Cash only policies
Socalman, Sat Dec 28 2019, 12:59PM

Like a large portion of Americans I tend to use credit cards for meals. Many people are often turned off by an establishment that will not accept cards. Most restaurants operate on a very small margin. Have you ever wondered why so many dining establishments fail in the first two years? That fine line between profit and loss.

For over 30 years I have worked with a non-profit music camp that operates for two weeks. We do not intend to operate at a profit, only what is needed as "seed money" for the following year. No staff is paid except for the two weeks on site and it is well below minimum wage. Essentially volunteer work with a small financial thank you.

Four years ago I had to step into the position of the camp director. Last year, for the first time ever, we began to accept online registration and had to accept credit cards. It provided us with some benefits but it comes at a price. Three percent was significant enough that we were forced to raise our price for 2020. An additional item is the time that was added to our registrar to track the card payments and be sure they were correct.

So, the next time you go into a restaurant that is cash only and grumble that you have pull out your green instead of plastic remember that the dinner you order for $14.95 might have to increase to $15.75 just for the operator to have the SAME DOLLAR profit, not the same percentage.