You Won’t Take My Credit Card, Why?
March 7th, 2012 by Diane Conklin under Direct Mail, Event Planning & Marketing, Information Marketing, Marketing, Social Media. No Comments.
No, it wasn’t that the credit card was declined. No, the card wasn’t expired. Yes, it had my signature on the back of the card.
This frame shop didn’t take the type of credit card I was trying to use.
Ok, no big deal, I’ll use the standard MasterCard or Visa that every business takes so I can pay for the frame job and get on my way.
But no, now I have to hear the story about why they don’t take the card I want to use. I have to hear about how this woman’s mother had left her purse at a gas station when she was moving across country and didn’t realize it until she was 250 miles away and stopping for gas again. Well, this company was called to wire money and they wouldn’t do it, but another card did, so they stopped taking that card in their store. They called and cancelled the service. And, you better believe they told them why too.
Believe me, that’s the short story – I stood there for more than 10 minutes while she explained every detail of the ride and why her mother was moving, etc.
I find this kind of logic silly. I understand sometimes you have to make a stand about something – sometimes just out of principal, but when doing so could adversely affect your business, you have to put emotion aside and do what’s best for your business. What’s that old saying about cutting off your nose to spite your face?
And, who are you really hurting by doing something like this? The credit card company is hardly going to feel the loss of one little frame shop from a small town in Florida. The frame shop however could lose business by not taking this specific credit card – especially if it’s the only card someone carried.
Certainly as the owner of the store, you don’t want to be telling customers these kinds of stories. It doesn’t shed a good light on you or your business. This lady would have been better off to have just said they didn’t take the type of credit card I wanted to use and asking me if I wanted to use another credit card.
The real issue and thing to think about here is what message are you sending your clients. Also, sometimes it helps to examine your thought processes. Does what you’re doing make good business sense? Or, are you making decisions based on emotions that should be kept separate from the business climate (hard as that may be to do)?
Take some time every month, every week, everyday to examine your thought processes and see if what you’re doing makes logical business sense. If it doesn’t, don’t worry, just change what you’re doing, how you’re processing, and move forward making better decisions and choices.
