Cash only in on site shops

Hi

Interesting you mention several times that young families / we are a cashless society. This last week has been a school half tem and we were completely full all week. Twice we had to go to the bank with bags of cash that people had paid their site fees with, that's a lot of cash from those 120 young families.

I can't speak for others but we have a small shop with some essentials, ie milk, bread, papers etc as well as gas, chems. and a few bits and bobs. We do this purely as a convenience for the onsite members. We are encouraged, not obliged from our employer to do this. Set up costs can be considerable at the start of the season and sometimes it can be six months before that money is recouped. I personally have no desire to purchase /rent or pay any subs to anyone for a card machine to be able to have that convenience for our paying customers. I really haven't experienced the issues you highlight but if it was to be the case I'd be more than happy to have empty shelves and do nothing.

Most places still have cashpoints don't they?

JK

There are many parking meters & car parks that are card only ..... saves louts from smashing them up for their contents .

I have never seen a card only parking meters but plenty that take both

  I'm  told  that  you  can  pay  by  fone  as  well  as  by  card  on  some  carparks  but  they  add  a  'handling  fee'  or  so  they  said !!

I have never seen one yet that does not take cash

Thank you all for your replies and I can see both sides of the argument and I really do appreciate all the wardens do.

i do actually take cash with me on holiday, I just felt sorry for the young Mum henceforth I asked the question.

Plenty to think about.

Does it be form part of the site information - so that any visitors are well prepared before arriving, rather than when having to disappoint children in the shop?  If it doesn't, then it should do - as someone has said the younger generation work on a cashless economy, paying not by card these days, but by using their phone - even on the bus!  My sons are in their thirties, and rarely carry cash!  Strange for the older generation, but out there in the world of the young things are very very different.

It’s plainly never going to be worth the wardens time having a card machine, with the monthly cost, percentage charge and authorisation fee the wardens would rightly run a mile. Considering the recent TSB debacle I’m amazed anyone would go out without some cash on them, just in case. It is true that many youngsters don’t carry any cash, but they do seem to think that their technology is foolproof, and unfortunately, it isn’t. 

I think cash in this case is a great way for children to spend their holiday money - probably given by grandparents aunts and uncles 😉. It serves a valuable lesson in knowing how much you have to spend, budget, and how to make choices within the budget 😆. If they are slightly older the independence of a visit without an adult.

I cannot see that it would be anywher near cost effective to deal in cards. I agree with JollyKernow it can be months before any initial outlay is recouped.

ValDa makes a good point that it should be made clear that has and supplies ARE NOT FUNDED BY THE CLUB but out of the pockets of the wardens. We were several years into using club sites both CC & C&CC before we realised they weren't club funded 😲 which explains why some sites have bits and others offer nothing. That also means those who don't routinely carry cash (we'd never be without £10- £20 minimum cash) Can understand the whys and wherefore of the need for a different method.

Incidently I can't see card payments through the till being acceptable for a myriad of reasons - think VAT for starters, club registered unlikely a warden would be 😉. Of course if the club stocked the supplies no issues whatsoever!

It did amuse me when my contactless payment for a £1.99 burger was declined in a BK recently.  The system obviously thought that the loaf of bread and the milk I had just bought in Aldi was quite sufficient