Square

I normally don't promote products that I'm not actually selling, but I had such a great customer service experience that I had to tell everyone about it!!


I'm talking about Square.


I first came across Square when the local coffee shop started using Square for credit card payments about the first of March. So I paid with my card, and then signed the slip on their Ipad with my finger... which I thought was pretty cool. Then there was the option to have my receipt emailed or sent to me via text message, so I opted for the text message. Probably 15 seconds later, I get that ring for a message on my phone, and low and behold- there was my receipt! ;o)  Along with the message receipt was a link to download the free app for my Android phone that would allow me to open a tab and just have the merchant charge my card without me actually having to swipe it each time. So I downloaded the app, which was called Card Case. Pretty neat little app. I was surprised at how many different merchants near me were listed as accepting Square.  


Anyway, I was easily able to set up my account, save my card information on my account, add a picture to my account (which is how the merchant can verify you are who you say you are), and save my favorite merchants to my card case.


However, I was running into a problem. I was unable to open a tab so that when I walked into the merchant I could just tell them to put it on my tab. So I emailed customer service on the 15th.. I received a prompt response, faster than the "up to 24 hours" stated on their website. And the response was not one of those cookie cutter form responses either:
Thanks for writing in. It sounds like you have experienced a small glitch with your mobile device. It is hard to say whether the cause of the glitch came from your mobile device or from the app itself. When these sort of problems occur, we like to recommend the following troubleshooting tips:

1.) Make sure that both your mobile device and the Square app are up-to-date. 

2.) Log out of and back in to the app. 

3.) Turn your mobile device off and on.

4.) Force quit the app on your device. You can find instructions on how to do so here: help.squareup.com/customer/portal/articles/179237

5.) Delete and and re-install the app. See Apple's support site (http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1702) and Google's support site (https://market.android.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=113409) for instructions on how to do so. 

Note: Deleting and reinstalling the app will have no impact on your Square account, as your data is stored on Square servers. Once you've deleted the app, you can simply reinstall and log back in to your account with the email address and password you already have to access all of your account information.

These tips should fix most problems. Feel free to write back in if you continue to have trouble. 


Ok. I went back through and did each step that was suggested, but I was still having problems. So I emailed back (and I will post the rest of the conversation, mine in red and Square in blue): 
I'm not sure what is going on, but I went down the list and did each item,
and I still am not getting the open tab selection. I have the Samsung Epic
smart phone with the Android OS through the Sprint Network... currently up
to date. I went into the coffee shop today, and still was not able to domore than just click on enable tab or view the details of the shop.


Thanks for writing in. What happens when you click on open tab? Typically when you click open tab you will become visible to the merchant and you will be able to tell the merchant to just put it on your tab.
I look forward to hearing back from you.  


I wish I could get a screen shot... I don't get the "open tab" option. That's the problem. It only says "enable tab," and when I click on that it will say "tabs now enabled"  but it doesn't change to "open tab."  I do make sure that my gps and wireless are enabled as well, but that does not make a difference.


Thanks for your reply. Can you check that your location/GEO-location services are turned on? Thanks for your patience. I'm trying to see what might be the issue here. 


Yes, each time I go to the location I make sure my GPS is on. I don't normally have it on, but will turn it on before I get to the location.
Thanks for your reply. Can you send any other details about what you are seeing? 

There should basically be two options when you want to use your tab at a store. 

1. If you are close to the location, you should be able to click on the card and press "My Tab." Then you should be able to slide the "Auto Open Tab" to "On."
2. If you are not close to the location, you will see some sort of a message that says "X mi away, too far to open tab."

Sometimes if you are not able to open a tab, but you are clearly at the location, it could either be because the GPS/location services within your mobile device is off or the merchant has an incorrect address listed. Sometimes within Android phones, there are multiple location settings. Just to make sure, can you do the following:

- Visit your location settings. 
- Make sure your carrier locations are disabled. 
- GPS should be the only option enabled. 

Thanks for your patience on this. If you can try to open a tab anywhere else, or perhaps try again at the coffee shop, that would be most helpful. Any additional info will help us troubleshoot further


So after that last email, I continued to check daily, but hadn't had the opportunity to email back and let them know I was still having problems. But then over this past weekend I got a notification of an update available for Square, so I clicked on the update and it downloaded a new version of the app. I tried to open it when I was at home to see what the new app looked like, but since I did not have my wireless or my GPS turned on I was unable to open the app. Then yesterday I went to the coffee shop, and as I was on my way over there I turned on wireless and GPS, and as I got closer to the shop, I was able to open the app. It asked me to add my name to my profile picture, which it hadn't done before. Then when I clicked on the tab option it actually opened the tab. While I was there having my coffee, the owner said, "Wow. Your picture actually shows up now!" referring to her end of the app. All she needed to do was tap on my name and then add the order and tap pay- and in less than a minute I got a notification that I paid for my coffee! No more taking out my card each time I go in!!


Well, I wrote back to the Square customer service:
I just wanted to let you know that when I upgraded my square app to the new one, I was finally able to open my tab with no problem. I think it was an issue with my phone and the old app. As long as I have both my wireless and GPS activated, then my tab is opening automatically now when I go to the coffee shop. Thank you for trying to help me. I am very impressed with the level of service I received.


I was shocked, then, when the customer service rep responded within 10 minutes!
Thanks for writing back and letting me know. I'm so glad I was able to help you troubleshoot the issue. 

If you run into any other questions along the way, please write back in. 


To me that shows that Square is serious about business, and genuinely care about their customers. I am highly recommending to everyone that using Square, even if it's just for making payments to your favorite merchants, is the right way to go. The coffee shop owners think it's wonderful as well, and the rate for accepting credit cards seems to be very competitive to other merchant services that I have looked into. The card reader is so cute and surprisingly smaller than I thought it would be, and fits any smart phone, like Android powered ones and Iphones, as well as tablets like the Ipad. I may just end up with a merchant account with Square sometime soon for my Candle business!!!