There has been more than a few times in my life that I stepped up to a counter to order food only to find out that they only accepted cash. Is there anything more disappointing? So much of a good meal is the anticipation that comes with it. Waiting in line to order, watching your food cook in a pan, sitting with your friends salivating over everyone else’s order. But all of that anticipation can be turned to disappointment at the sight of one of those god-awful “Cash Only” signs.
So, do I think the movement for some food establishments, like TRU Deli and Wine in North Carolina, to stop accepting cash and only cards is a good one? Sure I do. And here’s why: Nearly everyone who chooses to go out to eat carries some type of card, whether credit or debit. Will it alienate some potential consumers? Maybe, but probably not. Even if you show up and learn that they are card only, you’re not left high and hungry like being cashless at a cash only debacle.
TRU Deli’s owner, Dwight Debree, chooses to use the San Francisco based company Square as his company’s card reader, and says that not using cash has sped up the ordering and serving process. He also says that though there is a fee that goes along with only using cards, the money is more than made back through the increased efficiency.
Will all restaurants adopt this trend? Obviously, no. But should they? Hell ya! Carrying cash is so 2012.
