Post by Katy JennisonPost by charlesPost by Ken BlakePost by Katy JennisonPost by Tony CooperPost by Ken BlakeUnfortunately, although that way is common in Europe, in my experience
it's never done in the US, although Tony Cooper says it's common;
perhaps it's common in Florida, but not everywhere.
I don't think I used "common". I've seen it, I've been to places that
do it, and I expect to find more that do it. "Common", though? Dunno
about that.
These days, I don't think most people here would be happy to let their
credit card out of their sight.
I'm not happy about, but I have no other choice when I eat in a
restaurant (other than paying cash, which I never want to do).
It is possible (over here, at least) to take your card to a cash point at a
counter or desk. Rather breaks up the party. though.
IME, in most restaurants I've eaten in recently here (UK, but also, now
I think of it, in Italy), either a hand-held credit-card machine is
brought to your table or you pay at the desk on the way out of the
restaurant.
As others of US have noted, you can pay on the way out if you want,
but there are plenty of places where the card is carried off.
The places where I experience this, I'm not bothered,
and quite often I can see the person at the terminal while they ring it up.
And the card I use is tied to a txt message when it is run.
Almost nowhere will you encounter the carbon-copy/kachunk impression tool.
At many restaurants, especially chain restaurants,
an on-table terminal (usually Ziosk) is there,
and you can pay without the server coming by your table with hand out.
Sometimes when you wait for them,
they put it in the terminal for you.
The other common "at table" system uses Square,
but these are usually smaller, independent restaurants,
which don't have the clout to negotiate lower banking fees on their own,
but Square dings them less than a commercial bank would.
For pay-when-you-order (at the counter places),
a conventional card reader for a commercial bank service is standard.
Square is more common than Ziosk for the rest of the flock.
/dps