"Bonus time" vs. Cryptopay count up

[Sequoia]

I am close to installing Cryptopay for in-bay credit card acceptance. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my pricing, and what is possible.

Currently, startup is $3 for 5 1/2 minutes. Insert coins, and "count down" until you run out of time. For $5, bonus time is added so a $5 purchase gets 10 minutes of wash time. I have Dixmor LED-7 timers.

I want to try using the "count up" Cryptopay method. I believe this would work best for my area and customer.

Now my confusion: can I leave the existing "count down" using coins in place, while also having Cryptopay "count up" for credit cards? And can the timer handle adding "bonus time" for a $5 purchase using coins, but presumably not do that as you "count up" using Cryptopay?

The "bonus time" is something of a legacy from the past. As I have raised the minimum to start and cost per minute the amount of bonus is not nearly what it used to be. So if it is simpler I could just eliminate bonus time altogether, although that also means changing out my signs.

How have you handled the combination of "count down" using coins versus "count up" using Cryptopay?

 

[MEP001]

When doing count up for credit, Cryptopay time value is set through Cryptopay's site, where the cash value is set in the timer. You can set either one to whatever you want independently. If you were doing count down with Cryptopay by using coin pulses, the time is set for both exclusively in the timer and they would have to be the same.

 

[soapy]

I have had bonus time for cash for over 10 years for those using a $5 or $10 bill in cash and I also accept credit cards. I would not worry about using bonus time with a credit card. I have never had a customer ask about it.

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

I have had bonus time for cash for over 10 years for those using a $5 or $10 bill in cash and I also accept credit cards. I would not worry about using bonus time with a credit card. I have never had a customer ask about it.

What would you say the "take" rate is on the bonus time, and would you say it increases the average spend per customer?

 

[soapy]

I would say the take rate is pretty low, well below 10%. It is easy to tell when pulling the bills out of the acceptors in the bay because very few $5 bill hardly ever a $10. Those that have read the signs do use the feature often and are regulars. $5 bill is 10% bonus and a $10 is 20% more time.

 

[Jeff_L]

If you're using CC for count down now and considering to switch to count up, make sure you think about the "pre-auth" amount. Whether you go up or down you have to pre-auth for a certain amount. When I first installed CC at one of my washes, I pre-auth'd for $10, and had so many calls about "you charged me $10 for a $2 wash!". No I didn't, did you read the sign? I eventually took my pre-auth down to my start value, the calls have disappeared. I know I'm taking on the risk of the customer not having enough in their account to cover the wash, but I haven't seen that issue yet.

 

[KleanRide]

I eventually took my pre-auth down to my start value, the calls have disappeared.

Were you able to change the pre-auth in Crypto's site config page? Looked in there but couldn't find it.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I have count down for coin with bonus time and count up for Cryptopay. IIRC if the crypto hits the $5 bonus time mark, time gets added so the CC customers get the same bonus as coin customers.

 

[KleanRide]

I have count down for coin with bonus time and count up for Cryptopay. IIRC if the crypto hits the $5 bonus time mark, time gets added so the CC customers get the same bonus as coin customers.

How do you program the bonus time in Crypto? Not seeing that setting on their website interface.

 

[Earl Weiss]

How do you program the bonus time in Crypto? Not seeing that setting on their website interface.

What happened was I installed Crypto and the LED 7 had already been programmed for Bonus Time for bills / coins. . I watched it count up to the $5 amount and it added time. Apparently the LED 7 Programming for this affects both coins , Bills, and CC. You could contact Dixmor for confirmation.

 

[OurTown]

Were you able to change the pre-auth in Crypto's site config page? Looked in there but couldn't find it.

You have to contact Cryptopay and they do it on their end. Keep in mind that amount is site wide and you can't have different amounts for different swipers.

 

[MEP001]

If you're using CC for count down now and considering to switch to count up, make sure you think about the "pre-auth" amount. Whether you go up or down you have to pre-auth for a certain amount. When I first installed CC at one of my washes, I pre-auth'd for $10, and had so many calls about "you charged me $10 for a $2 wash!". No I didn't, did you read the sign? I eventually took my pre-auth down to my start value, the calls have disappeared. I know I'm taking on the risk of the customer not having enough in their account to cover the wash, but I haven't seen that issue yet.

Doesn't setting the pre-auth amount low mean the CC count up will stop when it reaches that pre-auth amount?

 

[OurTown]

Doesn't setting the pre-auth amount low mean the CC count up will stop when it reaches that pre-auth amount?

I think it will go to the max per swipe you have set up for each swiper. You can change that yourself on the website.

 

[Jeff_L]

Were you able to change the pre-auth in Crypto's site config page? Looked in there but couldn't find it.

No, you have to call cryptopay to do it.

 

[Jeff_L]

Doesn't setting the pre-auth amount low mean the CC count up will stop when it reaches that pre-auth amount?

Nope, it’ll still go to the max per swipe that you set.

 

[soonermajic]

Can you do "count up" w/ idx timers, or only LED6/7 ?

 

[Sequoia]

I have count down for coin with bonus time and count up for Cryptopay. IIRC if the crypto hits the $5 bonus time mark, time gets added so the CC customers get the same bonus as coin customers.

Yesterday was my first use of cryptopay. My pricing for coins is $3 for 5 mins. Bonus time using coins makes it 10 mins if $5 is inserted. Many customers use the $5 wash using coins.

I swiped a credit card using cryptopay and ran the meter a little over 10 mins, then pressed stop. The display said $6.25 charged on cc. I am using count up. I had set cryptopay for 25 seconds per coin in their config page.

Based on that, I don't think cryptopay interacts with 'bonus time' at all. So at 10 mins of washing, using a cc would be more expensive than using coins. Not what i want. So i reset cryptopay to be 30 seconds per coin. Now both are priced the same at the 10 minute mark. Less than 10 mins the cc is slightly cheaper.

I think I need to evolve away from offering any bonus time. Which means new signage as well.

 

[mjwalsh]

Sequoia & others,

Our experience with "bonus time" has been initially (almost 10 years ago we started that approach) the customer was kind of "yawnish" big wuppa deal. As our regular customers realized the gain .... there is no question that it does eventually becomes a very attractive plus for our business.

In our case we give bonus time tied in with dollar coin usage on our laundromat dryers (3 added minutes) & on our car wash vacuums (1 added minute). On our dog wash we give bonus time (10% more time) tied in with the middle of the week ... which was doable via our PLC-HMI touchscreen driven format.

I have been tempted to add bonus time for the usage of $5, $10, & even $20 bills in our self service car wash bays but it seems like just the convenience of not being interrupted is enough incentive for customers to choose especially $5 bills over $1 bills & with total certainty over the goofy "quarter only" format. I am pretty sure that a thorough analysis on a "what if spreadsheet" ... it could show how much bonus time an operator could give out based on the outgo merchant fee expense.

Two factors explaining our success is that our changers have been giving out the waterproof $1 coins since the year 2000 & the proportion will be almost 100% dollar coins as soon as we get our laundromat's slide machines updated. Also our heavily used ATM gives out $5 bills. No bill to bill breaker machine that some operators might be tempted to break to $1 bills ... that would be a mistake IMHO given the reality of creeping inflation.

Geography & customer education does play a role ... so for some of you "fastest phones in the USA" operators ... you can totally disregard the approach & path that we chose & continue to go in.