ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Permit Snafus...AHJs and Contractors Jump in

Reno:

We (Building Dept) have suggested and requested the implimentation of accepting 'plastic' for fee payments, and that's as far as it has gotten. I know first hand when I have someone at the counter for pickup, and they pull out the roll of bills. There's about a 50/50 mix of upset folks vs. 'oh, I forgot what the girl told me'

Yes, the proliferation of electronic payment is down to the convenience stores, and coming soon is payment by smart phone. What irks me is the guy that has a cup of coffee, uses his debit card, wants cash back, has insufficient funds, re-does it with a second card, fails, and by then there's a line of fuming people, one of which offers to pay for his coffee just to get the heck out.

BTW, without going off topic, are your gas stations charging 'cash' price & 'credit' prices with 6-10 cents differential?? They say it's to offset the bank fees.

The bank fee on a credit card is usually 2% if you use the electronic clearing system. That would be about 7.5 cents a gallon at $3.75

Debit cards are usually cheaper. I think the new law makes it a cap of 22 cents.

A common example here is REgular...Cash $3.55 Credit $3.65

'Debit' gets you the 'Credit' price. And, yes, we are still 'no self service'

The idea of having different prices for different types of transactions is a discussion without a 'right' answer, and I've seen the balance go both ways. Right now, the most common ploy is to have a minimum sale for a card transaction- though such policies are said to be a violation of the merchants' agreement with the card company.

Changes in the ways banks operate have really put the kibosh on the use of checks. It appears that the financial industry would just as soon see checks go away.

Likewise, various IRS policies have created a bias against cash transactions. As I have commented in the "safety" forum, it seems to be all about 'documentation.'

The simple fact is that each type of transaction has its' expenses ... and those expenses have to be paid.

For the ordinary citizen, market forces work to answer the question. For those insulated from the market, decisions are made based upon something else; the market - meaning the customers' desires- is simply not relevant. That's why government can't help but act the way they do.

Getting back on topic .... perhaps we need to explore ways to introduce market forces to the whole code / permit / inspection issue. I question whether the current arrangement has achieved its' intents- and whether tightening the noose would help.

Missouri has been able to introduce some 'market accountability' to its' DMV operations, with some success. Perhaps they have some lessons we can build upon. Indeed, Missouri has (perhaps accidentally) also introduced a very minor amount of 'competition' in the issuing of Masters' licensing. I will be interesting to see how that turns out.

Banks have a way of dealing with the check problem. They are giving the merchant a scanner that either scans the whole check or just reads the MICR line. They process it right then and hand you the check back.
The first place I saw this was a brick yard. Now they are popping up all over. It is essentially what they do at the grocery store when they scan your check but they keep it.
You are not beating that one to the bank!

John,

In 2 of my towns, I have a desk and a phone and a computer. In 2 of my towns I don't even have a desk, I stand around in the office and talk with the building inspector and secretaries and meet the public if they have any questions.

Greg,


Let's see, no more do you have to carry cash, and maybe not checks, but little cards with "Credits". HHMM! That sounds a little bit like George Orwell's 1984 doesn't it?

There are a lot of things George seemed to get right.

How many cameras do you think you are seen by in the average day?