We need relief from unfair credit card fees

As the executive vice president and director of operations of Main Street Management, a restaurant group, I wear a lot of hats. I’m human resources, general operator, sometimes dishwasher or host — wherever there’s a hole in our staffing, I can fill it. Unfortunately, these days it seems like I also have to be a miracle worker in order to balance the budget with the increased costs of food and labor and the massive swipe fees from credit card companies.

I’ve been working at restaurants since I attended college at Coastal Carolina University. The nearby hotels, golf courses and restaurants got me started in the hospitality industry and I knew it was for me. In 2004, I moved to Louisville and now work for Main Street Management, which operates the longstanding Bristol Bar & Grille, the more upscale Cuvée Wine Table and Bristol Catering.

Running restaurants come with a lot of ups and downs, especially over the past few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, things have started to turn around. However, costs are higher across the board and not all of them for good reason. We started the year budgeting that food would account for nearly one-third of our costs. But it continues to exceed our projections at this point due to lingering effects from the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other global supply chain issues. Labor costs continue to climb as well.

The real killer is credit card swipe fees

Swipe fees are costs charged by credit card companies whenever a credit card is used to make a purchase. The top two credit networks control more than 80% of the credit card market and with that kind of duopoly, they can basically ban alternative routing networks and charge whatever fee they want — and I’m stuck with the bill. Imagine if customers had only two options of restaurants where operators could charge whatever they wanted for their menu items. Thankfully, competition among restaurants keeps us innovating in our kitchens and keeps our prices reasonable.

Swipe fees on credit and debit cards cost U.S. businesses more than $160 billion in 2022. Swipe fees are our third highest cost behind food and labor — they add about 3% to every credit card transaction, which is most of our sales.

Swipe fees on credit and debit cards cost U.S. businesses more than $160 billion in 2022. Swipe fees are our third-highest cost behind food and labor — they add about 3% to every credit card transaction, which is most of our sales.

It’s like having an extra tax added on to every dollar you make. In an industry that averages 3-5% profit margins, an extra 3% on everything can easily put you out of business.

It’s frustrating to see the high costs of

ALTON STRUPP/COURIER JOURNAL T.J. Oakley, pictured Oct. 22, 2021, at Bristol Bar & Grille, is executive vice president and director of operations of Main Street Management.