AMEX not accepted or surcharge

[cove]

The Langham charged 1.5% at their smorgasbord so I paid Amex rather than Visa for the extra points.
Why don't they build it into their price?

 

[hummel]

I paid for parking last night on Flinders St.

The auto pay station had a sign 1.5% for Visa/MC..but nothing said for Amex. Didn't charge me a surcharge either...

Funnily enough the machine wasn't accepting cash :shock:

 

[Princess Fiona]

Recently ( 2 months ago) changed salons for my regular waxing, sign on front door says Amex welcome, tried to pay with card " sorry we got a new eftpos machine and it isn't set up for this yet " . This month same story, decided to have it out with them as male boss with bling behind counter. Pointed to sign on window, stated I had been told the same story last month. Male boss " I love your accent, I love Amex " , yeah right !!
They offered to telephone another branch which did take Amex to process the card, and there would be a 3% surcharge for using Amex, WTF !! Unlucky for them I was on the way to bank some change so proceeded to count out the lot.
Will Amex be interested in me reporting them? They are a large chain of salons in all the major malls in NSW.

 

[yohy?!]

Recently ( 2 months ago) changed salons for my regular waxing, sign on front door says Amex welcome, tried to pay with card " sorry we got a new eftpos machine and it isn't set up for this yet " . This month same story, decided to have it out with them as male boss with bling behind counter. Pointed to sign on window, stated I had been told the same story last month. Male boss " I love your accent, I love Amex " , yeah right !!
They offered to telephone another branch which did take Amex to process the card, and there would be a 3% surcharge for using Amex, WTF !! Unlucky for them I was on the way to bank some change so proceeded to count out the lot.
Will Amex be interested in me reporting them? They are a large chain of salons in all the major malls in NSW.

Lol love the small change revenge.

If it's a chain of salons it probably couldn't hurt to report to Amex although the success rate is not the best

 

[StevePER]

Now just need to find a chicken shop that accepts Amex... That is a big struggle as Leonards and all of them do not accept Amex.

My local Leonards accepts Amex - so it's not all of them.

 

[dontwanttoregister]

Took the family to Melbourne on the weekend, and encountered an unusually high number of places not taking Amex or applying outrageous (including 5%) surcharges. Maybe I noticed more because I frequent places I know accept Amex at home.

Anyway, made a point of explaining to each of the cafes and restaurants that they missed out on my customary tip and that I hope the extra $1 or so surcharge was worth upsetting a customer. No one seemed to care

 

[lovestotravel]

Took the family to Melbourne on the weekend, and encountered an unusually high number of places not taking Amex or applying outrageous (including 5%) surcharges. Maybe I noticed more because I frequent places I know accept Amex at home.

Anyway, made a point of explaining to each of the cafes and restaurants that they missed out on my customary tip and that I hope the extra $1 or so surcharge was worth upsetting a customer. No one seemed to care

Unless you speak to the owner, they probably don't care!

Also if they have decided to not accept Amex and/or charge 3-5% they still probably don't care.

Easier to take business elsewhere.

I always look out for the blue Amex signs on the doors.

Sometimes I'l pop in and ask if they accept Amex before sitting down.

 

[lovestotravel]

My local Leonards accepts Amex - so it's not all of them.

Wow - I have reported 5 of them in Melbourne on the Amex website and they all declined to accept the card.

 

[dontwanttoregister]

Unless you speak to the owner, they probably don't care!

Also if they have decided to not accept Amex and/or charge 3-5% they still probably don't care.

Easier to take business elsewhere.

I always look out for the blue Amex signs on the doors.

Sometimes I'l pop in and ask if they accept Amex before sitting down.

Agreed, but I always like to remind the staff - it is their tip that is being taken away after all. It may be the only effective way to get the message raised with owners/remote managers who otherwise wont hear the complaints - when the staff themselves miss out they at least have some incentive to get word to the boss.

 

[GBK06]

The Langham charged 1.5% at their smorgasbord so I paid Amex rather than Visa for the extra points.
Why don't they build it into their price?

surprised that the Langham surcharged given they are a Fine Hotels and Resorts partner! (assuming you mean the Melbourne property) I wonder if they apply 1.5% to the FHR rate given it has to be settled by amex according to the terms and conditions would be very annoyed if they did!

 

[cove]

Yes Langham in Melbourne!

 

[pointsjunkie]

Agreed, but I always like to remind the staff - it is their tip that is being taken away after all. It may be the only effective way to get the message raised with owners/remote managers who otherwise wont hear the complaints - when the staff themselves miss out they at least have some incentive to get word to the boss.

