Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter

(June 23, 2013 - June 29, 2013)

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As I See It...

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Customer Service or Following Policy??

I recently had a very frequent customer tell me a story of an experience he encountered at my store.

This person came in and made his regular purchase and was $.06 short. At the time there weren't any extra pennies in the penny dish, and no other customers to bum the $.06 from.

My employee asked them for the $.06 saying she could not do the sale because her drawer would be short at the end of her shift.

This customer went out to his car to dig through the seats and look in his ashtray. He came back in with only $.03 so he was still $.03 short.

Again my employee asked for the $.03 and stated that her drawer would be short at the end of her shift.

By this time the customer is feeling embarrassed and getting mad with the cashier....... The cashier finally made the sale.

When I heard this I was a bit frustrated with the situation. Yes, I understand the employee's point of view and not wanting to be short in her cash drawer, BUT...... REALLY it was only $.06 and this is a regular customer!

We do have a cash short/over policy. Our employees are responsible for balancing their cash drawers at the end of their shift.

I can imagine that my employee was thinking of this and also knowing this is a regular customer who buys the same thing most often and should know what it costs.

As I see it... this is about customer service.

If a customer is a little short I let it slide. It is more important to retain them and make sure they have a positive experience. If they are a regular customer and you feel comfortable you could mention they can make it up next time.

It takes a lot of $.06 to make a noteworthy shortage in a cash drawer.

Lara Smetana

Voyageur Bottle Shop (Pine City)

Short on Space?

The craft beer trend is important to both large and small facilities.

Faced with limited space and a desire to capitalize on this category, Nevis Liquor installed a beer cooler under the checkout counter.

Great idea!!

Minnesota Cigarette Floor Tax

Due to a cigarette tax increase, all retailers, distributors and subjobbers must pay a one-time floor stocks tax on all stamped cigarettes and unaffixed stamps in their possession on July 1, 2013.

The floor stocks tax return is due July 11, 2013, and you must pay any tax due by Sept. 4, 2013.

Click Here for More Information

Taxable Mandatory Service Charges

The following is from a recent Minnesota Restaurant Association Memo:

The Minnesota Department of Revenue has taken the position for some time that mandatory service charges or gratuities are subject to the sales tax.

Voluntary tips are not taxable.

We have now learned that the department expects the portion of a service charge that pertains to alcohol to be taxed at a higher rate to include the 2.5% gross proceeds tax on alcohol.

A sales tax auditor told one of our members that charges for events such as wedding need to be broken down between food and alcohol.

The tax on the service charge pertaining to food should be 6.875% in her case and on alcohol should be 9.375%. The sales tax rate varies by community.

When we called the Department to raise our concerns about this approach we were told that their policy manual for auditors had been updated to reflect this view in 2007 but they had never amended the public fact sheet for hotels and restaurants to reflect this interpretation.

The department has agreed not to levy additional taxes on alcohol service charges until an amended fact sheet has been published.

We are discussing with the Department how much time is needed for our members to reprogram their systems to accommodate this interpretation of the law.

If your property has had a sales tax audit since 2007 where an additional tax was levied regarding the rate charged on a mandatory service charge on alcohol, you should send a letter to the Commissioner of Revenue explaining the situation and requesting a refund.

The address is:

Minnesota Department of Revenue
600 North Robert St.
St. Paul, MN 55101

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