International Door & Operator Industry

SEP-OCT 2012

Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.

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SALES&MARKETING; Top Ten Indicators That It's Time to Shop for a New Credit Card Processing Company By Erica N. Baker Credit card processing is a diffi cult subject to understand. A good processor helps customers to understand payment processing more clearly. A bad processor uses the confusion to cloud customers' judgment and take advantage of them. When it's time to shop for a processor, there are signs. You simply have to pay attention to them. Of course there are other signs but these are the top ten. Don't be fooled. Number 10: Your own instincts tell you not to trust your provider. We don't recommend making business decisions based solely on a hunch, but if you know something is wrong and you can't "put your finger on it," do some research. Paying hidden fees is detrimental to your profits. Number 9: You cannot call the same representative every time you contact your processor. This indicator does not stand alone, but it's certainly a red-flag. Pay attention. Are you just a number to your credit card processor? Are your calls being passed around the office to camouflage poor service? Be cautious and ask questions. Do not forget about the inconvenience of explaining your account to every new representative. Do you have time for that? Number 8: You do not currently accept credit cards. This indicator could arguably be Number 1. It remains at Number 8 only because businesses which do not accept credit cards are not at risk for being over-charged. Accepting credit cards improves your business's image, strengthens customer loyalty, improves cash fl ow, lowers cost, improves productivity, increases average ticket size, etc. Being hesitant is understandable, but if you put yourself in a situation where you have to accept credit cards to survive, you won't have time to shop. Shop now while you can. Number 7: Your processor is reluctant to educate clients about fees and options. If your processing representative offers only one option without fi rst asking about your business, they probably only have one option. If they have multiple options and they only offer one, you may be dealing with a salesperson that is paid on a commission basis. Either way, steer clear of this processor. If your representative doesn't know the answer to your question, they should be scrambling to fi nd it. If they aren't, they're hiding something. If your processing representative skips over fees in their pitch and avoids your questions about fees, expect hidden ones. While salespeople often use pitches that make light of fees with words like "special-rate" or "discounted-fee," avoiding them altogether is a bad signal. Number 6: Your statement is confusing. This one can be tricky. If you are adept at reading fi nancial documents, but you have trouble with your credit card statement, demand some answers. On the other hand, if reading fi nancial documents is not your strong suit, you may really have to concentrate and Continued on page 76 VOLUME 45 ISSUE 5 2012 75

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