I eat out a lot and when I do, I am usually prepared to spend good money for something I like.  As a mother of 2 young daughters who inherit my love for food, I have to be financially ready whenever I take them out for a meal. While I don’t carry a lot of cash, I have my credit cards anywhere I go.  By using credit cards, I don’t need to make numerous trips to ATMs.  I can also collect credit card points that can be exchanged for free meals in various fancy restaurants.

A few weeks ago, I went to a cafe for dinner with my daughters.  All of us were hungry and the menu looked good. We had two types of appetizers, three main dishes and three desserts.  The waiter was very efficient and friendly.  While waiting for our food, I looked around the cafe and I couldn’t see any credit card sticker on the door.  I started to panic. I called the waiter and ask if they accept credit card.  He said no.  I also asked if they had QR pay for e-wallet. They also said no.

I only had RM 60 in my purse and I knew the meal would cost more than that.  I told him that I didn’t carry much cash.  He told me there was an ATM across the street.  Reluctantly I left my two young kids unattended in the restaurant, brazed mad drivers who refused to let me cross safely and went to the ATM… Only to find that the machine was out of order.

I went back to the restaurant and told the waiter to cancel a few dishes.  Embarrassingly I apologized to him for not bringing enough cash. Fortunately he was cool with it.  He said I was not the first one to experience this.  Many customers didn’t have enough cash and had to cancel the orders.

At the end, the three of us shared two main dishes washed down with glasses of ice water.

I was ready to spend more than RM100 for the meal but I had to settle for less than RM60.  The cafe’s potential sales was reduced by 40%.  In a small way, that cafe had inconvenienced its customers.  The whole dining experience was “difficult”.

Imagine if the cafe had credit card machine.  It could definitely increase its sales.  With the current security issue, many people avoid carrying a lot of cash.  Most of my friends carry less than RM100 in their wallets.  They pay everything using credit, debit cards or e-wallet too.

Offering various payment methods to customer, not only will increase the sales amount but also reduce fraud for the restaurant. I will write about restaurant frauds in another article.

When you open a restaurant, please get ready with QR pay system and credit card machine.