Square Empowers Phoenix Food Industry Startups

If you’ve eaten from a local food truck, or purchased from local startups and independents, you may already be familiar with Square, a new payments system enabling small businesses to accept credit cards on their mobile device. Any business, no matter big or small can accept all forms of payment with Square’s free app and card reader with no need for an expensive merchant system.

We have many Square users in the Valley (I’m a Square user myself and several family members use it as well). We had the opportunity to ask a couple of Square users in our local food industry (both of whom you might be familiar with) about how its service has impacted their business. Read the interviews below:

Brad Moore, owner of Short Leash Hot Dogs – a mobile hotdog eatery, originally launched as a cash-only business due to the hefty fees and expensive hardware associated with traditional merchant accounts. Throughout the day they would turn away business because they couldn’t accept credit or debit cards…until Square. Square made it convenient for them to accept credit card payments anywhere they parked their food truck. Brad speaks about how he first learned about Square, “A friend who uses it to sell BBQ told us about it and we got all the trucks on board because we run a group called ‘Phoenix Street Food Coalition’.”

PhoenixBites: Have you seen an increase in profits since accepting credit card payments with Square?

Short Leash Hot Dogs: Quite a bit; not a lot of people carry cash anymore so people love seeing that we can take cards. They also think it’s really “cool”, so people get a kick out of it.

PhoenixBites: What kind of feedback have you received from your customers after using Square?

Short Leash Hot Dogs: Nothing but positive; it’s seamless. The only request we have gotten is they want to see card case on the phone.

PhoenixBites: How has Square changed your business? Would you encourage other local business to use Square for credit card payments?

Short Leash Hot Dogs: Square has allowed us to be more flexible and take on more customers. It has also helped us when doing large jobs because they all want to use credit cards. It’s a fun gadget too, so people like to ask questions and talk about it. Great conversation starter. We have recommended it to a lot of people – both customers and mostly the other trucks. We have friends that hate their terminals from the bank and always have issues and they have switched to Square. Really, we have no complaints and we love how it affected our business.

Matt Pool, owner of Giant Coffee, attempted to run a cash-only business at his café. Only a month later after endless requests, he began researching payment systems and discovered Square through a recommendation  and has seen an increase in sales and received praises from his customers who preferred credit/debit card payments over cash. Matt speaks about the opening of his café and the cash-only policy, “Because of the high costs associated with processing cards via a traditional merchant bank, we wanted to try to keep our costs down and pass the savings on to our customers. The average customer has no idea how expensive it is for small businesses to accept credit cards the standard way. On a regular cup of coffee purchased with a credit or debit card, the fee charged to the merchant can be as high as 13 or 14 percent when the swipe fee is figured in. I initially learned about Square after reading an article about a coffee shop in San Francisco named Sightglass Coffee,  that was, I believe, the first Square account and also kind of where the product was tested.”

PhoenixBites: Have you seen an increase in profits since accepting credit card payments with Square?

Giant Coffee: We have definitely seen an increase in profits since we began using Square.  Not only are our sales up since people tend to make higher purchases, since Square doesn’t charge a swipe fee it really helps keep costs down and makes a big difference over the course of a month or year when compared to a traditional merchant processor. Square charges a flat 2.75% for every sale, every time without gimmicks or hidden fees. Also the savings are even greater when you consider there is no monthly or annual service fee.

PhoenixBites: What kind of feedback have you received from your customers after using Square?

Giant Coffee: The feedback from customers has been enthusiastically positive. Not only do they appreciate being able to use their cards, they enjoy participating in the transaction by signing with their finger. I honestly have never heard one negative comment. Even more importantly, we have not had one single charge back, which is particularly noteworthy since the customer never receives a physical receipt.

PhoenixBites: How has Square changed your business? Would you encourage other local business to use Square for credit card payments?

Giant Coffee: Square has changed our business in a very positive way. Customers are pleased because they can pay by card in a quick and seamless fashion.  As a merchant, we are equally pleased because using Square allows us to process cards without being burdened by oppressive fees charged by traditional processors. The design of Square and its integration with the iPad also really is a good addition to the aesthetic of our shop which has more of a modern meets industrial design. Using Square also demonstrates to the public that you are a different kind of business that is not stuck in the past and is open to new technology, which is something that is not lost on a good portion of our clientele.

I would definitely recommend using Square to any new business. The customer service is unparalleled in its level of quality, the product itself is easy to use and virtually error free and most importantly it increases a company’s efficiency and saves money for the proprietor at the same time. Also, it’s much more enjoyable to think that the fees I am paying are going to an exciting and successful startup like Square rather than to a traditional old-fashioned bank that may or may not care about my business.

For more information about Square or to request a card reader for your own business, visit squareup.com.