So I’m not irate or mad. Only slightly perturbed. And I realize in the grand scheme of things it’s just a minor inconvenience, but still… who in this day and age does NOT take Visa Credit Cards?!? Sams Club, thats who.
I went to Sams today to purchase a year’s worth of contacts. The astigmatism kind are a bit pricey and you can save like $15 a box buying them at Sam’s (you can also get a huge refillable cup of Diet Coke for like 80 cents, but I digress). I was getting a new set of lenses for my glasses too, so I was spending a decent chunk of change. It was a bit embarrassing when I swiped my card and the lady had to explain that she could not accept Visa Credit, but Mastercard, Discover, and Amex would be ok. I would expect an explanation like that if I were using Diners Club, but was amazed that they didnt accept Visa. My mom said that it’s been that way for a long time.
From a business perspective, I can understand that Sams Club is meant for high-volume shoppers, usually business owners. Perhaps Sams is trying to minimize it’s risk…. I could see not accepting credit AT ALL, only cold hard cash (how 20th century)… are Visa users more likely to default on their credit card payments (though that would more be a Visa issue). Or are the processing fees for Visa are too high. Maybe the Visa company is not small-business-owner friendly and most of their customers dont use Visa.
From a consumer perspective, I am a bit miffed. This may sound very crazy and archaic, but I only have one credit card. I’m financially responsible and put all my purchases on a card for convenience… mainly to track my purchases, look at pretty graphs of my spending habits, and avoid carrying cash. I also get a cash back on my purchases (just a little, but still, thats money). It also helps my credit score to use my card and make payments in a timely manner. Not that any of this is Sams Club’s concern; but there are reasons people have credit cards beyond not having money to cover their purchases. Luckily they did accept my debit card with a Visa logo on it 😐
The contacts I purchased had to be special ordered. So I’m still in glasses for the time being. Booooo.
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