Do you want your receipt?

This is the question I get every time I order a Frap at Starbucks. It may be true that everything comes at a cost. I do not mean to sound cheap or complaisant but when I pay for something it should be logical that I as the customer should confirm that my bill reflects my order as such by opting out and not getting a receipt opens the possibility of being overcharged and not knowing. Then again it is one less wasted resource which ends up in the trash. I wonder if their purpose is environmental or overhead based nonetheless it makes me wonder.

Thinking positive leads me to think that perhaps the move is based on saving trees and reducing the need to waste paper on receipts. Then again I cant help but think that perhaps I am wrong. Maybe it is just a strategy to reduce paper for budgetary purposes. When running a business every item no matter how little carries a cost. Even if the receipt was worth a fraction of a penny when you add up millions or fraps per day they eventually add up to some crazy cost. I can understand this logic but for a company as big as Starbucks they sure can make some changes to their Point of Sale Technology. A second observation leads me to think they are not really paying attention to the Billing strategy or perhaps they are just too busy collecting imported coffee beans which they are exports in thus missing the positive opportunities through technology.

Being I am a regular customer it is safe to say I have made some friends at the local drive thru as such whenever I have spare change or cash on me I leave a tip. I feel obligated to do so simply because there is a tip jar and the personalities are greet-full and happy which is not what I drive off with when I end up paying with Credit Card. See this is somewhat of an annoyance not only to me the customer but also the Baristas at duty. It seems that the Point of Sale terminal does not support tips because there is no way to add one when paying with credit. Ether it is not supported by the Billing system they use or they just disable that feature which leaves their staff with missing profits each time while also disabling the customer the ability to make an effort to tip each time. These modern times it is rare that the average customer has cash on therm. 1 our of 3 of my friends always pays with credit card which makes having to carry money a no brainer. Cash is king but not in the customer convenience department. As a customer of Visa or Mastercard or any Major Credit Card for that matter I have the ability to dispute charges as such if I was charged more then I was supposed to get charged I can always take the matter to the bank. With cash there is no such thing as a charge back or dispute unless you happen to have a camera recording the actual transaction which is never going to be the case.

So going back to my initial observation with the receipts, it is safe to assume that with their current policy you may be getting charged more and never know it because you are paying with a default luxury of not obtaining a receipt with the disadvantage of also upsetting staff since they will not get tip due to the way their Payment systems is setup. At the end the friendly staff looses out and so does the customer.

Possible solutions may vary based on logical strategies, here are some suggestions. Opt the customer to receive their receipt by email. Simply flag the Credit Card number or string to a particular customer and store that customers email in the system if they choose to use this method. This saves papers, improve company image and helps build a client database. Enable tips and capture it before completing the sale - it is only right for your staff. One step beyond this is enable account creation for customers through their receipt / email and allow them to set a default tip amount as part of each transaction they incur. Lastly capture some sort of signature for credit card transactions so that each sale is authenticated and valid should there be any chargebacks and I am sure for a company as large as Starbucks there are more then they would care to admit. Additionally once these things are in place create a loyalty system based on points which may add up to a free drink. This is trivial and most other businesses do this to help keep customers coming back.

Reason I am writing this is that not only are these things important to address but as of recently the prices of Fraps went up by ¢.40 and without any prior communication I thought I was being ripped off as such by asking I was told all the Starbucks raised their prices so I just realized that perhaps it would only be fair to express my opinion on all matters Billing and what poor job they are currently doing.

Aside from this I think their Dark Cherry Mocha Frap is great!

Building the most advanced credit card terminal

It all started about a year ago on a sketch pad and some free time. Ideas come and go however ever since the introduction of the iPhone as a platform for developers to use creative freedom to design and develop ultimately lead me to continue to push the idea forward and eventually putting it into production with the aid of a coworker and friend. As technologies change so do ways we look and do day to day tasks. Being a previous business owner myself I felt addressing a very important challenge meant that I had to address some items that were not currently available on any app that was out at the time. It was obvious I had a need to make something cool but at the same time usable day to day for anyone looking to process a credit card payment on the iPhone.

There were a hand full of apps that offered basic functionality and most looked like a basic calculator. Some even looked like basic web forms which made the process ugly and unattractive to use. I am a designer so I first tackle that portion of the project followed by the workflow and usability aspects. I leave the technical part to my hired hand. A very talented hand at that. See I work as a weathered senior project manager so working on technical projects is my day to day and so this project was not something I was trying out instead it felt a lot like work once I had my interface and functioned defined.

A few blinks later I had a working demo which made the once idea a reality. Thinking back it felt all too easy to put something like this together. It made me want to start something big from this app and expand its capabilities to do much more then it was intended for however some things held me back. These things were relative to usability and practicality. See it addresses a basic need to process credit card payments while feeling and looking better then most. After it's initial release the app built a positive buzz and eventually caught the eyes of Apple. Randomly my site traffic and sales reports were at 5000% higher over night and to my amazement it was due to the app being featured on the front page of the app store. The fame lasted a solid week. The roller coaster ride was a amazing for it helped me recover my initial investment and as such helped me realize both my hired hand and I did an excellent app.

Credit Card Terminals traditionally require countertop stationary physical space, paper rolls, stylus pens, swivel bases, cords, power brick, inks and other materials that compose the actual unit. This is how these units have always been, physical plastic boxes with small LCD or calculator button like interfaces. The newest of these terminals are now available in wireless form which enabled merchants the option to take the terminal with them and process payments on the go. These units are heavy, large and very expensive. Typically a basic wireless terminal will retail for over $500. This is where my app comes into focus as an alternative to the previous wheels in motion. Billing Credit Card Terminal provides the same security and verification mandated by Authorize.net a leading online gateway which powered millions of merchants in the US. As such since the market type is "Internet" there is no need for physical swipe and as such the protocol is "Internet" secure transaction so we do without the need for any extra peripherals, paper, inks or pens. The Idea is simple: Sign with your finger, Select your tip with the interactive slider, email the electronic receipt complete with signature, copy yourself on that email and presto you have a new wheel in which your business now does credit card transactions. Both merchants and customers participate and both benefit in helping keep the process green and friendly for the environment.

Billing Credit Card Terminal is the first and original Signature Capture and Tip enabled with email receipt all-in-one iPhone app. Since it's introduction most apps have replicated and copied our efforts however we remain focused on upcoming additions to further enhance and expands its core feature set. We remain the only app to force Qualified Internet Exchange Rate through our Apps process for each transaction.