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Are you saying the new Costco in North Plainfield with the Costco Liquor store in it is not real?
It is a real liquor store, but it is not a COSTCO liquor store.
Imagine my shock when I entered, only to find a fairly small section for liquor, lacking the excellent quality and excellently-priced Kirkland liquor & wine brands, and having prices that were not any lower than what I could find at the local Mom & Pop liquor store.
My first tip-off that something was amiss was when I found out that you have to pay for your liquor purchases in that small area of the store, and that you cannot pay for liquor + everything else at the same time when you do your usual check-out after shopping for all of your purchases.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan
The store has a legitimate reason for not taking credit under a certain amount. They have margins that need to be maintained and the rates charged by the credit card companies don't make sense on minimal purchases.
You are being inconsiderate to both the store owner and those waiting behind you in line if you charge something to your credit card that costs under $10.
I am not disputing that there are margins involved, but it is reality that the Visa & MasterCard merchant agreements specifically state that merchants cannot impose a minimum purchase amount for the use of those credit cards.
As to "being inconsiderate to those waiting in line", my credit card purchases take only a fraction of the time that is involved with cash purchases. I am always appalled at how long it takes for cash purchases to be completed, as compared to my one swipe and I'm finished credit card purchases.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyStrong1
It is not real. I have personally asked a cashier in the North Plainfield store. That is why they don't carry Kirkland brand liquors and their prices for other brands suck.
Exactly!
I asked the manager of that particular Costco why they had a non-Costco liquor department, and I was told that it was "as a convenience to our customers".
Convenient?
Yes
Equivalent to the Costco liquor departments in Edison & Wayne?
Absolutely not!
The store has a legitimate reason for not taking credit under a certain amount. They have margins that need to be maintained and the rates charged by the credit card companies don't make sense on minimal purchases.
You are being inconsiderate to both the store owner and those waiting behind you in line if you charge something to your credit card that costs under $10.
i don't agree with this statement at all, i understand that businesses pay a percentage of the transaction with amex being higher than visa and MC, but it is against the terms and conditions w/ the CC company for the business to have a minimum price and can in fact lose their relationship with the CC company. offering CC purchases is a convenience to the customer and should be factored into the cost of doing business or at least their pricing, if a place doesn't offer CC purchases at all than they will alienate a good percentage of customers so having CC purchase ability brings in more customers. i understand the cash only places and respect that more than locations with minimum purchases.
living a good portion of my life in the Rutgers area, i have come across countless stores that charge a minimum and i have also seen a few of those places get protested by students and change their policy at the risk of losing CC transaction ability.
and to the point that its inconsiderate to the customers behind you... i feel the same way about people who pay cash and don't get me started about those who wait till the total is presented to them to begin looking for the cash in their wallets/handbags. have your money out and waiting, its not like the payment part is a surprise
and to the point that its inconsiderate to the customers behind you... i feel the same way about people who pay cash and don't get me started about those who wait till the total is presented to them to begin looking for the cash in their wallets/handbags. have your money out and waiting, its not like the payment part is a surprise
Precisely
My credit card transactions take less time than a cash-based transaction under normal circumstances. However, when you have one of those customers who react with surprise at the end of the transaction when payment is requested, and they then have to first start digging for the appropriate money, the process becomes almost glacial in its slowness.
I don't want to resort to stereotype, but it seems that--more often than not--older women are the ones who seem to be taken by surprise by the payment part of the shopping experience. The cash payment process often goes something like this:
Customer looks shocked when payment is requested
Customer retrieves purse from shopping cart
Customer opens purse
Customer rummages around in purse for wallet/change purse
Customer looks--slowly--through wallet/change purse for appropriate bills
Customer looks--even more slowly--to see if she has the exact amount, usually involving several elusive pennies
Customer slowly counts the money into the cashier's hand
Cashier enters tendered amount into keyboard and then opens cash drawer
Cashier places bills (and coins) into their appropriate spaces in the cash drawer
Cashier refers to digital read-out in order to retrieve the correct amount of change--if necessary
Cashier recounts amount of change in order to not make a mistake
Cashier counts out change into customer's hand
Customer opens purse, takes out wallet/change purse in order to place change securely into the wallet/change purse
Customer places purse back into shopping cart before leaving the cash register
Meanwhile, because I was at a different cash register and I paid with my credit card, I am already in my car a couple of blocks away before the cash customer has even exited the store.
It is a real liquor store, but it is not a COSTCO liquor store.
Imagine my shock when I entered, only to find a fairly small section for liquor, lacking the excellent quality and excellently-priced Kirkland liquor & wine brands, and having prices that were not any lower than what I could find at the local Mom & Pop liquor store.
My first tip-off that something was amiss was when I found out that you have to pay for your liquor purchases in that small area of the store, and that you cannot pay for liquor + everything else at the same time when you do your usual check-out after shopping for all of your purchases.
