Reseller Dramatically Cuts Payment Processing-Related Support Time

Written by: Mercury Payment Systems

“People expect to have a good experience with their [payment] processor – and it’s not worth mentioning unless it’s a bad experience,” says Marc Sanders, Vice President of Southwest Point of Sale in San Diego, CA. “So, if they are having problems, I get the phone call.”

Before partnering with Mercury, Sanders describes work weeks where spent half of his day dealing with credit card problems that weren’t related to the POS software or hardware he installed.

In one example, Sander’s client called for help when they were unable to accept Discover® cards through another processor.

“It took me 10 calls and two hours on the phone to figure out why the new card-type wasn’t being accepted,” says Sanders. “It was because the other processor didn’t set up the account correctly on their end. Finding that single technician who can see the problem and fix it is always the challenge.”

Because of frequent payment processing support headaches like these, Sanders was skeptical when Mercury approached him about partnering in 2003.

“I assumed that working with Mercury would be the same as working with other credit card processors, only we would be paid commission for endorsing Mercury,” recalls Sanders. “But it quickly became apparent that we weren’t dealing with the same beast. Mercury was much better able to support us.”

Sanders finds that with Mercury, issues don’t exist for the most part. But, if the same Discover set up error had happened with a Mercury client, he says it would have only taken one call and ten minutes to resolve the problem.

Another way Sanders saves support time is when his clients call Mercury directly when they have questions.

“When the customer can take ownership of their own problems and solutions, they don’t feel helpless and exploited,” says Sanders. If they are faced with a difficult problem that requires our assistance, they really value our efforts and experience.

Sanders recommends Mercury to every new client because of the significant support time savings. He also encourages existing clients to switch to Mercury when irresolvable payment issues arise.

“I’ve had a couple situations where I’d ask the client, ‘Do you want me to spend time figuring this out?’” Sanders recalls. “It could be expensive and challenging, or I could just call Mercury and give them an opportunity to talk with my clients and propose a better solution.”

In addition to post-installation support, Sanders and his sales team save time before and during installation.

“I keep track of every minute spent deploying a system,” says Sanders. “Since Mercury is already integrated and works, it involves less programming and training. As a programmer and installer, I love that.”

Although Sanders’ salesmen get 100 percent of the residual for each account, he’s confident that they find MercuryPay™ so easy to deploy and support that they’d be excited about it even if they weren’t getting paid.

“If another processor offered comparable residuals, there’s no reason for me to stray. I know Mercury’s level of support is unmatched. I don’t need to diversify.

“Even without residuals, I would still recommend Mercury,” Sanders continues. “If there’s a problem, they have the technical know-how on their end so they can help me fix things on my end.”

About Mercury Payment Systems
Mercury Payment Systems is an integrated transaction processing company created to enhance point-of-sale systems by offering credit, debit, check, gift card and loyalty processing. Mercury’s integrated Internet protocol (IP) or dial-up processing solutions are fast, reliable and affordable. Retailers can leverage the reliability and enhanced efficiency of integrated payment processing to increase productivity and customer satisfaction. Mercury Payment Systems helps resellers increase their opportunities with reseller support and superior technology. For more information call 800-846-4472, ext. 1820 or go to www.MercuryPay.com.