Your cash isn't good here, restaurant tells patrons

I wonder if that is legal? Cash says" all debts public and private"
Could be fun, order dinner, get bill, hand over cash and walk out.
What could they do about it?

Reply

While working for Barnes&Noble recently, a customer tried to pay for a $30 purchase with a $100 bill. We had been open for less than one hour and I didn't have enough change in my till so I paged my manager, who REFUSED to accept the woman's money, and said she would need to use some other form of payment which the lady didn't have on her at the time. I was appalled that the manager would not go to the back and get money out of the safe. I had to tell the lady there was nothing I could do and she left. Did I mention she was a PAID member of the store's reading club? The manager told me afterwards not to feel bad because she had instructions from corporate to not let customers "...treat us like an atm. Besides, what kind of loser doesn't have at least an atm card?" When I told her the lady was buying books for her husband who was in the hospital for heart failure, she just shrugged her shoulders and walked away! I quit that job and I'll never buy from them again, either.

Reply

IN FACT IT IS PATENTLY ILLEGAL TO REFUSE CASH, BETTER KNOWN LEGALLY AS "COIN OF THE RHELM: PERIOD! I SEE AN IMPENDING LAWSUIT IN THE WORKS IF THIS ESTABLISHMENT CALLS THE AUTHORITIES ON A DINNER PAYING WITH LEGAL TENDER.

Reply

I think a lot of restaurants do this in order to more easily keep track of the tips so they make sure they get their cut from the server. Some places take up to 50% of the gratuity and distribute it to the rest of the staff or the owners keep it. (I think this is nuts personally) It's silly because they have to pay a small percentage to the credit card company for each transaction but I guess they make up for that by taking more money from the waitstaff.

Reply

This is just another step of doing away with cash. It will not be long before everyone will be issued a goverment debit card and instead of deciding how much to pay who and when your gov't "credits" will be deducted without your say to pay your taxes, health care, food, gas and anything else you might need, Forget about what you want or would like to have for if 'they' feel you don't need it your card will be denied. Orwellian society is just around the corner folks. Beware!

Reply

In reply to Juanita I applaud her reaction. Her manager was in the wrong and I would have suggested to the customer that she write a letter to Corporate.

We are fast becoming a digital society but people are losing track of exactly what that means. The loss of privacy has become so prevailing that people do not even see it anymore. Does anyone really think that Commerce is going to bite that 4% they pay the credit card company. No, they are going to add it into their mark-up. When the credit cards raise their rate to the stores, eventually that cost ha to be moved on to the consumer.

Consumers have forgotten one simple fact. If you can't get SERVICE someplace, go someplace else. I would prefer to spend my cash somewhere where it's wanted.

Reply

John, who have you been talking to that tells you restaurants take 50% of a server's tips? Anyone that works under that structure is a complete moron. Even if you are tipping out host and bar and dish and expo and food runner, etc, a tipout of 10% is completely unreasonable. In regards to this story, this is actually a move that shows more respect for the staff than most places have. It is very dangerous for servers or bartenders to even walk from the front door to their car with a wad of cash. So people can preach the legality of it all they want since everyone seems to want to say something bad about everything these days, but maybe you just let this one go and let this private establishment enforce whatever rules they wish.

Reply

Guess where I wouldn't be eating? I got rid of all of my credit cards. No more plastic for me. Guess I would just choose a different place to eat.

Reply

Guess where I wouldn't be eating? I got rid of all of my credit cards. No more plastic for me. Guess I would just choose a different place to eat.

Reply

The rule is no cash. That doesn't mean the restaurant or any place won't take cash in a pinch. The announcement is correct. I had a business that took all cash (bar) and it was a huge problem. We were never robbed but a good night would bring in $10,000--plus all in small bills. We, in fact, became a local ATM--which was great; otherwise we would have had all wet ones (somehow everything in a bar gets wet). We also priced everything, tax included in dollars and quarters. We soon got rid of the quarters because we never had enough of them.

Reply

This is very illegal. According to the Uniform Commercial Code, if cash is offered to pay a debt, and cash is refused then the debt is CANCELLED. All businesses must accept dollars for payment, if not then the customer need not pay for the items or services.

Reply

Bonnie,

I completely agree with you. I also do not have any plastic, by choice. With my career choice I get paid in cash so I tend to have $100 bills with me most of the time. If someone does not want my cash, I tell them a thing or two and also that I will not be back and I will tell my friends. However, I live in Las Vegas and Cash, the paper with green print on it, is accepted everywhere, at least I think. I feel plastic is very distructive. One comment from someone on here said, "If a loser doesn't have plastic...... Loser. We are the smart ones, I'm sure that guy has a lot of debt and defending his way of life. Thank you for your highly intelligent comment.

Reply

No doubt the restaurant will accept a debit card with a Visa or MC logo, so you don't have to use credit to dine there.

I'm not sure about the legality of it, but our public school system says they won't take cash for certian debts - activity fees, funding cafeteria accounts & etc. And don't lots of creditors say on their envelopes, "do not send cash" - including the IRS?

Reply

I have credit cards, but no ATM card (don't need it, and no need to risk misplacing it. So I guess this "looser" won't be shopping at any store like the one mentioned above.

Reply

Working for years in retail management, it really has come to this. I much prefer a safe employee to a pissed customer.

Reply

Without the pissed customer, there could be no employee!

Reply

So if the neighborhood this restaurant is located in is so dangerous that it isn't safe for employees to deposit receipts at the bank, why the hell don't they move?

I notice the article does not address the quality of the food there.

Reply

Just another gimmick to get publicity. If they do not take coin of the realm then they are in violation of the US Constitution and will find a hoard of people who object to their stated goal. And to call anyone without an atm card a loser is a joke, cash is king. The loser is the the person who does not have cash. Of course the crazy New Yorkers are the only idiots to dream of this and that is why thay should form a separate country and have to present passports to enter NJ.

Reply

As a former restaurant owner & operator I say "why not?" Yeah, it's possible, even probable that in a pinch they'll take cash, but, (a) it's not about tracking tips - the tracking is much more complete who/when/$$ spent/tax breakout...yes, and tips too. So accounting - the heart of any biz is simplified, less costly, and more thorough. But mostly it's about getting paid. $$ from CC's (and debit cards) is better than cash...it's deposited in a timely fashion and accurate and in (b) they probably do a fair amount of corporate/business catering, eat-in's, take out's etc. Cash does not exist in that world. (c) Ask any banker/finance playa' - cash is the MOST EXPENSIVE media to handle. Count, recount, bundle, box, bag, print, burn...dada-dada-dada (d) Facts of life: My biz 14 years ago was 10% cc...in 10 years it was 75%...and this was casual inexpensive dining. (e) safety is REAL. We got robbed once...not pretty. What some people are willing to do for $800 bucks is unbelievable...until you're a victim of it. Then you believe it. Listen - Cash is cool...maybe even king. But if you are whining because you can't manage your credit cards/don't want to cave in to usery rates or whatever- oh well. Cashless society is nipping at our heels, and might just be a better thing in many ways. Surrender Dorothy...give up on worrying - big brother has been watching for much longer than you think.

Reply