Why Are Restaurants Cash Only?

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Here we will look into why some restaraunts are cash only. When restaurants are cash only, it is actually easier for restaurants to deal with the money, as opposed to other methods of payment. It is the most reliable way to pay for the food, even though some individuals have adapted to cashless methods of paying for everything. Here we will go over why that is, and why some restaurants that do have cashless ways to accept payments, may not at the current moment.

First, is the infamous card chip that doesn’t work on debit cards and credit cards. What is supposed to be used as a secure and convenient way to pay for things, has backfired due to the low durability of the chips on the cards. Many people receive new debit and credit cards to pay cashless, only to find out that their chip on their card only briefly worked. This little small technical issue is one of the reasons why cash only is a better choice; and a hint to why some restaurants only accept cash.

Restaurants usually use computers and software to handle cashless payments. However, restaurants usually do not know what to do if their software stops working. This technology is usually set up by a third party company that they pay to do it. If this software stops working, a restaurant has to call this company or an IT to fix it if it can’t be solved with a simple restart. They will also check to make sure everything is still plugged up like it should be, and may repeatedly unplug and plug the hookup to the cash register to see if it helps.

In the case that the technology isn’t working, the restaurant can’t take cashless methods of payment until it is working again. When this happens, a restaurant will try to notify all their cashiers to inform the customers, before they order, that they can only take cash only at the moment. The restaurant will usually follow up by posting easily noticeable signs on their windows and doors saying, “Cash Only. Sorry For The Inconvenience.” If the signs aren’t placed on the windows and doors, then they will be visible at the cash registers when ordering.

In this situation, a restaurant that previously could accept cash and cashless methods of payments, may be temporarily unable to accept them. Usually these technical issues are cleared up pretty fast within a day, but sometimes they can last for 2 days or longer. It is also possible for a restaurant to become fed up with dealing with these issues and just stick with only accepting cash for payment.

This isn’t the only complications, as sometimes these systems for taking payments will stop working until the cashier fulfills a requirement that they may not be aware of. It could be due to a failsafe to prevent getting robbed, or to prevent a loophole for example. Sometimes the restaurant managers don’t know what is going on either when this happens, as they aren’t an IT. Not everyone is tech savvy and sometimes software isn’t common sense. In any case, restaurants aren’t going to let a computer stop them from feeding their guests and meeting their daily profit goals. They will do cash only if they have to.

Not every restaurant uses the technologies mentioned. They may instead use a small electronic tool that is hooked to the cash register where cashless methods of payment are completed. If this electronic tool malfunctions or stops working, the same thing applies as already mentioned. The restaurant will not be able to accept cashless payments. This hardware and software used to accept cashless payment methods from their guests is known as a POS system. POS stands for point of sale.

Sometimes when the POS system stops working, so will the restaurant’s ability to easily digitally track their customer’s orders from the cash register/cashier to the kitchen, where the food is being made. This system can increase kitchen production and help keep everything in order when it is working properly, so a restaurant will get one if they can.

It isn’t too uncommon for these systems that take cashless payments to stop working from time to time. For this reason, restaurants stick with the old fashioned sure way of keeping their profits coming in: cash only. Ultimately, cashless methods of payment are just a nice convenience to have that can speed up the payment time, but it isn’t a necessity just because it can make paying for things faster. Sometimes the faster and easier way is just to use cash, since it isn’t uncommon for some individuals to have cards that have to be swiped or inserted 3 times (or more) before they actually work.

Most cashiers at a restaurant have no problem quickly completing payments via cash only, since they usually have a digital calculator built in the cash register that already tells them how much cash they received and how much change to give back to their customers.

Also, with new cashless payment methods constantly popping up, it may be easier for certain restaurants to just stick with cash only. Some of the new cashless methods require adding in new things to their system, which the owners of the establishment may not want to constantly be bothered with.

Ultimately these decisions usually boil down to speed and its ease of use. Restaurants have to cook food and do other things at a timely manner for their guests, doing the same things repeatedly over and over again. If cash only, cashless, or a combination of both is the best the way to do it efficiently, then a restaurant will do it. Every restaurant is different on how they take their orders, communicate their orders to the kitchen, and keep all of the orders in order, even though every restaurant may have some similarities.

Some restaurants go to the bank daily to deposit their cash and get the change they need for the day to complete their cash only payments. This is done before the restaurant starts its business for the day. Some restaurants will also refuse to take large bills to ensure that they have change for all their guests for the entire day. In the case that a restaurant runs out of change to give to their customers in their cash register, they have a safe where they can get more to fill the cash register as needed. However, sometimes they may not have the cents to give a customer exact change, but this is rare.

In this case, since it is the restaurant’s fault, they will round up the amount owed to the customer and take the few change owed in loss and give the customer the extra cents. Restaurants do sometimes run out of change when doing cash only, since they have to go to a bank to get more occasionally if they run out. For this reason it is also not a good idea to go to a restaurant and expect them to give change for a 50 dollar or a 100 dollar bill for an order that costs 70% or more less than the amount of the dollar bill. This is one of the main reasons why cashless payment methods are used in restaraunts to begin with: to ease the load that large bills can cause.

Smart restaurants that take cashless payments will also have cash only too as a default.

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