Square's POS app is flawed

[queenbeauty21]

I had an unfortunate situation happen to me where a customer stole $1k+ worth of items from my store. They wanted to pay using Cash App Pay and I showed them the QR code but they took the device trying to "get a better scan." This resulted in me not seeing what was happening on the screen and when the transaction showed completed, I (stupidly) gave them their items. It was busy and I had to move on to the next customer. I checked the next day at the transactions and saw that the transaction didn't actually go through and they didn't scan the Cash App code at all. 

I think this is such an easy way for thieves to steal from beginners at using Square because customers can just press the back button and change the transaction type. It was my first time using the Cash App Pay method and wouldn't have known. Square should just make it locked so that customers can't access it.

We're still getting used to using Square so we haven't bought all their hardware yet.

I reached out to customer support and they weren't able to help with my problem. Now I lost $1k items plus I can't reach out to the thief since they blocked my number. I'd probably switch to Shopify after this.

[Donnie-M]

@queenbeauty21 I personally would file a police report as this is theft/shoplifting.  No matter how you slice it, they took the merchandise and left without paying.

Square actually does make it possible to block the back button.  If you use team permissions (free) or individual access codes through team management you can specify that "backing out of a transaction" requires the owner code or access code.  This is the simple way to prevent it in the future.

I can definitely understand your frustration.  One thing I recommend is trying out the software yourself first so you understand what a transaction looks like from the customer point of view.  I have had an employee think they completed a transaction before and not pay attention.  It just plain stinks, but it really is a training issue.  The job is for the cashier to collect the money, much like a cashier taking a fake 20$ bill.  That stinks too, but you cannot blame the cashier completely without also blaming the criminal.

If you have their number, I would use that to get contact info and I would not hesitate to press charges.  Depending on your state, theft over $500 in some states is a serious felony.

[dehner-sisters]

I personally don't believe that this is a Square POS flaw. I'm sorry that this person did that to you, but I'd definitely recommend not allowing any customer to touch your phone (or whatever device you're using) unless they're signing for using a credit card.

If the Square Team set up some sort of lock, it would inhibit users more than customers, because most people do not experience issues like this. If they changed their mind on how to pay, then you'd most likely have to enter a password or code to get out of that screen, which just takes more time. All of this can be avoided by not allowing them to touch the device. Most people are honest, but you will get people like this one, and that's why I don't even allow it.