I was looking at a secret posted on postsecrets.com where the owner of a Christmas tree firm never told the buyer his credit card was declined and let them take the tree. I remembered it because the sacrifice of the small business selling Christmas trees is greater than just those words.
I have been using credit cards for over 15 to 20 years mostly as charge cards. Credit cards saved me from going to banks, ATMs to withdraw cash. Another advantage was that everything I spent on a credit card was recorded and I could conduct a post mortem of expenses and make changes.
The economic recession has given me a new New Year resolution. When I visit a local Small Business I am going to pay cash. When a customer uses a credit card at a business there is a processor fee anywhere between 1 and 5 percent, In addition there may be merchant account provider fees. You have to also consider that the small business may also be paying a transaction fee which maybe .25 to .50 cents per transaction.
A New York Times article last November says that Small Business is lobbying for legislation to compel banks to negotiate fees and sponsor a "“credit card bill of rights for merchants.” This blog post is prompted by a visit to my local barber shop today. The cost of the haircut is $14. if I paid by a card specially a rewards or mileage card I estimate the traville BArber shop loses $1 (.70 in provider fees and .30 in transaction fees - just an estimate) I was really happy to pay this business in cash. What are your views ? Do you think you should pay in cash to help Small Businesses specially in these hard economic times. I am going to pay the locla laundry also in cash moving forward. Please leave a comment with your views.
See my Yelp review of the Traville Barber shop. You should encourage any small business that gives you good service by reviewing them on sites like yelp.com and your own blob http://www.shashi.name/2008/07/dad-where-did-you-get-pop-corn.html
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