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Author Topic: Do you charge your customers a service charge if they pay with a credit card? Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 11-26-2006 12:06 PM                    The Carmike theater in Dover, Delaware does. At least at the box office. We didn't try the concession stand to see if they do too. I've never heard of a theater doing that. Do all Carmikes do that? Does anyone else do that? That irritated the crap out of us, and I'm sure we're not the only customers of theirs that felt that way.  |  IP: Logged Steve Scott Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1300 From: Minneapolis, MN Registered: Sep 2000 posted 11-26-2006 12:11 PM                     That's a lot of small change floating around... We don't charge any extra for a card. Carmike never had 0.25 increments behind their stand, either. That's inconvenient on its own  |  IP: Logged Chad M Calpito Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Apr 2006 posted 11-26-2006 12:12 PM                        Fortunately, we don't charge a service charge for credit card use at any of our Pacific Theatres location. Thank goodness we don't deal with that kind of headache.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 11-26-2006 12:38 PM                    Their service charge wasn't an even amount either: 99¢  |  IP: Logged Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 11-26-2006 01:20 PM                        That's crap. In many states you are not allowed to charge extra for the credit card. I believe your merchant agreement disallows this as well. This was how the CC companies got rid of the cash/credit prices at the gas stations. Companies that charge extra for this are not very customer-friendly.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-26-2006 01:25 PM                     Conversely, why should a theatre have to pay the CC company for the use of its card? The theatre would be just as happy to take CASH. People pay service charges everywhere if they want the luxuary of services...why not credit cards? BTW...the way around the CC fee is to install an ATM and let IT do the service charge (and the theatre can then share in the profit).  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-26-2006 02:29 PM                        You're not supposed to be able to charge a fee, but you can allow a 'cash discount.' Supposedly all the card makers have the same policy and these surcharges are 'strictly prohibited.'  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 11-26-2006 02:48 PM                    quote: Steve Guttag why should a theatre have to pay the CC company for the use of its card? Because it's the cost of doing business. It makes things easier and cleaner for everyone. The employees are handling less money so there are fewer chances of mistakes, there's less money to count and ship off to the bank at the end of the night, etc.. It's not just a luxury for the customers. And there is no way that they are paying 99¢ per credit card transaction with the credit card companies. I think this is just a slick way for them to grab more cash at the box office. quote: Mike Blakesley Supposedly all the card makers have the same policy and these surcharges are 'strictly prohibited.' Hmm. Maybe I should call Visa and complain...  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-26-2006 03:02 PM                     The rules vary by CC company. American Express has a "most favored nation" clause that if you don't charge for other CC, then you can't charge for them. I believe Visa and Mastercard have a "strictly prohibited" clause. Personally, I don't think credit card acceptence should be an entitlement. The CC companies charge their 3-5% and it is mostly the customer that benefits from the charge. But lets say that a family of four buys their tickets....the cost can easily get up to $35, depending on location and times....3% of that exceeds $1.00. Also, depending on the film and what week it is in, location, the take on the box may only be 10% of the profit. There just isn't that much left over to dole out. There are certainly ups and downs on the labor side to it in both time and mishandling of either system. Why does everything in our lives cost something for every little bit of service but Credit Cards are exempt? I swear, every time I look at my bills and see all the little fees, charges and other made up stuff...it drives me nuts...just how did the line get drawn on credit cards? Personally, I'd much rather see toll roads banned than credit card fees. Steve  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 11-26-2006 06:43 PM                        Steve; you have joined me as an "angry (young) man." Louis  |  IP: Logged Ky Boyd Hey I'm #23 Posts: 314 From: Santa Rosa, CA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-26-2006 06:45 PM                       If a theatre is charging a credit card transaction fee, then they should be reporting that fee as part of the film grosses. From the Sony Pictures Releasing MLA (Master License Agreement): Sec. IV Part C: "For purposes of calculating Film Rental, "Gross Receipts" means all monies, exclusive only of admission taxes collected as required by law, received or determined to have been received by Exhibitor for admission to Theater for the performance of the Film or when the Film should have been played, regardless of when paid." Fox, Paramount, Universal, Warners, etc. all have similar language in their contracts as well. Interestingly, NATO is joining a consortium of retailers in the Merchants Payments Coalition to mount a governmental challenge to the interchange fees, which are a portion of the fees. There is an article about it in the Oct. 2006 issue of In Focus.  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 11-26-2006 06:49 PM                     Cash is the only payment we accept, there are very few complaints.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-26-2006 07:00 PM                     Ky, It would be a legal issue since the fee charged is not for the showing of the film but to provide a service (accept the credit card)...The studio is no more entitled than they are willing to be partners in determining the gross minus the fee charged by the CC company. That is, for the $10.00 ticket, the studio is factoring on the whole $10.00, not $10.00 minus the CC fee of .30 for a 3% CC fee or $9.70. Either they are basing it on the money for the show or they aren't. The ATM in the lobby can solve both issues and it clarifies the situation. The theatre can collect a service charge on the ATM for those that don't choose to carry the legal tender of the land, the customer can pay the full ticket price, the studio gets its money...the theatre gets the few cents left over after the studio takes its cut. Either way, a service fee would not be for the license to see the film but for the exchange of monies from plastic to paper.  |  IP: Logged Jarryd Beard Expert Film Handler Posts: 229 From: Hellertown, PA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 11-26-2006 07:11 PM                     Mark, Are you sure they ran it through as a credit card? Most Carmikes do not yet accept credit cards; they only use debit. The .99 fee sounds like a debit transaction. If you go to the webpage for the Dover Carmike, only debit cards are listed as a form of electronic payment. I know the manager at the Carmike 16 in Allentown, PA. His theater is in the same district as the Dover theater and they don't accept credit. He's been told it's coming soon, however. One of the few Carmikes that does accept credit cards is in Greensburg, PA. At their webpage, it says there's a .99 fee for debit transactions, but NO fee for credit transactions. When you paid, did you type your PIN? I have a suspicion that the theater didn't accept credit cards at all and simply processed the transaction as debit. I believe it was either the September or October issue of "In Focus" magazine that had an interesting article on credit cards and the movie industry. It explained a lot about the fees businesses have to pay with credit transactions.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 11-26-2006 07:29 PM                    Hmm... that's interesting Jarryd. I didn't end up paying with my card, so I'm not sure, but what you're saying sounds like it might be a possibility. I'm hardly ever at that theater (or that mall) but the next time I'm down there I will check. I probably won't pay to watch a movie there again though given the horrible presentation they put on.  |  IP: Logged

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