Cash only in on site shops
Can I ask the question about cash only being accepted in onsite shops?
I am sure this has been discussed, but I think it is weird in this day and age that reception staff/wardens only accept cash and do not take cards to pay for any extras you might require.
I realise that a machine obviously comes with a cost, but my reason for asking is that having just visited a C&M site, it was very hot and a young mother and her three young children came into the reception/shop area to purchase an ice cream for her children. When she asked if they take cards, she was told, no we only take cash, then the young mother said to her children they could not have an ice cream because she only had a card and no cashon her at all. The little ones were very upset and they all left having purchased nothing, so a lost sale.
I understand that the staff/wardens run the sale of essentials etc separate from the club, but in this day and age and with more and more young families taking up Caravaning or motorhoming they do not carry cash, we are a cashless society now and I think reception staff/ wardens need to address this issue.
I know before anyone says it that you should perhaps take some cash with you, but the younger generation are a cashless and online generation.
What do you think, am I being ridiculous?
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I agree with you........
But we have just got back from Vienna and we found that many of the pubs, restaurants, attractions, public transport etc only took cash ( I had to go to a Volksbank to withdraw more...)
So rumours of the death of cash are premature!
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It’s all down to the wardens running and funding the shops themselves, I guess.
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But when I go into a CC site office, I don't see a difference between stuff on one side of the office & the other. I'm sure if there was a will there would be a way.
e.g. Years ago I used to buy cigarettes & lottery from Tesco & pay for it all in one go on my credit card. One week we shopped at Asda & I tried to do the same only to be told that as the money was going to 2 different people it was impossible to do. The assistant was stumped when I told her it was possible at Tesco. There was obviously the will because you can now pay for your fags & lottery on your credit card in one transaction at Asda if you so wish. 😉
Ps I neither now smoke or do the lottery
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Apart from maybe replacing a gas tank, which as I understand it the wardens have to fund themselves, the only items I'm likely to buy from the site shop are small items, maybe a bottle of milk or an ice cream or eggs. So I think it's entirely reasonable to be asked to pay cash for them. There may be an argument for allowing cards for bigger items or for a minimum spend as in some pubs. Is there still a transaction fee payable by the vendor to the card company? If so it would hardly make sense to accept cards for small amounts.
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There is a transaction cost but that is built into the selling price. The card readers are given out free and the funds appear almost instantly in the recipiants bank account.
If the guy who cleans my gutters does not take cash then why is anyone else wanting to?
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The majority of "stuff" that is sold in site offices is funded entirely buy how deep the wardens pockets are and what sort of site they running,so to "purchase"a card machine and then have the added cost of the transaction on top, would just not be worth stocking anything added to that the cost of fetching everything,as the amounts that are stocked ,apart from gas which they has to be delivered, would not be viable for delivery
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I think the OP does highlight an issue which is difficult to understand by anyone other than the old hands. I accept that having their own point of sale terminal would not be economic. However why can't the Club arrange for their wardens to have their own code for operating through the Club system. It might mean they have to wait a bit longer for their money but it would be one way of getting over the cash issue.
David
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An alternative could be for the wardens to stop selling goods. They don’t have to do it so why don’t we be glad that they do and stump up the cash.
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Card readers taking payments and linked to a mobile phone only cost £29 from I- Zettle. Buskers, ice cream vans, taxi drivers, window cleaners and CL owners have them - so maybe Club site wardens soon - but there is a 1.75% transaction charge.
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The code bit sounds like a good idea but I'm not sure if this would easily work on accounting systems where items have to be broken down via many different codes inc VAT. Generally cash is useful and it's unusual not to have any at all, especially when on holiday.
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How often does anyone spend enough in the site "shop" on site to make any card transactions worth the use of card machines apart from gas and maybe a tv cable
its normally milk or paper maybe some eggs or bread anything much more in he "grocery " side would/should also mean purchasing a licence from the local authority
Ps also when out your bus pass country not seen any buses with card readers
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With more and more bank branches closing in smaller towns it's going to be harder and harder for small businesses to take in cash and bank it. Here in the south west the chain of Whistlefish shops selling local greetings cards and art works (good quality too) has stopped taking cash in all its local shops - card payments only now.
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Hi
Interesting you mention several times that young families / we are a cashless society. This last week has been a school half tem and we were completely full all week. Twice we had to go to the bank with bags of cash that people had paid their site fees with, that's a lot of cash from those 120 young families.
I can't speak for others but we have a small shop with some essentials, ie milk, bread, papers etc as well as gas, chems. and a few bits and bobs. We do this purely as a convenience for the onsite members. We are encouraged, not obliged from our employer to do this. Set up costs can be considerable at the start of the season and sometimes it can be six months before that money is recouped. I personally have no desire to purchase /rent or pay any subs to anyone for a card machine to be able to have that convenience for our paying customers. I really haven't experienced the issues you highlight but if it was to be the case I'd be more than happy to have empty shelves and do nothing.
Most places still have cashpoints don't they?
JK
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Thank you all for your replies and I can see both sides of the argument and I really do appreciate all the wardens do.
i do actually take cash with me on holiday, I just felt sorry for the young Mum henceforth I asked the question.
Plenty to think about.
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Does it be form part of the site information - so that any visitors are well prepared before arriving, rather than when having to disappoint children in the shop? If it doesn't, then it should do - as someone has said the younger generation work on a cashless economy, paying not by card these days, but by using their phone - even on the bus! My sons are in their thirties, and rarely carry cash! Strange for the older generation, but out there in the world of the young things are very very different.
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It’s plainly never going to be worth the wardens time having a card machine, with the monthly cost, percentage charge and authorisation fee the wardens would rightly run a mile. Considering the recent TSB debacle I’m amazed anyone would go out without some cash on them, just in case. It is true that many youngsters don’t carry any cash, but they do seem to think that their technology is foolproof, and unfortunately, it isn’t.
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I think cash in this case is a great way for children to spend their holiday money - probably given by grandparents aunts and uncles 😉. It serves a valuable lesson in knowing how much you have to spend, budget, and how to make choices within the budget 😆. If they are slightly older the independence of a visit without an adult.
I cannot see that it would be anywher near cost effective to deal in cards. I agree with JollyKernow it can be months before any initial outlay is recouped.
ValDa makes a good point that it should be made clear that has and supplies ARE NOT FUNDED BY THE CLUB but out of the pockets of the wardens. We were several years into using club sites both CC & C&CC before we realised they weren't club funded 😲 which explains why some sites have bits and others offer nothing. That also means those who don't routinely carry cash (we'd never be without £10- £20 minimum cash) Can understand the whys and wherefore of the need for a different method.
Incidently I can't see card payments through the till being acceptable for a myriad of reasons - think VAT for starters, club registered unlikely a warden would be 😉. Of course if the club stocked the supplies no issues whatsoever!
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It did amuse me when my contactless payment for a £1.99 burger was declined in a BK recently. The system obviously thought that the loaf of bread and the milk I had just bought in Aldi was quite sufficient
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