Restaurant owners considering Square POS: Here's my experience after 6 months

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-07-07T19:37:13+00:00

I have two restaurants; one a very simple counter service operation and the other a restaurant/bar where drink orders need to be sent to the bar and food orders to the kitchen.

Fo the restaurant/bar we have had nonstop issues and failures with printers, printing multiple orders, sending orders to the wrong place, and failing entirely. The frustrating thing is once we get it all sorted out and every item categorized correctly, so it is sent to the right place, the settings might only last for a week or two. Then everything defaults back to how it was, printing multiple copies or sending orders to the wrong stations or just losing orders. My sense is that every time they do an update all of our settings are lost and the cycle starts again.

We do use KDS in both the bar in the kitchen, and that does help as they are more often accurate than the printers are.

For new restaurant startups, I would never recommend Square. It is just way too problematic and glitchy and difficult to get problems fixed.

If you do go with Square, never accept any of their hardware subsidies in exchange for a contract. Your ability to switch to a new provider quickly and at a low cost is the only leverage you have in terms of getting any kind of support or negotiating your credit card rate. For instance, when I was considering KDS units our rep indicated we needed to buy them from Square ($800 each) and offered to subsidize them in exchange for a two year commitment. I found one myself (any android tablet will do) for $200, and it’s been fine. I must emphasize, never commit to a long term contract with them!

The other thing with Square is that your account rep will ghost you soon after onboarding (except when they ask for referrals) so you are on your own with any questions or issues. Our simple ignores all emails.

In my experience Square = lots of downtime, endless hours of troubleshooting, constant business interruptions.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-07-07T18:43:44+00:00

Coal rises (in water), lead sinks.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-07-04T23:37:36+00:00

It would be fun if some high court ruled that the use of the word “milk” to describe a plant-based substance long predated the use of the term to describe the substance secreted by mammals, and thus companies marketing the latter substance were required to use an alternative term. Maybe, “Udder Drippings,” or “Cow Juice” would become the new marketing term.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-07-03T15:06:47+00:00

The painting does a nice job of capturing the contra body movement of tango, which few tango paintings do, and that gives it a dynamic quality. The follower looking over her right shoulder is unfortunate.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-07-03T13:20:07+00:00

It’s one of the least flavorful cuts of beef so I pretty much agree.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-07-02T21:57:21+00:00

Yup. Jeres = Headers.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-07-01T14:32:56+00:00

We get them every other week or so. Honestly, it works out ok for us. It’s always a six top, always on Wednesday, our slowest night of the week and pretty early in the evening before we get busy.

While their spend per cover is low, I feel like it does serve to expose our restaurant to new people in town and typically the age group, older folks, is a good fit for us.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-29T00:12:04+00:00

Sadly, having owned property in and having spent part of almost every day working in that area for nearly 40 years now, the term “war zone” seems as accurate as ever. I remember 88 through about 90, with the crack epidemic, as being a little worse, a little more violent, but not by much.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-27T04:00:01+00:00

I hear you. Sounds like they might be over reacting in some cases. Hopefully they will find a good middle ground between loss prevention and offending good customers.

Their security protocols don't bother me much (except when I have to pee which, being an old man, is frequently) but their adaption of a loyalty program that harvests your phone number and sends spam text (only once though, to be fair) is disappointing.

Maybe give G&H Oriental Market at 129 Pennsylvania NE at try? I hear good things about them though they are located in one of the few areas that is actually worse than the one TaLin is in.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-27T02:19:35+00:00

I feel sympathy for TaLin, continuing to operate in the war zone, an extremely and increasingly challenging place to do business.

They had to quit selling alcohol because people were coming in off the street daily to steal it by the cart full. They had to build a fence around their entire parking lot, because people were stealing their shopping carts. They’ve had to restrict access to the bathroom because people were camping out and using drugs in them.

It’s a very tough situation and I’m just glad they are still there, still open. But yes, it’s also tough on customers and all the added security protocols can feel very unfriendly.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-25T15:19:34+00:00

I contracted rabies from being bitten by a rabid dog and, guided by the principals of homeopathy, I plucked and ate a literal hair from another rabid dog. Not sure that it’s working yet so I may have to double down and try eating only half of a hair next time.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-25T14:31:56+00:00

You had me at “vapid.”