I am not disputing that there are margins involved, but it is reality that the Visa & MasterCard merchant agreements specifically state that merchants cannot impose a minimum purchase amount for the use of those credit cards.
As to "being inconsiderate to those waiting in line", my credit card purchases take only a fraction of the time that is involved with cash purchases. I am always appalled at how long it takes for cash purchases to be completed, as compared to my one swipe and I'm finished credit card purchases.
Exactly!
I asked the manager of that particular Costco why they had a non-Costco liquor department, and I was told that it was "as a convenience to our customers".
Convenient?
Yes
Equivalent to the Costco liquor departments in Edison & Wayne?
Absolutely not!
This is due to NJ laws, which prohibit any corporation from owning more than 2 retail liquor licenses. So in order for a chain like Costco to have liquor sales in more than 2 of it's stores, they have to have it owned and run by another entity that is NOT Costco. That is why your purchase must be done in that section by law, it is basically a separate store that Costco brought in to be able to sell liquor to its' customers.
This is due to NJ laws, which prohibit any corporation from owning more than 2 retail liquor licenses. So in order for a chain like Costco to have liquor sales in more than 2 of it's stores, they have to have it owned and run by another entity that is NOT Costco. That is why your purchase must be done in that section by law, it is basically a separate store that Costco brought in to be able to sell liquor to its' customers.
I am aware of this archaic part of NJ's liquor laws, but I thank you for mentioning this for the benefit of folks who might be unaware of it. This reality can also been seen at several Wegman's locations where the liquor department is run by a separate entity.
I don't want to resort to stereotype, but it seems that--more often than not--older women are the ones who seem to be taken by surprise by the payment part of the shopping experience. The cash payment process often goes something like this:
Customer looks shocked when payment is requested
Customer retrieves purse from shopping cart
Customer opens purse
Customer rummages around in purse for wallet/change purse
Customer looks--slowly--through wallet/change purse for appropriate bills
Customer looks--even more slowly--to see if she has the exact amount, usually involving several elusive pennies
Customer slowly counts the money into the cashier's hand
Cashier enters tendered amount into keyboard and then opens cash drawer
Cashier places bills (and coins) into their appropriate spaces in the cash drawer
Cashier refers to digital read-out in order to retrieve the correct amount of change--if necessary
Cashier recounts amount of change in order to not make a mistake
Cashier counts out change into customer's hand
Customer opens purse, takes out wallet/change purse in order to place change securely into the wallet/change purse Customer straightens out bills, turns them all in the same direction, and files them in numerical sequence
Customer puts change in change section
Customer places purse back into shopping cart before leaving the cash register
My credit card transactions take less time than a cash-based transaction under normal circumstances. However, when you have one of those customers who react with surprise at the end of the transaction when payment is requested, and they then have to first start digging for the appropriate money, the process becomes almost glacial in its slowness.
I don't want to resort to stereotype, but it seems that--more often than not--older women are the ones who seem to be taken by surprise by the payment part of the shopping experience. The cash payment process often goes something like this:
Customer looks shocked when payment is requested
Customer retrieves purse from shopping cart
Customer opens purse
Customer rummages around in purse for wallet/change purse
Customer looks--slowly--through wallet/change purse for appropriate bills
Customer looks--even more slowly--to see if she has the exact amount, usually involving several elusive pennies
Customer slowly counts the money into the cashier's hand
Cashier enters tendered amount into keyboard and then opens cash drawer
Cashier places bills (and coins) into their appropriate spaces in the cash drawer
Cashier refers to digital read-out in order to retrieve the correct amount of change--if necessary
Cashier recounts amount of change in order to not make a mistake
Cashier counts out change into customer's hand
Customer opens purse, takes out wallet/change purse in order to place change securely into the wallet/change purse
Customer places purse back into shopping cart before leaving the cash register
Meanwhile, because I was at a different cash register and I paid with my credit card, I am already in my car a couple of blocks away before the cash customer has even exited the store.
I was all set to believe that you paid with crdit to save precious time.... and then I saw the time you spent on this post!
Thank you for including those vital steps in the ultra-efficient process of paying with cash.
Paying with cash--the process that is much time-efficient and more considerate of other customers, as compared to the inconsiderate people like me who use a credit card.
I've always hated how many restaurants don't clearly state the prices of their alcoholic beverages. Maybe most people don't care what they're paying for a drink.
A liquor store that I used to go to sells mostly expired craft beer. I bought a six pack that I noticed when I got home had expired 2 years ago. The store hadn't even been open that long. When I finally found a brand that wasn't expired, they made me pay the difference, which was of course below the credit card minimum.
craft beer is great if you age it. i didn't even know they had expiration dates on them. i age most of my craft beer purchases for at least 1 year.
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