll swipe it for you sir" - credit card companies are touting Pay Pass as end to buyers remorce, in that moment of hesitation I may say "you know what I don't need that box of Clip's Gummy Stars, I'll only take the water and the popcorn". But honestly, I know small independent now taking credit cards at both the box office and snack bar, amazing to me that a big chain wouldn't want to make things quick and painless in an electronic age. Debit only, as was pointed out eariler is a scam, in effect Carmike becomes an ATM, and they assess an ATM fee. Allentown may have to upgrade to accept credit cards if they don't already with Rave and Muvico building area theaters and Regal accepting cards already, as well as the benifits of stored value "gift" cards that chains like Clearview, AMC, and National Amusements offer. Then again Carmike oddly may be ahead of the curve with Digita Projectionl. What an odd company.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 11-26-2006 10:04 PM

When we first set up our merchants account, the paperwork specifically prohibited charging a fee. We've never looked back.

Personally, the whole credit card process works so well for us, I wouldn't consider making it an issue. For one, by accepting plastic and cash, there's little to no complaint that we don't take checks. With the use of thermal printers and online processing, the transactions are as fast for us and convenient for the customer as cash.

Yes, we probably lose out when someone buys a candy bar and hands over a credit/debit card. Those few occasionas are far outweighed by the size of purchases most other customers make. It really is true that many will happily pull out their plastic on a large order and not notice, where they might if they were pulling cash out of their wallets.

For us, in the 12+ years we've taken plastic the benefits have far outweighed the costs... so much so that we now have card readers at every sales station in the place.

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Ron Curran
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 504
From: Springwood NSW Australia
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 11-26-2006 10:05 PM

In Australia, merchants can legally charge a fee on cc transactions but I don't know if any cinemas do.

Some theatres charge a fee per ticket for booking on line.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 11-26-2006 10:08 PM

quote: Ron Curran
Some theatres charge a fee per ticket for booking on line.

Yah... I've never really understood that, Ron... unless it's just a money grab. I understand some online processors charge for the "convenience". However, when we did internet ticketing for our indoor there was no cost to us, and we did not charge extra. It seemed to me that anything that makes the process more convenient for the customer should be encouraged.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-26-2006 11:02 PM

quote: John Joseph Fink
I know small independent now taking credit cards at both the box office and snack bar, amazing to me that a big chain wouldn't want to make things quick and painless in an electronic age.

We started taking plastic here 3 weeks ago and it's grown exponentially every week. Some people are like "Oh, thank you!" when they find out we take cards. It's the way of the future. If you only take cash and don't hear complaints from customers, you can bet they are complaining SOMEWHERE, just not to your face.

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Ron Curran
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 504
From: Springwood NSW Australia
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 11-26-2006 11:48 PM

Right on, Mike.
Only prob with cc is the extra time it can take at the ticket window, especially when the first card doesn't work. But it can be faster than dealing with change from the 20th $50 note on a Sunday afternoon - how can you maintain a float larger than your takings?
Also, having been robbed on more than one occasion, the less cash you take, the better.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 11-27-2006 01:25 AM

The $0.99 fee is only for debit transactions. It does not got to Carmike, it goes to the company that operates the credit/debit machines.

If you do frequent that theatre again (or another Carmike that only takes debit cards) you CAN get cash back with your debit transaction, the amount typically allowed is $20. In this way you can use the cash at the concession stand and avoid paying the $0.99 fee again.

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Anslem Rayburn
Master Film Handler

Posts: 476
From: Yuma, AZ, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 11-27-2006 04:22 AM

quote: Mastercard Merchant Rules
A merchant must not directly or indirectly require any MasterCard cardholder to pay a surcharge or any part of any merchant discount or any contemporaneous finance charge in connection with a MasterCard card transaction. A merchant may provide a discount to its customers for cash payments. A merchant is permitted to charge a fee (such as a bona fide commission, postage, expedited service or convenience fees, and the like) if
the fee is imposed on all like transactions regardless of the form of payment used.

* A surcharge is any fee charged in connection with a MasterCard transaction that is not charged if another payment method is used.

* The merchant discount fee is the fee the merchant pays to its acquirer to acquire transactions.

From Mastercard.com's Merchant Rules Manual. I'm sure other credit card companies have similar wording in their rules.

quote: Dustin Mitchell
The $0.99 fee is only for debit transactions. It does not got to Carmike, it goes to the company that operates the credit/debit machines.

I would be absolutely shocked if some part of the 99 cents didn't go to the theater. I know everything that costs anything in our theater (video games, ATM, pay phones, etc.) we get at least part of the fees from.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 11-27-2006 04:28 AM

Not a single penny goes to the theatre. The $0.99 fee is deducted from teh debit totals before they are entered into the computer.

I suppose the lower transacation fee we pay for debit transactions as opposed to credit could be considered a round about way of 'getting part' of the $0.99.

And yes, not every issuing bank allows the $0.99 fee to be charged.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 11-27-2006 10:55 AM

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't choose a system that handed out cash to the customer. I know you can do that with debit cards, but then you have to keep the cards separated and there's that pin the customer has to enter... which adds to the time it takes to run a transaction. When you open up and see 4 lines of cars running down the side and across the front of your theatre, anything you can do to shave a second or two off a sale is a really good thing!!! Our system doesn't care what the card is, so neither do we. Since we treat everything as a credit card, there are no pins involved, and we don't (can't) give cash back.

The system we use runs about 3-4 seconds on processing time, then the receipts and tickets print out on the same printer. A thermal printer shoots all that stuff out in a couple of seconds. If the transaction is under $35, a customer signature is not required (you get get $75 worth of gas at the pump without a sig, so why not at a theatre?). That also speeds things up.

Incidentally, card declines have almost disappeared here... maybe only 3 or 4 in the entire season. I'm only guessing, but I figured the banks get a huge penalty fee for over-limit charging, so why not allow the transaction?

As Mike said, it's become a customer convenience that the vast majority seems to be looking for.

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Charles Greenlee
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 801
From: Savannah, Ga, U.S.
Registered: Jun 2006

posted 11-27-2006 12:30 PM

Locally, the Wynnsong took only ATM/Debit and charged a fee, where the Carmike 10 across town took only credit, and no fee. I always thoguht that was confusing, they're the same company. The customers were confused too, often.

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