Transaction Tips
Eliminate Illegible Sales Drafts (Retail)
When customers don't recognize transactions on their monthly credit card statements, they typically call their card Issuer and request a copy of the sales draft in question. This means that the original or a copy of the original sales draft must first be retrieved from wherever it is stored—your establishment, a central merchant location such as your corporate headquarters, your processor, or the merchant financial institution with which you have your credit card merchant agreement.
The sales draft must then be photocopied and/or image-scanned and the copy mailed or electronically sent via your merchant financial institution or processor to the card Issuer for the cardholder. In most cases, the cardholder will recognize the transaction in question from the copy of the sales draft and that's the end of it. However...
Illegibility Defeats the Purpose
If the printing of the original sales draft is too light, too small, or on colored paper, the draft will not copy or scan legibly. Since an illegible copy of a sales draft defeats the purpose of the copy request, the transaction may be returned to you as a chargeback for "illegible copy." And, unless the legibility of the sales draft can be improved, you may end up taking a loss on that transaction.
Tips to Improve Profitability with Legible Sales Drafts
As the owner or manager of your establishment, you are in the best position to help your company avoid this costly problem. You can improve customer service and profitability simply by making sure sales drafts are legible. The following tips will help you and your staff do just that.
Tips for Marketing Staff
Your company name, logo, or marketing message printed across the face of sales drafts can make copies illegible. Position all printing away from transaction information areas.
Tips for Administrative Staff
Copy from microfilm at original draft size. If your establishment storms sales drafts on microfilm, make copies from the microfilm at the same size as the original sales draft—reduced images result in blurred and illegible copies.
Tips for Point-of-Sale Staff
Change point-of-sale printer ribbon routinely. Faded, barely visible ink on sales drafts is the number one cause of illegible sales draft copies. Make sure ribbon is printing clear and dark on every sales draft. Check ribbon legibility on all point-of-sale printers daily.
Change point-of-sale printer paper when colored streak first appears. The colored streak down the center or the edges of printer paper indicates the end of the paper roll. It also diminishes the legibility of transaction information. Change the printer paper as soon as this colored warning streak appears—photocopy this to see why!
Keep white copy of sales draft receipt—give customers colored copy. Keep the white copy of sales drafts; the color won't matter to your customers. Since colored paper does not copy as clearly as white paper, it often results in illegible copies.
Handle carbonless paper and carbon/silver-backed paper carefully. Silver-backed paper appears black when copied. Any pressure on carbonless and carbon-backed paper during handling and storage causes black blotches, making copies illegible. Always handle this type of paper with care!
Using Your Magnetic Stripe Reader
Spectrum urges you as a retail merchant to take full advantage of your magnetic stripe reader equipment at the point of sale. The magnetic stripe on credit cards contains important information used by card issuers in making authorization decisions and in verifying that the card being used is not counterfeit.
By taking the following simple steps, you help ensure your magnetic stripe readers are in good working order and that Visa cards are being properly read.
Learn to swipe a card properly
· Look at the card. Hold it so the magnetic stripe (the brown stripe on the back of the card) faces the reader.
· Always swipe the card in the direction of the arrow(s) shown on the reader.
· Never swipe a card in both directions. Swiping a card back and forth prevents the reader from reading the stripe properly.
· Never swipe a card through a reader at an angle. The card should be held steady and the swipe should be made straight through the reader.
Reduce the number of key-entered transactions
The following steps should help reduce the number of key-entered transactions. These transactions tend to have a higher decline rate as well as a higher incidence of fraud, copy requests, and chargebacks.
- Train associates, on a regular basis, to swipe a card properly.
- Develop a register prompt to remind associates to imprint the draft.
- Implement a register change that does not allow the manual entry of an account number unless the magnetic stripe reader has been activated.
- Require manager approval of all key-entered transactions.
- Look at the credit card security features more closely. Read the Guide to a Transaction for a step-by-step guide on accepting credit cards.
- Check magnetic stripe readers regularly at each register to be sure they are turned on and operating properly.
- Clean your magnetic stripe reader heads several times a year—it only takes a few seconds and will help ensure continued good reader operation. If you don't already have a supply of cleaners, contact Spectrum and ask for a terminal cleaner.
- Remove any obstructions that could prevent a card from being swiped straight through the reader in one easy movement.
- Keep the point of sale clear of any items that could soil or damage magnetic stripe readers— particularly food or beverages.
- Place pads that deactivate magnetic anti-theft devices where cardholders can't place their cards on them. These pads can erase the card's magnetic stripe.
- Calculate the percentage of key-entered transactions compared to total transactions for each magnetic stripe reader. These ratings can be very revealing, pinpointing which stores, which readers, and even which sales associates have high key-entered transaction rates.
Calculation: Divide the number of key-entered transactions by the total number of transactions for each magnetic stripe reader. Perform this calculation for each sales shift to determine the "reader rate per sales associate." Monitor the rates for key-entered transactions and watch for significant increases in the rates. A jump in the rate could indicate a problem with a terminal or the need for additional sales staff training.