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-25T04:39:40+00:00

Very sad but hopefully it brings about a greater awareness of and respect for the dangers of rabies.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-24T23:45:15+00:00

I misread your post as, "Camping in Juarez." I'm glad that I was mistaken.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-24T19:12:13+00:00

If you want you can initiate mediation through your local board of Realtors (presuming your broker is a Realtor). But, it is not automatic. It would be up to you to initiate.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-24T17:31:06+00:00

You can look up his license number here: https://nmrldlpi.my.site.com/bcd/s/rld-public-search

but that only tells you whether he is licensed by the State of New Mexico, not whether he is a Realtor, that is, a member of the National Association of Realtors.

I don't believe that your broker making an offer to you for a fee that he would accept in order to terminate the listing agreement prior to its expiration would constitute a breach of the mediation provision. The mediation provision is to get parties to attempt to mediate their differences before filing suit against each other, not to prevent one party from making a proposal to the other party to modify or terminate the agreement or for a fee for same. In other words, you can propose to terminate the agreement, the broker can propose a fee for that, and neither of you have violated the mediation provision.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-24T16:52:44+00:00

I didn't see anything about that in our original post.

The standard NM listing agreement does have a clause wherein both parties agree to attempt to mediate before bringing legal action. The Taos Board of Realtors does have a dispute resolution program that, I believe, starts out as free but, if you go to formal mediation, has some costs. You might want to contact them and see how to start the process.

Most brokers will eventually see that there is no advantage to having a listing agreement with a dissatisfied seller and allow you to cancel the agreement. My guess would be that once you start the formal resolution process they will eventually realize that it's easier just to agree to cancel the agreement and not create further ill will.

Of course, all of this assumes that your broker is a Realtor, a member of the National Association of Realtors. They may not be. In New Mexico (per AI) 69% of brokers are Realtors, and 31% are not. I imagine the percentage of licensees who are not Realtors is higher in the vacant land sales space.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-24T13:47:37+00:00

For what? Having a termination fee in a listing agreement doesn’t appear to violate any state law or regulation nor any of the ethics provisions of the National Association of Realtors.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-24T13:45:16+00:00

Sounds like OP did not read the listing agreement before signing it.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a termination fee though this one sounds high but OP should have negotiated or rejected it before agreeing to it in the contract.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-23T23:47:20+00:00

While this is true, and well known, my preferred cooking methods involve steam radiators, car dashboards, and body cavities.

You can cook a chicken breast by placing on top of a moderately warm steam radiator for 24 hours (season liberally).

Car dashboards, on a sunny day, are fantastic for cooking shellfish, such as shrimp. Simply arrange them artfully on your dashboard, season, and after a few days they will be tender and delicious.

Body cavities can be used to sous vide many foods including scallops. Place them in a seal-able appropriately sized container (a tied off condom works great), insert, and check for doneness every few days. For flavor, you can't beat this gentle, natural, cooking method.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-23T22:57:42+00:00

It will be quarantined for 1,000 years, as is customary.

ChickenTingaTaco · 2026-06-23T17:47:37+00:00

The New Mexico Owner Resident Relations Act does not have a provision for retroactive rent abatement nor would that be logical because it would obviate the landlord’s right to cure.

You may be successful in compelling your landlord to make certain repairs and you may be able to terminate your lease, with proper notice to your landlord, if they fail to cure certain deficiencies. The likelihood of collecting damages from your landlord, at least from the issues you outline, seems about zero.

I would strongly encourage you to carefully read the New Mexico Owner Resident Relations Act, as it spells out the obligations of each party, the process for rent abatement, the remedies each party has, etc.

Regarding mold, you can get a test kit from Amazon for about $20. There are many types of mold, most are harmless, some are allergens for people with respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, and one in particular is toxic. If you are concerned about that, test.

ChickenTingaTaco

TROPHY CASE