KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Several Knoxville companies say they won't pass credit card surcharges on to customers, even though a new policy allows merchants to decide to pay the 4% surcharge or add it to your bill.
"It's always worked into your margin anyway, so there's no reason to put it back out there anyway or anything. That's just not something we would do. We're very customer oriented," said Gourmet Market's owner Eric Nelson.
Nelson said credit card fees cost him close to $40,000 a year, but he'd rather work the cost in to prices than add an additional line to the bill.
A tactic to squash fear as customers start to worry about how the change will affect their pocket books.
"I think it's unfortunate that we're now having to face a surcharge for the use of a credit card," said Cody Chason.
Local 8 News spoke with several shoppers on Market Square and most were split. Some said they're going to be more conscious about their method of payment. Others say they're sticking with plastic regardless.
Nelson hopes the change will increase knowledge about the high costs merchants pay and encourage customers to reach for debit or cash instead.
"It's just easy to flip them the card and go and balance at the end of the month. There's a lot of... there's a lot of convenience in it for everybody, but it's still an expensive thing," said Nelson.