I do the same... if I go to a cafe / restaurant and they do take AMEX but surcharge, I always make a point of not tipping but writing on the receipt that I would have tipped 10%, however didn't due to the surcharge - so they get all of $2 out of me for the surcharge but could have got a lot more through a tip if they hadn't made me mad by surcharging me! It's a good way of making a point - well, makes me feel better anyway, even if they don't care!

 

[ma1trix]

Apparently American Express are adding smart chip/pins to their cards in September. That should make them easier to use around asia at least.

 

[Mal]

Apparently American Express are adding smart chip/pins to their cards in September. That should make them easier to use around asia at least.

Interesting news (and about time AMEX!!!!!). Did you hear this from the call centre, or another source?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I do the same... if I go to a cafe / restaurant and they do take AMEX but surcharge, I always make a point of not tipping but writing on the receipt that I would have tipped 10%,

Absolutely agree 100% - I do the same

BUT

Rather than write on receipt I tell wait staff AND manager no tip cause they getting up my skirt on surcharge.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

What other countries?

Guys this question has probably been asked and answered before - but what other countries around the globe allow this practice of applying surcharge to credit card payments?

 

[SOPOOR]

I used to run a restaurant but didn't accept amex,

had i felt the need to accept it, I would have not charged a surcharge, as its only a small % extra

that being said, I don't understand a lot of peoples mentality both on this forum and from my customers, in when they get so offended if Amex is not accepted.

you know why its not accepted, you should also be used to so many places not accepting or charging extra, as a result most people have a MC/Visa anyway, so its not as if you can't pay or are severely inconvenienced!

maybe its because ive been on both sides of the coin!

btw. I have an amex

edit: I said I don't mind a place not accepting amex but what I hate is places that charge 2% -5% and claim its what they actually get charged, when I can walk off the street and probably get 1.6-1.8%

 

[Moopere]

so they get all of $2 out of me for the surcharge but could have got a lot more through a tip if they hadn't made me mad by surcharging me! It's a good way of making a point - well, makes me feel better anyway, even if they don't care!

Its my humble opinion that you are sending a message to the wrong end in that transaction. For the most part, the waiting and cooking staff won't be able to affect business policy because of a lack of tips. All thats likely to happen, if anything, is that the good staff at that business will leave in favour of a place that remunerates better (pay + tips).

I rarely tip, but then, I rarely get extraordinary service, at least not in good old Oz Regardless of surcharge policy, if I get fantastic service I'll tip at least 10%. The surcharge thing is a business ownership issue, not a staff service levels issue.

I will decide whether or not to shop at a business based upon how easy it is for me to do business with them and how much I perceive they 'want' my business.

If its a PITA to shop somewhere, or if I find myself visibly scowling because I hit a place that won't take Amex and I've forgotten my Visa then chances are I'll at least be open to finding a new establishment that feels 'easier' to me.

Astute business people will be striving always to provide service and product levels that keep their customers so happy that they find no need to look at the competition.

 

[Moopere]

that being said, I don't understand a lot of peoples mentality both on this forum and from my customers, in when they get so offended if Amex is not accepted.

They may act offended but if they thought about it for a moment they'd realise its not so much an 'offence' as it is a major inconvenience.

As a business owner the faces they pull and the half whispered remarks are a big opportunity you shouldn't miss to wake up and smell the coffee.

Unhappy customers, whether truly offended or just thinking to themselves "what a PITA" are unlikely to give you their business again unless you have no competition in the area.

Whilst its certainly true that most of the paying public out there doesn't chase FF points quite as vociferously as we do here at AFF its certainly true that customers choose payment methods for their own reasons and will feel inconvenienced if those methods are not accepted.

There are a million different payment methods out there in the world of course, from cash to a herd of goats, not everything can be acceptable to every business - but certain methods, over time, and in certain cultures, have certainly become the norm. In Australia, Cash, MC/VC, EFTPOS and Amex are surely the big guns of payment (and, I should add, cheques, at the business level. Still very common in my experience).

I've only ever found small business or small business mentality charges a surcharge or different surcharges for different methods. Most of the big players in any given industry realise its bad for business to deny any payment and worse to annoy their paying customers

(hotels may be an exception to my statement above .. something weird and cartel like going on there)

 

[SOPOOR]

if I go to a restaurnt that either doesnt accept amex or charges something stupid

I will simply produce my visa/mc even though I get as low as 1/3 of the points of an amex,

and I think, oh well, ive had a good time, i just won't get as many points as I normally would, and to be honest, I don't spend more then $200 per 2 people so I potentially only lose 100 points, its not the end of the world, and yes, I am a very aggressive points collector,

in my early days, ive paid off all my familes bills and some friends large bills on credit card to accumulate points, ive gone to restaurants with 15 people , everyones paid cash while ive put it all on my card for the points! (embarassing to admit)