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> To fix the conversion rates, John moved the "cash only" sign inside, and on top of that started accepting checks, foreign currency, and even the I.O.U's. In

by jpadvo 15y ago

> To fix the conversion rates, John moved the "cash only" sign inside, and on top of that started accepting checks, foreign currency, and even the I.O.U's. In my mind, this is the highlight of the article. If you carry out your business in a friendly and unique way you can win customers and do things that are very difficult to pull off otherwise.

kirillzubovsky 15y ago
That's why i suppose best businesses aren't the ones that were built to sell (like about.me), but rather the ones built to solve a problem and become a really good product (heroku).
Androsynth 15y ago
not to mention thinking outside the box.
clarebear 15y ago
When I read this, I wondered if it was about offering consumers the right number of choices. Cash Only sounds restrictive, while a laundry list of types of currency seems like you have options.
jpadvo 15y ago
"When I read this, I wondered if it was about offering consumers the right number of choices. Cash Only sounds restrictive, while a laundry list of types of currency seems like you have options." (Why did this comment from clarebear get killed? Anyway...) I agree. Even though the vast majority of customers will never use any of those choices except cash and iou, simply having them sends the message that the shop is very open and flexible.
dot 15y ago
That's where I was expecting this story to turn in to an ad for Square.
earl 15y ago
I miss NYC so much; SF is just such a disappointment as a city. My bodega 2 doors down in the upper east side was a full deli with fresh chicken, turkey, and pork everyday; $6 huge sandwiches made fresh; coffee; and they were open 24 hours a day. Plus they took credit -- once the people at the register recognized you, you could could run a tab up to a couple hundred dollars and pay on the first of the month. It was wonderful to go downstairs with just the keys in my pocket and have someone who remembered what I wanted for breakfast, that I like my eggs fried (unlike SF where they normally microwave in a plastic bowl), and that I take coffee with just a hint of cream and no sugar. Plus, from their perspective, I paid the tab every month in cash so no fees. I've never found anything like this in SF. I mean, Andy at Que Tal recognizes me, but it's not the same :(
- robot 15y ago
  ah man, that microwave eggs in a plastic bowl is a real soul killer. I hope people will dismiss that like the high fructose corn syrup.
- mikeleeorg 15y ago
  I miss the "small town mentality in a big city" aspect of NYC too, though there are some gems in SF if you are lucky enough to find them. I hit a quiet, local, wifi-enabled cafe almost every day and the owners know my name & order preferences now. I don't pay on credit, but I've seen them do that with other regulars. They're not open 24/7 though. I miss being able to grab a pizza at 3am in NYC.
- joshu 15y ago
  fried egg on a roll. oh god, i miss it. i have found a pretty decent substitute in palo alto, but it's not the same.
  - zem 15y ago
    i have fond memories of a place called "new york new york" near the palo alto caltrain on university. been a few years, but as far as i can remember, they definitely did a good fried egg sandwich.
irahul 15y ago
> If you carry out your business in a friendly and unique way you can win customers and do things that are very difficult to pull off otherwise. "cash only" seems unfriendly. You can get away with not being friendly as long as you are neutral and professional, but anything that gives a feeling of hostility is going to consciously or unconsciously drive away people. I won't go to a "cash only" shop because most of the times I pay with cards and to me, it reads like the shop is asking me not to come in. When he went for a list of currencies, rather than saying pay US dollars or don't come in, it read like we have issues with processing cards, but please do come in - we will see what we can do.
asmithmd1 15y ago
Isn't offering an I.O.U. exactly what a credit card is supposed to do. They are doing such a bad job for merchants he would rather run the I.O.U. service himself than use their product. It seems like a business ripe for disruption - who really likes Visa/MC/AMEX?
- Benjo 15y ago
  To answer your question literally: Congressmen like credit card companies because of their large campaign contributions. Anyone hoping to disrupt will have to overcome the fact that the rules of the game are being written against them. Paypal and Square seem to be doing alright though. Google wants to get into the market as well.
  - thesteamboat 15y ago
    Not to mention all this Bitcoin stuff we've been hearing about recently. If it actually takes off there's potential in setting up physical systems/cards to facilitate point-of-sale bitcoin transactions in physical space.
- PotatoEngineer 15y ago
  It's about risk. Visa/MC/AMEX deals with people worldwide, which includes some crooks and thieves that are trying to scam them (and will continue to do so, under multiple identities). The coffee shop only deals with customers it sees personally, so it can keep people from scamming them multiple times, or for large amounts. Any business that tries to disrupt Visa/MC/AMEX is going to have to be able to handle and reject large-scale fraud.

by jpadvo 15y ago

kirillzubovsky 15y ago

That's why i suppose best businesses aren't the ones that were built to sell (like about.me), but rather the ones built to solve a problem and become a really good product (heroku).

