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Select restaurants across the country are testing table-based credit card readers that allow customers to pay for food at the table. Scary news stories over the past year about waitresses and waiters stealing customers’ credit card information sparked a new industry involving products that protect consumer credit card information.
Restaurants participating in the credit card reader beta launch were at first reluctant to participate because they feared diners would feel rushed. Fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s allow customers to pay at the counter with their credit cards. Table-side payment differs from counter-side payment because diners are actually sitting down and being served by an employee who works primarily on tips. Waitertalk.com, an online forum for waiters and waitresses on topics such as ‘bad tipping customers’ and ‘unruly management’, has formed a discussion forum against these so-called ‘table-side credit card readers’. Waiters and waitresses believe that credit card readers will be a hindrance to leaving appropriate tips, especially in casual fast food restaurants such as Ground Round, which typically attract middle-class customers who prefer non-chain restaurants. I do not have the experience of tipping and eating. Some waiters believe that the credit card reader will be the main focus of the dining experience and that the machines will not allow them to approach the customer as the customer will think more about the bill than the actual dining experience.
In Europe, it is normal to pay at the table; However, the culture of Europe allows table-side payment to be acceptable. Will table-side payment be the new norm for paying at restaurants or will Americans not accept it because it’s more insurance than convenience? what do you think Shouldn’t you trust your waiter? Skimming scandals at restaurants that grabbed headlines were part of a separate phenomenon. However, credit card skimming occurs everyday in restaurants and other direct consumer-oriented small businesses. These incidents usually go unreported because the victim won’t realize they’ve been scammed until months after the incident. The restaurant credit card skimming incidents occurred over a period of one year at a single restaurant and several victims claimed that a restaurant employee discovered their credit card deductions.
The only difference between these tableside machines and the restaurant employee processing the transaction is – the restaurant employee will never leave their fingerprints on your plastic. You simply slide your credit card through the machine and a printer in the waiter’s area prints your receipt. All you have to do is sign and leave a tip. How convenient is it? You don’t need to wait an extra 4 minutes for the waiter to swipe your card and come back with your card and receipt. Is it convenience or privacy of your most sacred information? Should you trust the person who is serving your food? Most waiters and waitresses charge customers a lot to make less than minimum wage.
Manufacturers are betting that restaurants will buy these new Verifone credit card readers. Readers can go for several hundred dollars each. Restaurants benefit because payment processes change rapidly, allowing the restaurant to earn more money per table and the waiter to earn more because his ‘fare’ is changing rapidly.
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