1. It takes time. Time is of the essence. Lost time = lost wages.
2. If they bounce then the driver is left holding the bag, not the company. I know what you’re thinking – credit cards don’t bounce, checks bounce. Well, that’s true, but if you have a credit card slip where you simply make an imprint of the card and a signature, well you don’t really have anything to back that when the office gets around to running them a week or so later.
3. We have to stop in to the office, making an extra trip sometimes, to drop off our credit card slips. We also have to see cab management, which many of the drivers don’t like all that much. Then when the drivers redeem their credit card receipts (if you’re lucky enough to get ones from the Navy that don’t bounce) the office charges 10% to run them. I asked the office why they charge us such a high rate when it probably only costs them 15-20% of that. They gave me a number of explanations that simply were not true.
4. The office will not pay the fees to set up a credit card terminal or service it. That is expected to be done by the driver.
5. Despite their antiquated system the office refuses to let the drivers call in the credit card over the phone so that it could be run almost instantaneously. Although the office would have to use technology for that – the telephone.
None of this is a problem for me however because I just refuse to take them. Every once in a while someone calls and complains, but the office is easily fooled with a good story. Something shiny or creme filled helps too.
