Originally Posted by
Springs1
Sorry, I 100% DISAGREE!! It's the CUSTOMER'S RESPONSIBILITY to have ANY TYPE OF FORM OF PAYMENT if one form doesn't work. One time, this is a TRUE STORY, I went to a drs. office for an appointment. I thought I would be able to pay my $25 co-payment with my credit card. The receiptionist said the credit card machine was not working. LUCKILY, I had ENOUGH BRAINS TO BRING $40 in CASH. It's 100% the CUSTOMER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO BRING "BACK UPS" if they cannot accept a credit card or check. I don't care if all fast food restaurants accept credit cards now-a-days, the fact is, the responsibility of having ENOUGH money is completely on the CUSTOMER. I have had certain businesses state they weren't going to accept COIN change. It's still LEGAL TENDER, but they DO have that right to REFUSE ANY SERVICE of ANY KIND. So think about that when you ONLY bring you pathetic credit card with you. You NEED to bring enough to cover the bill you probably will spend and the tip, which could add up to more than $100. Sorry if that sucks, but the CUSTOMER is SOLEY RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN WAY OF PAYING. If the restaurant cannot accept payment due to not being able to accept a certain credit card or their credit card machine isn't working, that's the CUSTOMER'S PROBLEM.
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Wow...all I can say is that somebody really needs to relax. Maybe get your doctor to prescribe a Xanax on your next visit (hopefully when the credit card machine works)
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I'm not going to comment on whether or not it was appropriate to stiff the waiter on the tip or not, but your bolded statement really stuck out to me the most (not that the rest of your rant wasn't completely over the top either). If the restaurant's CC machine is down, do you seriously think it's the customer's responsibility to have alternate payment? Does the restaurant ever have any responsibility for anything? "Sorry, our bathroom is broken today." By your logic, I should have researched the next closest bathroom and maybe brought a pair of adult depends as a backup
. The restaurant manager should apologize for a inoperable machine and sggest alternatives, like a close by ATM or offer to leave your information and you pay later when the machine does work.
It might be a generational difference (I don't know how old you are), but accepting a credit card goes hand in hand with running a restaurant these days. I
never have cash on me (unless I know someplace is cash-only beforehand) and I keep close to $0 in checking, so finding an ATM is not an option. If I found out at the end of a meal that a restaurant didn't accept credit card, the only option I would give them is to write down my name and phone number and that I would mail them a check when I got home. If they don't like that, I guess they're not getting paid for the meal. Not my problem that they are stuck in some prehistoric time
I don't really know what kind of business these days doesn't accept credit card...I use my card to pay for my $1.50 coffee in the mornings, to pay for that $.30 cent pack of gum at the grocery store, and for my drunk $15 taxi rides home from the bars (among countless other daily activities). But going back to your doctors office, I really doubt that they would have prevented you from seeing your doctor because you couldn't do your co-pay because their CC machine was down. They could have offered to mail you a bill, or you just pay on your next visit. It's
their equipment that's not working and there's nothing you can do about it. It's up to them to offer solutions for making it right. How can the staff just expect that you have cash? You were likely not the only one who visited that office that day and I'm sure there were many others who had to arrange for an alternate form of payment. If your doctor's staff has that minimal amount of trust in you to not allow other options, maybe you need a new doctor.