So many businesses treat card machines as essential equipment to take money, but other than negotiating rates at the beginning of a contract, there’s seldom other considerations.
Here are three very different, successful businesses, showing how the right card machine can often go the extra mile, benefitting the operator, their brand and most importantly, customers.
Top Cuvee www.topcuvee.com
Top Cuvee was born in Highbury, with the simple mantra ‘Wine for everyone!’ The Founder spent more than a decade in fine dining where the wine world is predominantly exclusive. Whether in store, in the shop or online, the brand has built a welcoming community so everyone can enjoy great wine, while also having a great time - a world away from leather wine lists, stuffy sommeliers and pompous atmospheres. The team’s ethos is, ‘Having a glass of wine with your mates shouldn’t feel like an educational experience.’
The laid back atmosphere and cool tone strikes a cord with customers, breaking out of the stereotypical high brow wine bar atmosphere. Their mission is to break down barriers to make wine for everyone. Top Cuvee’s brand is growing, supplying retailers, bars and restaurants across the UK from its London stores.
Dojo card machines, supplied via Switch4profit, provide attractive, light, super-quick terminals - perfect for the cool brand.
As payment is often one of the first and last parts of the customer journey it’s important that a slower, older, grey machine wasn’t presented to customers. Payment needs to be slick and quick in line with the rest of the offer.
The Devonshire, Soho www.devonshiresoho.co.uk
The Devonshire is one of the busiest venues in the UK. It’s a pub, multiple restaurant, event space, also running it’s own in-house butchery, the biggest wood burning ember grill and reputedly currently serving the most Guinness in the world (yes in the world, even more than Dublin’s busiest pub).
In such a famously busy pub, speed is obviously essential, integration with the till system and also reliable, simple machines.
Charlie Carroll, co-Founder says that ‘Paul [Switch4profit] was a big help sorting out our Dojo terminals, installation, integration and training. Very little hassle and a great deal, I’d recommend.’
One of the reasons Dojo is faster than other providers is that they are the payment acquirer (like Barclays, Elavon, Worldpay etc), run software in every terminal (most providers have an app in each terminal) and are also the processing bank. So Dojo have developed a large part of the merchant services journey as a one-stop ‘closed’ system, different to other providers, fully secure and encrypted, ensuring the payment process takes place quickly and seamlessly.
The Chequers www.chequerschippingnorton.co.uk
The Chequers is a multi-faceted pub which has to cater for most demographics, many occasions, all day, everyday. There’s a theatre next door, function space, dining area and a busy bar. Every day the pub hosts regulars, food trade, tourists and time-bound theatre goers.
Being over 500 years old, reception and reliability of card machines is key, toggling automatically between WiFi and 4G in the old building. Features which allow bill splitting, gratuity and paying multiple bills without frequently returning to the till are important. Also having card machines integrated with the till system means there’s no duplication, avoiding keying into the till and card machine, saving time and ensuring money is always 100% balanced.
Nowadays, when there is such a high percentage of card transactions, many operators being cashless, card machines are not only essential for revenue but can support your offer, help take money faster and staff can be more efficient, leaving more time for service. The days of staff continually returning to the till, or a waiting station should be in the past.
Best card terminals can now help with so much, so it’s essential and important to pick the right machine to match the needs of your business.
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