Customer service probably isn’t the first thing you think about when you’re trying to consider credit card processing services offering competitive rates. You’re usually thinking about the costs to your business, so you can control overhead. That’s not the wrong approach, but don’t just dive into an account with great rates. What they lack in fees, they may make up for in poor customer service. You don’t want to be stuck on Black Friday with a register that won’t boot up and no cause to request help.
First Point of Contact
When you’re searching for a payment gateway, you need to speak with customer service to ask some basic questions. Depending on how easy it is to get someone on the phone, you should have a good indication of the quality of customer service. Talk to the representative and see what kind of knowledge he or she has on hand. Good customer service will give you the answers you need, without jostling you from one department to the next.
Support
Whether you operate a high risk merchant account, or a standard business with typical rates, you’re going to require setup and maintenance assistance. Modern payment systems rely on the Internet within your store to help you transmit payment information. If your system is non-responsive, and you’ve confirmed your Internet service is active, customer support will be your safety net. Make sure you’re not being charged for instructions on how to reboot your system.
Final Thoughts
Based on their response time, you should be able to form a solid picture of what kind of service to expect. Customer service is very important to merchant account holders, so make sure your representatives are accessible.
