5 ms·

Myths About Square

34 points by mstolpm 12y ago

elyrly 12y ago
Can anyone explain why Square has recently been under scrutiny?
- jakozaur 12y ago
  As far as I remember, it has started with article: http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/02/with-ipo-hopes-fading-square-and-box-face-reality-of-commodity-products/ http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/02/with-ipo-hopes-fading-squar... Then many follow up, including famous: http://avc.com/2014/05/the-valuation-trap/ http://avc.com/2014/05/the-valuation-trap/
pbreit 12y ago
I can't believe how bad Square PR is especially with such a media darling at the top. How did it manage to lose so many large PR episodes such as Rabois, Starbucks, IPO, it's general health, as a workplace, etc (all the myths, I guess)? It's on track for $30b+ in payment volume which blows away all other payments startups. It's one of the fastest growing payments companies ever. It's opened up a whole new merchant category. And this blog post is so defensive. Weird.
- funkyy 12y ago
  This PR campaign actually makes me more negative towards Square than competition... The hell is this? Fiverr bought campaign?
- tmarman 12y ago
  This is a truly bizarre post. I especially don't understand how they create myths that at least most people wouldn't think. Like do people really think Square is not PCI compliant? Maybe they're just trying to do some SEO magic so someone searching for "is Square unreliable" will land there, but it's still odd. Why establish this negative relationship when it maybe/probably doesn't exist?
- wisty 12y ago
  1. Hire really good PR people. 2. Don't listen to them when there's a crisis. If you don't listen to PR people in a crisis, or dictate the strategy to them, there's not much they can do. Sure, they can communicate their concerns, but they know better than anyone that convincing people to change their minds is a numbers game - you can't win every battle.
kristiandupont 12y ago
This post seems half-hearted to me. It reads something like "Myth: Square is more expensive. Truth: No, we're not". If you want to be convincing, show me some numbers or at least give me some details. Even then, I am not sure I would ever post something like this. I was not aware that Square is fighting all these myths until now. I think I would have chosen "response" blog posts linking to specific, false, articles.
- minimaxir 12y ago
  With respect to numbers, the pricing matrix Amazon mentions with their new CC processing system objectively beats Square's fees, which makes this statement in particular very odd. http://localregister.amazon.com/?ld=van_localregister http://localregister.amazon.com/?ld=van_localregister
  - colmvp 12y ago
    Even though 1.75% is only till 2016, it's still pretty good for new small businesses who benefit from the 1.0% difference between that and Square Register.
    - minimaxir 12y ago
      The rate after 2016 is 2.5%, still lower than Square.
- jes5199 12y ago
  speaking of numbers, they say they're phone support but it's still impossible to find a phone number.
  - hayksaakian 12y ago
    they make you jump through hoops to find one, but at least it works, and the people on the other side are helpful (in my experience).
nodesocket 12y ago
These responses are obviously biased, and the language they use tends to make the responses even seem 'fixed'. An analogy is the Philip Morris CEO in 1994 famously saying he did not believe that cigarettes are addictive and killing people. For example: "...the reports that we tried to sell the company, or of a delayed IPO? False. We're here for the long-term." Is that really true though? Isn't it well established and known that Square postponed their IPO?
sli 12y ago
I'm not so sure I completely agree with #9. The service itself is quite solid, and I do enjoy that part of it. However... My reader was totally unreliable, taking many swipes to read a card, and then up and died on me. Never dropped it, never got it wet, nothing. All it took to kill it was letting it sit in its box on my for a couple months.
kiyoto 12y ago
If Square has to publish a blog post to clarify what they do/who their customers are, it means their marketing needs to step up its game.
jawns 12y ago
I'm not a PR person, but if you're going to do a "Top 10 Myths Dispelled" list, here's a recommendation: These lists follow a standard format. You list the myth, and you list the counter-claim. But why make the most prominent things on your page a bunch of untrue, negative things about your company? Some people avoid this by not even listing the myth directly. For instance, for #1, they might just title it, "Square is NOT more expensive." But if you do list the myth directly, I would put it in body type, but then make the counter-claim big and bold.
Mandatum 12y ago
If your Wi-Fi goes out or you’re off the grid, just use Offline Mode. Run WiFi jammer, use junk credit-card, profit?
- bravo22 12y ago
  Funny enough in most places parking meters are/used to be like that. I think most cities have retrofitted them with live authorization but there was a time you could use expired CC's for free parking to your heart's content. I never did so myself but read about it as part of a massive upgrade program.
jtchang 12y ago
I remember square going down one weekend and having to try and contact support. It was a nightmare. I tell everyone to avoid square if possible if taking transactions during critical times is a must. I simply couldn't get through to them.
jmatthews 12y ago
Aside from the odd lists of "myth-busting". My issue with square is the one fee system you're based on. Major merchant systems have an extremely reduced amount for debit card purchases, which for many, if not most business account for the lion's share of their transactions. In my research of Square versus the company I ultimately went with, a $1500 debit transaction was 10 times(no hyperbole) more expensive with Square. Could you address that "Myth"?
jgalt212 12y ago
The major way Square is struggling is in keeping up the myth that Jack Dorsey is the new Steve Jobs.

