Just when we thought we'd seen them all...

[HoustonPizza]

Another new scam that we’ve recently experienced. The customer phones in their order and then sits out in front of the house. Gives us a bad check – and they don’t even live there. Usually when we get a bad check we block the address – but we started seeing a pattern with the same check writer, but using multiple addresses. After talking with the drivers - they told us that the customer was sitting outside on a car and handed them the check. So the only way we can stop it is for the drivers to be on alert to people sitting outside and waiting for delivery and if they were handed a check to look at the name on the check – if it matched – refuse to give them the food. We had success the other night – our driver delivered to an apartment complex where the person was waiting outside – he looked at the check and the name matched so he told her we could not deliver because of bad checks, he took the food and left. Hopefully they will leave us alone now – since we already have 4 bad checks totally over $100. Next step is to prosecute for writing bad checks. Actually it is really a very original and smart plan…I wonder if they are doing it to the other places in the area.

 

[pizzatime]

I no longer take personal checks(unless they are a friend of the business). You can’t win with these people that don’t care and write these checks. Gone are the days of “floating”. Every checking account gets a debit card these days - they can use that.

I thought I would lose customers by refusing checks but this never happened. I do take business checks(person has more to lose)

I liked the days of cash. You got paid and everyone else did. Thoses days are gone too.

pt

 

[system]

What about a cash discount? Say 5% off your order for all cash purchases? Just a thought. :idea:

 

[GotRocks]

pizzatime:

I thought I would lose customers by refusing checks but this never happened. I do take business checks(person has more to lose)

pt

Funny you should mention that, I had only 1 check come back to me this summer stamped NSF, and it was a check from a local business. I readily take personal checks, but only if the Drivers License number is written on the check by the cashier since our state will not prosecute bad check writers unless a DL# is written on the check, this shows that ID was checked before accepting it.

As for the NSF check I did get, that $27.00 rib dinner ended up costing them at least $90.00 with the overdraft fee’s, and my returned check fee.
Hey, if $35.00 is considerecd too high of a fee for a returned check, then go bounce your bad checks someplace else.

 

[amelmor]

Back in the day, when I was pimpin’ (1989-1996) I used to take checks all the time. What I did, aside from using CheckFree to back them up if their accounts were overdrawn, was for my drivers/bodyguards to fill out a form using the driver’s license information of the customer. If the DL and the check matched, and after the form was filled out, I would take the check. Doing that for 7 years, and hundreds of checks processed, I only had 2 that were bad.

You would be suprised of how many potential bad check deals were canceled before I even sent a girl out. All I did was have the dispatcher let the customer know the driver/bodyguard would be checking their driver’s license information to make sure it matched the check. The potentially fraudulent ones would always say, “Nevermind.”

I recon you could institute a policy like this to keep the fraudulent checks to a minimum.

/it did nothing for bounced checks though.

 

[pizzapirate]

Personally, I don’t care to hear about escort services here on PMQ but I digress . . .

I just don’t see any added sales from personal checks outweighing all the hassle of security measures, the extra time it takes for someone to write a check after they’ve fumbled in their purse for 5 minutes, lost customers because they are embarrassed over bouncing a check or the anger that we would follow up, or a service would charge them a NSF fee. Most people have check cards and it is the trend. Overall, I think our time is better spent in other areas.

 

[pizzatime]

I thought he was pimping pizza :lol:

The days of floating checks are gone. I use to do it and to a small degree still do. I know how long it takes for the irs to cash that check and those extra days “floating” gives me.

One sure sign the check will bounch is if the check number is in the 100. I know you can start your new checking account at any number but beware of low check numbers.

pimp out,

pt

 

[amelmor]

pizzapirate:

Personally, I don’t care to hear about escort services here on PMQ but I digress . . .

I just don’t see any added sales from personal checks outweighing all the hassle of security measures, the extra time it takes for someone to write a check after they’ve fumbled in their purse for 5 minutes, lost customers because they are embarrassed over bouncing a check or the anger that we would follow up, or a service would charge them a NSF fee. Most people have check cards and it is the trend. Overall, I think our time is better spent in other areas.

With that snarky comment laid out up there, I’m sure I can find “PizzaPirate” on one of those old forms. Let me take a looksie… :lol:

Lighten up Francis. You didn’t hear anything about escort services. If you didn’t spend your time getting your pahnties all wadded up in a bunch, you would have found that what you heard (actually read) was a way to process checks. Jeeeeesh.