What's on Tap? Billing battle brews between Wil Fischer, restaurant owners

A recent decision by Springfield-based Wil Fischer Cos. to alter its billing policy has some of the Budweiser distributor's customers in a froth.

In a letter dated April 1, Wil Fischer President Jeffrey Gower notified retail customers that the company would no longer accept checks. Restaurants, bars and convenience stores carrying beverages delivered by the distributor were given two choices: electronic funds transfer or cash on delivery.

"As all of us are adapting to the current economic conditions, we must look for ways to improve efficiencies and minimize costs," Gower wrote. "With the numerous closings and bankruptcies that we have encountered in the last six months, we are constantly reviewing our credit terms with customers and our payment collection process."

In protest, Valentine's Restaurant owner Joe Sunseri decided to pull six of the Budweiser-family beers from his selection, including his Bud Light tap. He now only carries Bud Light and Michelob Ultra in bottles.

"I don't give anybody the right to go into my checking account and pull their invoices out," said Sunseri, who has paid Wil Fischer by check for seven years. "They have never had a problem with me. And I'm sure there's people - like in any business - that don't pay. But the majority of us pay."

Springfield restaurateur David Bauer, who owns Mille's Café in downtown Springfield and Coyote's Adobe cafés in Springfield and Nixa, isn't keen on keeping track of electronic fund transfers for all three eateries. Right now, he said, restaurant managers bundle invoices and send a single check to Wil Fischer for deliveries. Changing to EFT will complicate bookkeeping and create a "paperwork nightmare," Bauer said. "I am making their lives simpler," he added.

Convenience

Safety is the idea, said Wil Fischer's Gower, who explained that - in most cases - the billing policy change has benefited customers by making the payment process more efficient and convenient. He also cited safety and accuracy as reasons for switching entirely to an automated EFT system.

"It's safer ... because every time they write us a check, it has their account number and their routing number on it. And that's all the information someone would need to get into their account," he said. "And it's more accurate. ... We've had thousands of transactions, and we've had zero mistakes to the penny level."

Sunseri, Bauer and other customers unhappy with the change are in the minority, Gower said, noting that the majority of Wil Fischer's accounts already had converted to EFT.

"We have been doing EFT with customers for over five years and currently over 50 percent of our customers are already using this process, and they prefer it," Gower wrote in the letter. "Once you convert to the EFT process, I am confident you, too, will appreciate the ease and convenience of this improvement."

Eric Zackrison, owner of downtown's Patton Alley Pub, said he counts himself among Wil Fischer's customers who have become accustomed to the expediency and ease of EFT. He said he doesn't understand why some restaurateurs have raised a ruckus.

"I know there are some people that are really riled up about it, but ... it seems a lot more convenient," Zackrison said. "I think maybe there's some issue with (Wil Fischer) saying, 'You have to do it.' The thing is, it's Bud and Bud Light. What are you going to do? (Not) sell it?"

Troubling trend

But Bauer, who plans to continue paying Wil Fischer by check as long as possible, said the trend of providing business partners with direct access to bank accounts - while becoming more common - is somewhat bothersome.

"It's kind of like Big Brother sometimes," he said. "I understand why they're doing it; I'm just disappointed how it happened."

Sunseri said he, too, would like the option to continue paying by check. And until he receives permission to do so, he plans to hold the line on his scaled-back selection of Bud products.

"I've told my customers and my staff the reason why we've done this, and they all support it," Sunseri said.

Gower remains convinced that the move was the right one, as was the decision last year not to assess customers a fuel surcharge - a change made by several other area suppliers.

"Payment is obviously a sensitive issue," he said. "There's a very small percentage of customers who just don't like change in general, and they're going to react and do what they think is best for their business. We expect that."

He added, "Small changes like this allow us to maintain or improve our service levels. ... We're proud of the things that we do to be more efficient."