Myths About Square

34 points by mstolpm 12y ago

elyrly 12y ago

Can anyone explain why Square has recently been under scrutiny?

jakozaur 12y ago
As far as I remember, it has started with article: http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/02/with-ipo-hopes-fading-square-and-box-face-reality-of-commodity-products/ http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/02/with-ipo-hopes-fading-squar... Then many follow up, including famous: http://avc.com/2014/05/the-valuation-trap/ http://avc.com/2014/05/the-valuation-trap/

pbreit 12y ago

I can't believe how bad Square PR is especially with such a media darling at the top. How did it manage to lose so many large PR episodes such as Rabois, Starbucks, IPO, it's general health, as a workplace, etc (all the myths, I guess)? It's on track for $30b+ in payment volume which blows away all other payments startups. It's one of the fastest growing payments companies ever. It's opened up a whole new merchant category. And this blog post is so defensive. Weird.

funkyy 12y ago
This PR campaign actually makes me more negative towards Square than competition... The hell is this? Fiverr bought campaign?
tmarman 12y ago
This is a truly bizarre post. I especially don't understand how they create myths that at least most people wouldn't think. Like do people really think Square is not PCI compliant? Maybe they're just trying to do some SEO magic so someone searching for "is Square unreliable" will land there, but it's still odd. Why establish this negative relationship when it maybe/probably doesn't exist?
wisty 12y ago
1. Hire really good PR people. 2. Don't listen to them when there's a crisis. If you don't listen to PR people in a crisis, or dictate the strategy to them, there's not much they can do. Sure, they can communicate their concerns, but they know better than anyone that convincing people to change their minds is a numbers game - you can't win every battle.

kristiandupont 12y ago

This post seems half-hearted to me. It reads something like "Myth: Square is more expensive. Truth: No, we're not". If you want to be convincing, show me some numbers or at least give me some details. Even then, I am not sure I would ever post something like this. I was not aware that Square is fighting all these myths until now. I think I would have chosen "response" blog posts linking to specific, false, articles.

minimaxir 12y ago
With respect to numbers, the pricing matrix Amazon mentions with their new CC processing system objectively beats Square's fees, which makes this statement in particular very odd. http://localregister.amazon.com/?ld=van_localregister http://localregister.amazon.com/?ld=van_localregister
- colmvp 12y ago
  Even though 1.75% is only till 2016, it's still pretty good for new small businesses who benefit from the 1.0% difference between that and Square Register.
  - minimaxir 12y ago
    The rate after 2016 is 2.5%, still lower than Square.
jes5199 12y ago
speaking of numbers, they say they're phone support but it's still impossible to find a phone number.
- hayksaakian 12y ago
  they make you jump through hoops to find one, but at least it works, and the people on the other side are helpful (in my experience).

nodesocket 12y ago

These responses are obviously biased, and the language they use tends to make the responses even seem 'fixed'. An analogy is the Philip Morris CEO in 1994 famously saying he did not believe that cigarettes are addictive and killing people. For example: "...the reports that we tried to sell the company, or of a delayed IPO? False. We're here for the long-term." Is that really true though? Isn't it well established and known that Square postponed their IPO?

sli 12y ago

I'm not so sure I completely agree with #9. The service itself is quite solid, and I do enjoy that part of it. However... My reader was totally unreliable, taking many swipes to read a card, and then up and died on me. Never dropped it, never got it wet, nothing. All it took to kill it was letting it sit in its box on my for a couple months.

kiyoto 12y ago

If Square has to publish a blog post to clarify what they do/who their customers are, it means their marketing needs to step up its game.

jawns 12y ago

I'm not a PR person, but if you're going to do a "Top 10 Myths Dispelled" list, here's a recommendation: These lists follow a standard format. You list the myth, and you list the counter-claim. But why make the most prominent things on your page a bunch of untrue, negative things about your company? Some people avoid this by not even listing the myth directly. For instance, for #1, they might just title it, "Square is NOT more expensive." But if you do list the myth directly, I would put it in body type, but then make the counter-claim big and bold.

Mandatum 12y ago

If your Wi-Fi goes out or you’re off the grid, just use Offline Mode. Run WiFi jammer, use junk credit-card, profit?

bravo22 12y ago
Funny enough in most places parking meters are/used to be like that. I think most cities have retrofitted them with live authorization but there was a time you could use expired CC's for free parking to your heart's content. I never did so myself but read about it as part of a massive upgrade program.

jtchang 12y ago

I remember square going down one weekend and having to try and contact support. It was a nightmare. I tell everyone to avoid square if possible if taking transactions during critical times is a must. I simply couldn't get through to them.

jmatthews 12y ago

Aside from the odd lists of "myth-busting". My issue with square is the one fee system you're based on. Major merchant systems have an extremely reduced amount for debit card purchases, which for many, if not most business account for the lion's share of their transactions. In my research of Square versus the company I ultimately went with, a $1500 debit transaction was 10 times(no hyperbole) more expensive with Square. Could you address that "Myth"?

jgalt212 12y ago

The major way Square is struggling is in keeping up the myth that Jack Dorsey is the new Steve Jobs.