Androsynth 15y ago

not to mention thinking outside the box.

clarebear 15y ago

When I read this, I wondered if it was about offering consumers the right number of choices. Cash Only sounds restrictive, while a laundry list of types of currency seems like you have options.

jpadvo 15y ago

"When I read this, I wondered if it was about offering consumers the right number of choices. Cash Only sounds restrictive, while a laundry list of types of currency seems like you have options." (Why did this comment from clarebear get killed? Anyway...) I agree. Even though the vast majority of customers will never use any of those choices except cash and iou, simply having them sends the message that the shop is very open and flexible.

dot 15y ago

That's where I was expecting this story to turn in to an ad for Square.

earl 15y ago

I miss NYC so much; SF is just such a disappointment as a city. My bodega 2 doors down in the upper east side was a full deli with fresh chicken, turkey, and pork everyday; $6 huge sandwiches made fresh; coffee; and they were open 24 hours a day. Plus they took credit -- once the people at the register recognized you, you could could run a tab up to a couple hundred dollars and pay on the first of the month. It was wonderful to go downstairs with just the keys in my pocket and have someone who remembered what I wanted for breakfast, that I like my eggs fried (unlike SF where they normally microwave in a plastic bowl), and that I take coffee with just a hint of cream and no sugar. Plus, from their perspective, I paid the tab every month in cash so no fees. I've never found anything like this in SF. I mean, Andy at Que Tal recognizes me, but it's not the same :(

robot 15y ago
ah man, that microwave eggs in a plastic bowl is a real soul killer. I hope people will dismiss that like the high fructose corn syrup.
mikeleeorg 15y ago
I miss the "small town mentality in a big city" aspect of NYC too, though there are some gems in SF if you are lucky enough to find them. I hit a quiet, local, wifi-enabled cafe almost every day and the owners know my name & order preferences now. I don't pay on credit, but I've seen them do that with other regulars. They're not open 24/7 though. I miss being able to grab a pizza at 3am in NYC.
joshu 15y ago
fried egg on a roll. oh god, i miss it. i have found a pretty decent substitute in palo alto, but it's not the same.
- zem 15y ago
  i have fond memories of a place called "new york new york" near the palo alto caltrain on university. been a few years, but as far as i can remember, they definitely did a good fried egg sandwich.

irahul 15y ago

> If you carry out your business in a friendly and unique way you can win customers and do things that are very difficult to pull off otherwise. "cash only" seems unfriendly. You can get away with not being friendly as long as you are neutral and professional, but anything that gives a feeling of hostility is going to consciously or unconsciously drive away people. I won't go to a "cash only" shop because most of the times I pay with cards and to me, it reads like the shop is asking me not to come in. When he went for a list of currencies, rather than saying pay US dollars or don't come in, it read like we have issues with processing cards, but please do come in - we will see what we can do.

asmithmd1 15y ago

Isn't offering an I.O.U. exactly what a credit card is supposed to do. They are doing such a bad job for merchants he would rather run the I.O.U. service himself than use their product. It seems like a business ripe for disruption - who really likes Visa/MC/AMEX?

Benjo 15y ago
To answer your question literally: Congressmen like credit card companies because of their large campaign contributions. Anyone hoping to disrupt will have to overcome the fact that the rules of the game are being written against them. Paypal and Square seem to be doing alright though. Google wants to get into the market as well.
- thesteamboat 15y ago
  Not to mention all this Bitcoin stuff we've been hearing about recently. If it actually takes off there's potential in setting up physical systems/cards to facilitate point-of-sale bitcoin transactions in physical space.
PotatoEngineer 15y ago
It's about risk. Visa/MC/AMEX deals with people worldwide, which includes some crooks and thieves that are trying to scam them (and will continue to do so, under multiple identities). The coffee shop only deals with customers it sees personally, so it can keep people from scamming them multiple times, or for large amounts. Any business that tries to disrupt Visa/MC/AMEX is going to have to be able to handle and reject large-scale fraud.