Graduate Hotel's Coffee Shop Has Refused to Take Cash and Appears to Violate New RI Law
GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle
Graduate Hotel's Coffee Shop Has Refused to Take Cash and Appears to Violate New RI Law
Legislation was approved in the 2019 General Assembly session protecting the rights of customers to pay with cash, which was signed into law by Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo on July 1.
On Thursday, a sign in the window at Poindexter stated, "We are currently cashless -- credit card only" at the hotel coffee shop located on Dorrance Street -- which had previously been a Starbucks -- across from Kennedy Plaza.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHomeless Advocate Criticizes Policy
"Of course this can be viewed as a mechanism to ward off the downtrodden entering and spoiling the ambiance of the business," said Ralph Davis, the founder and editor of Street Sights, a publication focusing on issues facing the homeless.
"The idea may be if we keep them at bay, they might go away. Like the no-smoking ban in the [Kennedy Plaza Burnside] park (which should be illegal in a public park), try to be as inhospitable as possible in an attempt to drive the undesirable away," said Davis.
Move to Go Cashless -- Hotel Responds
On July 1, “More and more retailers are shifting to cashless transactions in other parts of the country for various reasons,” said Representative Mia Ackerman, a bill sponsor. “From a consumer perspective, this could have a negative impact on working-class customers, senior citizens and college students who don’t have credit cards.”
“This is a consumer protection bill,” said Senator William Conley, the Senate bill sponsor. “Credit-card only policies are discriminatory to the old, the young and the poor. They can also be used to track spending history to build a profile and make identity theft easier. Those who wish to avoid all that by paying in cash should not be penalized.”
Specifically, the new law states, "It shall be a deceptive trade practice in violation of this chapter for any retail 5 establishment offering goods or services for sale to discriminate against a prospective customer 6 by requiring the use of credit for purchase of goods or services. All retail establishments shall 7 accept legal tender currency when offered as payment. Provided, the provisions of this section 8 shall not apply to online purchases or sales made over the Internet."
Poindexter said the policy was "momentary" -- but did not say how long they had allowed it to take place at the coffee shop that has been open for over a month.
"We have no comment on this topic at this time. Poindexter is currently accepting cash," said Caroline Stephens with Graduate Hotels on Friday -- after GoLocalProv.com inquired about the policy. "The cafe momentarily was under opening transition and did not have these capabilities, but we are fully accepting cash at this time."
In April, Graduate Providence installed a neon sign at the former historic Biltmore hotel; in June, the Cianci Foundation blasted Graduate Providence for removing portraits of former Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci.
Graduate did not respond when asked if they knew they were potentially in violation of state law.