So, what can I say? In the 21st century, there are still people who believe that cash is the best method of payment. I disagree. And now let me explain why.
The most important thing—the essence of it—is that cash has to be counted. Simple as that. For some, it is a magical ritual. For others, entertainment. But for entrepreneurs, it is routine—routine that costs money. Yes, exactly that. Counting money means losing money.
Money should be counted by those who can do it fast and error-free. The entrepreneur should be focused on earning it.
Now, in practice. In the morning, every barista at Fenster has to count the register and write down the numbers. Then, with every customer, the barista has to count the money given, then the change. Always carefully, always exactly. At shift handover, two baristas count the cash together. At the end of the day, the closing barista counts the cash again.
Can anyone calculate how much time is wasted just counting cash? Believe me—it is a huge amount of time. And let me remind you—nobody pays us for counting money.
Now, let’s talk about the obvious problems.
Problem 1. If a customer gives you €10 for an espresso, you hand them €8 in change, and then they claim they gave you €50—you are legally required to either give them the missing €40 or count the entire register. All of it. To see if it balances, and if not, by how much and why. Meanwhile, your line of customers disappears. This has happened several times in my presence. We just gave the €40. It was cheaper.
Problem 2. Robbery. Nothing more to add here.
Problem 3. Depositing cash. With bills, it is more or less fine. You can use an ATM or go to the counter, usually without major problems. With coins, it is a nightmare. In Vienna’s first district, there are many businesses that generate coin turnover. But very few ATMs accept coins. Ninety-five times out of a hundred, it takes at least three attempts to find one that works. I often had to look for an empty coin machine for days. And this was back when our turnover was much smaller. Imagine me walking around the city with a bag full of coins—several kilos—just searching for a working ATM. And let’s not forget Problem 2, at the same time.
Problem 4. The ATM runs out of change. It happens. You need fives or tens, but the machine is empty. Same with coins. Then you have to go hunt them down.
Problem 5. Fees. When you buy a roll of coins of a certain denomination, the bank charges you a commission.
Problem 6. You run out of change in the middle of the day. No fives, no tens, no coins. And you are stuck, constantly worrying about it.
Now, let’s return to customers. This, in my opinion, is the most important point. With cash, your line moves about twice as slow compared to other payment methods. That means instead of making two or three coffees a minute, you barely manage one. Realistically, it might be one every two or three minutes. Multiply that by the number of customers, and you see the service speed. Sure, in cafés with a separate cashier it’s faster. But that means adding another salary. Do the math. Personally, I prefer to save that salary. But that is a whole other episode.
Hygiene. I am one of those people who simply cannot touch money and then prepare something that goes into someone’s mouth. I have to wash my hands. With soap. Thoroughly. Every time. And at the beginning, I really did that. Every single time. Or I would ask customers to pay exact change, stack up the bills, and count them later. Or I wore gloves each time I handled money. Needless to say, my hands cracked and bled almost immediately. Worse than before.
Any solution you invent to avoid the hygiene problem, if you are like me, will be ineffective and insufficient. Except one—having a separate cashier. But as I said above, I do not agree with that. Without cash in circulation, the hygiene factor jumps to a whole new level. Your hands are always clean. Your customers are always happy.
And finally, the obvious but unpleasant issue—staff honesty. When you have cash, and counting is complicated, the temptation is there. Out of all the days we operated with cash, I can count maybe ten times when the register balanced perfectly. Every other time, we had to spend endless time figuring out why the numbers in the drawer did not match the numbers on paper. Sometimes it was simply because someone forgot to log a purchase. But then comes the bigger problem: theft. I trust people deeply, and it is painful for me to even consider that someone could take from the register. But it happens. And if the barista is clever, they do not even have to make the numbers not add up. They just take the cash and never ring up the sale. The register looks perfect. The barista is happy. Nobody notices. It does not take much—ten customers a day, and you never notice.
So eliminating cash removes even the possibility of temptation. The barista never thinks about it. You never think about it.
You might ask: then how do we accept payments, if not in cash? That is exactly what I will explain in the next episodes.
As for me, I am off to get the best coffee in the world.
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