Wings To Go, Get Out of Here! Scram!
Despite the seating area and single-serving menu options, Wings To Go is not a lunch place. At least that's what they'll tell you if you pay with Credit Card. You see, they accept the plastic, but on orders less than $10, they'll hit you up for an additional $1.50 fee. And while it has been explained to me that this information is clearly posted, it left me in a bit of a bind after ordering a chicken wrap.
Why the fee for using Credit Cards on orders under $10? Well, and maybe this is common knowledge but I had to look it up, it's due to the Transaction Fee. This is a flat fee that is charged for every transaction, usually between 15 and 30 cents according to Ralph F. Wilson. Additionally, a merchant is charged a Discount Rate (usually between 1.5% and 5%) that applies to all transactions as well.
All this means that if the WTG would have accepted CC payment for my $6 lunch without their fee, they would have lost 38 cents on their sale (using a 20 cent Transaction Fee and 3% Discount Rate). Looking at the prices on their menu, my $6 lunch is close to the worst-case scenario for this store. Using the same rates, a $30 Super Bowl order of Suicide wings (which, per Wings To Go, are not as tragic for your mouth as Homicide) would result in a $1.10 loss. Comparing these transactions, the Super Bowl sale is 5 times greater than the lunch sale, while the losses associated with a credit card purchase is only 2.8 times greater.
I'm sure these numbers lead to the thought that you can't really blame the Wing joint for their little rule. Well, I can blame 'em because although they make a great wrap, I can't go there anymore for lunch. And they don't really seem to care.
Additional note: After telling my wife about the WTG CC Rule, she said "that's illegal." I cannot seem to find anything on this world wide web to back her claim, other than this general mention on Wikipedia. I would love to find out for sure.
Why the fee for using Credit Cards on orders under $10? Well, and maybe this is common knowledge but I had to look it up, it's due to the Transaction Fee. This is a flat fee that is charged for every transaction, usually between 15 and 30 cents according to Ralph F. Wilson. Additionally, a merchant is charged a Discount Rate (usually between 1.5% and 5%) that applies to all transactions as well.
All this means that if the WTG would have accepted CC payment for my $6 lunch without their fee, they would have lost 38 cents on their sale (using a 20 cent Transaction Fee and 3% Discount Rate). Looking at the prices on their menu, my $6 lunch is close to the worst-case scenario for this store. Using the same rates, a $30 Super Bowl order of Suicide wings (which, per Wings To Go, are not as tragic for your mouth as Homicide) would result in a $1.10 loss. Comparing these transactions, the Super Bowl sale is 5 times greater than the lunch sale, while the losses associated with a credit card purchase is only 2.8 times greater.
I'm sure these numbers lead to the thought that you can't really blame the Wing joint for their little rule. Well, I can blame 'em because although they make a great wrap, I can't go there anymore for lunch. And they don't really seem to care.
Additional note: After telling my wife about the WTG CC Rule, she said "that's illegal." I cannot seem to find anything on this world wide web to back her claim, other than this general mention on Wikipedia. I would love to find out for sure.
Labels: rants
Chick-fil-A does not tack on a fee for credit card payment.
And they sponsor a decent bowl game.
Just throwin' that out there.
And they sponsor a decent bowl game.
Just throwin' that out there.
It's not illegal to disallow purchases under $10.00, it's the merchants option whether to even accept credit cards or not. These rules are quite common due to the exact fees you are talking about. While it may not seem like much for one sale, if this happens say 10 times a day, which is not at all unlikely; then you are talking about dollars lost, as opposed to cents.
I made a mistake on my prior version of this entry. I've updated it to mention that they were charging a $1.50 fee for orders under $10. Not that they weren't accepting credit cards at all for orders under $10. That could be where the "illegal" part would come into play.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]