Peet’s and Johnny’s go cashless
Peet’s Coffee and Johnny’s Cafe no longer accept cash payments. Cash payments were rare and eliminating them has made things easier for student workers.
Director of Hospitality Operations Estelle Bean told Chimes the decision went into effect Nov. 28, 2022. The decision promoted a simpler workflow, according to Bean.
According to Bean, both Peet’s and Johnny’s had a low rate of cash sales taking place. “Some days it would only be a few dollars,” she said. The time it took to count the cash and transport it to the bank had ceased to be worthwhile, Bean told Chimes.
Going cashless allows for smoother transitions between shifts and fewer closing tasks, according to Melissa VanDerHart, a student manager at Peet’s Coffee.
“You had to have somebody assigned to the cash register — which was pretty chaotic, because everyone had their own drawer,” she said. “[Going cashless] takes away that pressure and then we don’t have to count cash at the end of the night.”
Now any employee can take an order, which helps the lines move faster and “orders flow a lot easier,” VanDerHart said. Johnny’s Retail Supervisor Molly Lyons told Chimes that many of their employees are international students. Going cashless has eliminated pressure on those students to learn American currency in order to count out the cash drawer.
“That was just a layer of stress added that going cashless took away, and everything is a lot more streamlined [now],” said Lyons.
According to Bean, the decision has been in discussion for a couple of years. And although going cashless was an adjustment in the beginning, workers think it was for the best. “Overall I think it was a great decision,” Lyons said.
James Turner • Feb 1, 2023 at 2:48 pm
Speaking both as a lover of Peet’s coffee in the Hekman Library at Calvin and a frequent customer, I am concerned about the cashless system of payment that has been recently implemented. Spending cash for elective products such as coffee allows for greater accountability in my budgeting strategies; it is far too easy to insert a card and not “feel” the proportion of my spending money that is in fact being spent.
As an institution of higher learning, Calvin should promote and encourage responsible management of money; I would argue that the use of cash can be a part of a responsible spending plan. Calvin should not devolve from an institution that allows the use of both cash and plastic to one that strictly uses plastic.
Furthermore, becoming familiar with other currencies is part of an international education, not something to be eliminated from the experience.
Lastly, making correct change is a basic skill employees at Peet’s and at Calvin should be given the opportunity to perfect, not one to avoid because it is difficult. (I see making change, as an employee or customer, as a part of an education from a perspective of critical thinking).