Bill Acceptors Worth It?

[wash12]

Hi currently have 4 self serve bays that take quarters and credit cards, I am thinking about adding in bill acceptors in the self serves. I would like to hear from anyone that has this and see if it has increased averages and if customers use them more then going to change machine and getting quarters, customers are in a habit of using change machine so would be a learning curve.

Reasons I want to do this are,
1. less frequent trips to fill change machine and if change machine is down for any reason they can use bills in bay.

2. Hoping it will increase the cash ticket average.

My biggest worry is security as it is unattended and thieves are more tempted to break in for bills over coins.

Would be putting in Etowah stand alone bill acceptor so would have 3 seperate boxes in bay, quarter box, card box and bill box. I wish I had them all in one box but to expensive that way. Would appreciate any input on this!

 

[mjwalsh]

Hi currently have 4 self serve bays that take quarters and credit cards, I am thinking about adding in bill acceptors in the self serves. I would like to hear from anyone that has this and see if it has increased averages and if customers use them more then going to change machine and getting quarters, customers are in a habit of using change machine so would be a learning curve.

Reasons I want to do this are,
1. less frequent trips to fill change machine and if change machine is down for any reason they can use bills in bay.

2. Hoping it will increase the cash ticket average.

My biggest worry is security as it is unattended and thieves are more tempted to break in for bills over coins.

Would be putting in Etowah stand alone bill acceptor so would have 3 seperate boxes in bay, quarter box, card box and bill box. I wish I had them all in one box but to expensive that way. Would appreciate any input on this!

wash12 & others,

I know I am talking a concept now & it possibly is not too late for some operators to arrange it. I am speaking from experience of successfully having an ATM now for over 6 years, two 4 hopper Std ChangeMakers, & bill acceptors in each of 6 bays.

The ideal would be to have a built into the wall 100% theft & vandal proof ATM or even two considering their relatively low cost. The ATM(s) would accept cards & phone interaction. It or they would dispense the more water proof car wash friendly durable higher denomination coin such as dollar coins & hopefully higher along with having an option for big bills if the end customer chooses. Dual output ATMs do exist! No acceptance of inflation obsolete quarters since the ATM would only dispense dollar coins or higher.

Maybe it sounds too logical for the possibly overwhelming number of political hacks who seem to get their way a bit too often?

www.kingkoin.com

 

[soapy]

I estimate that about 40% of ,my SS is with credit cards and 40% with quarters still and only about 20% is with bills. I even give a 10% bonus with a $5 bill and 20% with a $10.

 

[MEP001]

We pull about half as many bills from the bays as we do from the changer. Going by the number of $5 bills the bays take, I'm sure more than a few end up leaving with time left. I don't have actual numbers there for lack of a way to track it.

 

[Randy]

As the bill validators fail in our bay boxes from water damage or when they are vandalized we have been pulling out and not replacing them. They do seem to be a major target for the vandals. After watching video of vandals popping open a coin box with a bill validator faster than I can open it with keys we decided to pull them out when they fail. Credit and Debit cards are the way to go.

 

[chaz]

I take bills, credit/debit, quarters and dollar coins. I do get lots of bills, but still lots of coins. Amazing how many customers still don’t realize you can use paper at the bay. If you are looking for a quick way to increase revenue....I’d suggest you accept dollar coins AND quarters at the bay, assuming you have multi coin acceptors this will be easy. Then dispense only dollar coins from your changer. The result will be customers adding an additional dollar in many cases vs an additional quarter. You will also chase away the people that just stop by for change. I used to buy quarters each month, now I deposit bulk quarters that customers bring to me.

 

[mjwalsh]

I take bills, credit/debit, quarters and dollar coins. I do get lots of bills, but still lots of coins. Amazing how many customers still don’t realize you can use paper at the bay. If you are looking for a quick way to increase revenue....I’d suggest you accept dollar coins AND quarters at the bay, assuming you have multi coin acceptors this will be easy. Then dispense only dollar coins from your changer. The result will be customers adding an additional dollar in many cases vs an additional quarter. You will also chase away the people that just stop by for change. I used to buy quarters each month, now I deposit bulk quarters that customers bring to me.

Chaz, Good Strategy!

Just to add a variation & still accept credit/debit etc. ... I think some of us operators should check to see if there is a strong dominance of Banks & Credit Unions in their area that take care of (with zero hassles) all ATM fees. That is the case in our area. The concept that I mentioned in my previous post with an ATM or even possibly two built in a solid wall could work. Every security technique could be used to actually prevent &/or mitigate any break-ins. A large percentage of us are not 24/7 so our lock up ability could make things even more "fail safe" security wise. We have just been giving out $5s in our ATM now for over 6 years which could make them less attractive it seems to criminals than some ATMs that give out 20s, 50s & even 100s like at truck stops.

If enough support from us is shown to editors in places like https://www.atmmarketplace.com/about-us/ it could help cause more of those dual (bills & dollar coins) dispensing ATMs to become more available & surprisingly at a very low price point. Based on the huge success a large number of laundromat owners have had with ATMs & their more mature industry reliability factor ... I would say it could be a great alternative option also for the self service car wash industry!

Based on experience: Coin Hopper reliability is actually a bit better than Bill Canister dispensing reliability. Both have proved themselves to be really good from our experience so dual within one machine is something that could even be offered by more than one brand of ATM which would also be helpful from a healthy competition point of view!

www.kingkoin.com

 

[Roz]

We got out of the quarter dispensing business by converting our changer to dispense dollar tokens. Customers like the tokens since you carry 1/4 the number for the same amount $ and we give a 10% bonus for a $10 and a 20% bonus for a $20 in the changer. We now get more $10s & $20s in the changer however the crypto pay swipers was the best move to increase average ticket number. Our custom tokens are good for vacs, SS, and vending. Feedback from customers has been very positive wrt the dollar tokens and we get them away from thinking in 25cent increments.