Hi,
First off I would like to introduce myself as a new contributor to artfair insiders.
I am Tim Niewiadomski, segmented wood turner, living in the northeast Ohio.
Please forgive any misques I may make. I have been one if the infamous lurkers here for a few years until now. The reason I have finally taken the plunge from lurker to contributor is quite simple, I have encountered a serious situation we all need to be aware of.
This past weekend while participating in the Fort Myers art fest I had some difficulties processing credit cards using my Way Systems POS unit. No matter what I did when processing a charge, I would get an error message 'registration error'. So I proceeded to complete the transaction offline which I have done before with no problems. After a few minutes went by, I tried to upload the transaction to receive the same error message. Multiple attempts to upload charges resulted in same error. So I attempted to contact my credit card processing company only to have numerous problems connecting to anyone who could help.
As the time passed and no resolution to my error problem I was finally able to contact Way Systems 24/7 help line. Oh did I mention, the show ended for the day and I was back at the hotel nearing 8:00 PM. When prompted by there marvelous voice messaging center I was informed that as of Feb 1 my service had been terminated with my credit card processor. This is the first I had heard this was going to take place.
To keep this post flowing I was unable to contact a live person until Monday morning when finally one devoted member of Way Systems did return my call for help. Turned out this wonderful person was not whom I needed to contact and was given another phone number to contact.
So another call made. After 30 minutes of explaining I was unable to process any charges and being told my service was terminated as the reason for my problems. I was told that I was informed of this impending cancellation of services in writing as far back as September (which I confirmed when arriving home no such message was included in any correspondence from my Card Processor), this so called help finally figured out that I had processed the charges off line and the credit card processor would not be able to help. I was given a case # and told someone would be in contact with me. Here we are 5 days later and informed Way Systems is working on the problem but no clue on how long this will take.
Sooo here I wait to hear from Way Systems about a resolution to my (and numerous others) problem.
The moral of this story is to be prepared for unforeseen problems as best you can. Have a plan B for processing credit cards. Have any and all contact numbers easily accessible (Thought I had these covered).
Oh yeah, I had 3 charges for the weekend 2 of which I had the foresight to get phone numbers leaving me with 1 charge in need of processing.
Anyone out there using Way Systems 5000 POS, better check with them to find out if your processing functions are working. Don't be caught with your shorts down!!!!!
Replies
One more note on this.
I was contacted by Way Systems today and was able to complete all offline transactions I had stored in my POS system.
All turned out good.
Hi,
I may not have been very clear in my post, let me see if I can clear a few things up.
I have used this system for over 7 years with very few problems.
The real problem was that Way Systems terminated my services without any notification to me nor did my processing company give me any notification of services being terminated as Way systems told me should have happened in Sept. 2013.
Lastly, I thought I had contact numbers readily available only to find out that some numbers had been changed due to business acquisitions by Way Systems.
As for using the square, I have looked into this system. At the time my charges thru my processing company was comparable and I do not have a smart phone or 4G services on my IPad. Making a change at that time would have required me to sign up for a contract to a data plan. As I had the POS equipment, the minimal difference in square charges vs current processor charges was not a sound idea for me.
Now with no POS system, the square is a viable option. Fortunately, I have a few weeks until my next show to research my options. I can still process via the old way of phoning in each transaction with my processor. Not the best option I know.
I guess some of my problems were caused by others and out of my control but also by my lack of verification of emergency contacts I should have readily available.
Hope this makes my post clearer to all.
So you haven't used this system for many months? Not speaking for myself here, as details are not my strong suit, but it seems that it would have been a good idea to check it out before you were at a show. This is NOT me saying you were not prepared, but this is me saying, one more thing to add to the list of "to do's" before a show. Like that list wasn't already long enough.
If you have the CC number, zip code, and expiration date, you can open a Square Account and process the charges manually. It takes 2-3 days for square to verify your account, but you should be good to go after that.
I carry a stack of blank CC slips so that I can write them out manually if I don't get a cell phone reception. As long as you have all the information, you can manually enter the charges later.
Many artists carry backup Squares. I have lent mine to an artist whose machine suddenly stopped working. All you need is a smart phone.
I had the older Way Systems terminal, the one that looked like a cheap cell phone with a swiper grafted to the side of it. It was a piece of crap. Get rid of it and go for a couple of Squares so you have a back up.
I have never heard of way systems. I use square and intuit. Both have been reliable but it is important to have a backup system. You should look into these...especially since neither have and monthly fees and are used by many artists throughout the country.
I always run a test for both of my card scanners with my credit card the day before a show, and each morning of each show. A $1 charge is worth the peace of mind and besides, the money goes into my account and all it cost me is the 2.75%