Keeping it personal ?

DOC · 05-04-2006, 03:27 AM

Hi all,
currently we are reviewing our payment options and would like an honest feedback from the forums punters as to thier thoughts.

We have 2 options
1. we stay as we are and that is currently we personally ring and arrange CC payments or people can direct deposit / send in a cheque etc.

This option allows us to maintain a personal approach with our customer base and also allows us to keep prices lower as by processing our own payments a slice does not go to the middle man.

or we move to an automated gateway like paymenow etc these will take away the personal approach from us and increase prices.

i think everyone knows there's no free lunch and costs must be absorbed somewhere, but it will allow for a faster / instant payment online but in doing this reduce the payment options. ie probably only get to use a plastic card or a no go.

yes there are systems available that do cover even more options but with that comes even more costs.

we already know people want better service but where do they want to draw the lines.

the questions are
1.keep a personalised service with lower costs to you
or
2.hang the expense and rubbish just want my gear

thanks to all who help out we will take these results as a good guide to what people want out in the real wourld and your thoughts are appreciated.

in addition if you want to add any suggestions good or bad about our service and or in general ( but don't name the store ) that could also be of help would love to hear them.

Cheers
Pete

qwigybo · 05-04-2006, 05:32 AM

personally i don't trust those online payment companies, i prefer to direct deposit to someones account that way i know they got the money and only that amount from my account, credit card payments over the net just seem wrong to me

EA2BA · 05-04-2006, 09:24 AM

Personally I much prefer to do everything on-line, paid for, confirmed, and then delivered, if I had to wait to be called to place a CC order I would more then likely go else where if I was in a big hurry or really busy.

fiery · 05-04-2006, 09:32 AM

Well my choice would have to be the personal service and the lower cost to us the customers..

But of course in saying that there are going to be those that think waiting an extra hour for something is like cutting their arm off and wont like it, but personally, I would prefer to wait an extra few days to get something and save money that I can then spend on my car (or put it into the I Want Go Quick Bits savings account)... But, hey thats just me...

Cheers
Kerri :eclipsee_

Penelope Pitstop · 05-04-2006, 09:54 AM

I am the most impatient person in the world so I would say go automated...

The beauty of the internet is that you go pick a product, purchase it and have it delivered all without having to actually talk to someone... I actually prefer this method and would pay slightly extra for it.

I don't worry about security when using the internet as most banks have a very pro active fraud department and sort out bad transactions fairly quickly.

ronwest · 05-04-2006, 11:21 AM

I've written 3 cheques in the last 2 years.

My personal preferences are BPay (is that an option for you?) or Direct Deposit.

I would definitely be in the automated group.

DOC · 05-04-2006, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronwest

I've written 3 cheques in the last 2 years.
My personal preferences are BPay (is that an option for you?) or Direct Deposit.
I would definitely be in the automated group.

Yes BPay and direct deposits are options we can / have allready, as for delays there are none in the processing of orders the only diference is with a CC payment, is we would make a personal call and take the details on the spot ( but these details are not stored anywhere and would need to be done everytime )

Cheers for the votes so far appreciated.
Pete

chief · 05-04-2006, 11:53 AM

Hey Pete. I voted to keep it personal. I think that business' will be better off by keeping it personal. Talking to their clients. Not many business' do this now. With the automation is it about 4% of the transaction goes to the CC company and on top of that a lease on the machine. Stay competitive by being personal.

Casper · 05-04-2006, 01:58 PM

Keep it personal Doc, thats what seperates you from all the rest. If people are in a rel hurry they are just going to drive to supercheap anyhow.

flappist · 05-04-2006, 02:19 PM

I agree with Casper. I buy from people not companies.......

**Raptor** · 05-04-2006, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penelope Pitstop

.....
The beauty of the internet is that you go pick a product, purchase it and have it delivered all without having to actually talk to someone... I actually prefer this method and would pay slightly extra for it.

.....

I agree with this BUT I should still be paying less than a shopfront with all their inventory and other overheads AND I don't want to be paying unneccesary processing fees (either directly or indirectly in the purchase price). Therefore, direct deposit into your account works for me and I'm usually happiest with email contact if you want/need to contact me.

People ringing me up unannounced P I S S E S me off!

Telemarketers beware! :SaiyanSmi

[edit] Now I don't know how to vote

:
I'll assume email = personal contact and vote for that.

phoon · 05-04-2006, 02:22 PM

I cancelled my cheque book 2 years ago when I realised I had only written 1 cheque in 12 months and was getting charged a fee by the bank for having a cheque book. I now do everything with online payments and I understand that there is an added cost for doing this that I dont expect the business Im dealing with to incur. Its a hard one for any business, cause there are also people who still like the personal touch. Is there a reason you cant keep both methods going and if people want to pay online, you just let them know on your site that there is an added cost for online payments through Bpay or whoever you use? If there is no extra cost to your'e business, you may pick up more customers by having both methods. Best of luck which ever way you go.

Cheers

Jeff

Laminge · 05-04-2006, 02:40 PM

I prefer online payment and ordering, the less human contact I have the better it is.

rob_liss_lms10 · 05-04-2006, 02:53 PM

bpay all the way!

megsy · 05-04-2006, 05:34 PM

Most people who use the internet for ordering have some form of online banking (bpay, bank deposit) so personally i think paying for a middleman is not needed. i know how frustrating using a middleman can be as i have used paypal a bit and seem to lose a lot of my money in fees of some kind.

dont use a middleman, insted use over the phone creditcard or bpay/direct deposit and email as much as you can, unless you need to call, dont.

MoreHPformyXR6 · 05-04-2006, 05:38 PM

G'Day Pete
Is BPay & Direct Deposit Option 1? If it is thats my vote.
Cheers
Scott

DOC · 05-04-2006, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoreHPformyXR6

G'Day Pete
Is BPay & Direct Deposit Option 1? If it is thats my vote.
Cheers
Scott

Hi Scott, the current options are

Bankcard ( PC )
Cheque
Direct Deposit
Master card ( PC )
Money Order
Visa ( PC )

PC = phone call

so i suppose it is for those that wish to pay with a card and do they wish it to be as per the question.

we can easily go to pay on line as you order but we then have to eliminate the direct deposit, cheque and money order as the sytems available to us do not support all optione we have now.

a possibility is we keep what we have and add postbillpay which will keep what we have plus add some extra options like paying online etc.

to do this we would still need some workarounds but may be an option

cheers for the results so far as the results are as i thought but surprising my partner.

ultimatley it would be nice to keep everyone happy.

Pete

View Poll Results: Your choice
1. Keep it personal	19	70.37%
2. Hang the expense and chatter just want to place the order	8	29.63%
Voters: 27. You may not vote on this poll