SC tells me, gruffly: "I'm using Food Stamps!"
She swipes her food stamp/EBT card. "Now what do I do??"
me: "Press 'EBT'"
SC: "It's FOOD STAMPS!"
me: "I understand. To use food stamps, you press the 'EBT' button.
SC: "NO! It's not EBT! it's FOOD STAMPS!"
me: "On the screen, it should be offering you 'DEbit', 'Credit', or 'EBT', you need to choose 'EBT' for a food stamp card..."
SC: "But it NOT EBT, it's FOOD STAMPS!" (yelling)
Lather, rinse, repeat.
She eventually presses the correct sequence of buttons.
SC: " Enter PIN number?? What's the PIN number??"
me: "It's your Personal ID number", should be a 4-digit number that you chose....
SC: "What is it??"
me: "Ma'am, I have no access to your PIN number, only you know it.."
Sc starts punching in the ENTIRE card number..
me: "No, ma'am, your PIN is a 4-digit number that you chose when you got the card..."
SC: "I didnt choose any numbers!"
me:" well, maybe they assigned you one...?"
SC flops down her giant purse and digs through it. Flips an old reciept from another store at me
SC: "It's probably on there, find it for me"
me: "Ma'am, your PIN number is not going to be printed anywhere. It's a number you chose as your password when you activated your card.."
SC: "well, where do I get that number??"
me: " There's a phone number on the back of the card, maybe if you call it, they can reset your PIN.."
SC stares blankly at me
me: "Or you can go down to the office and get a new one issued?
SC: "what office? What are you talking about??"
me: "well, the welfare office..."
SC starts screaming "I AIN'T ON WELFARE! HOW DARE YOU SAY WELFARE! I'M USING FOOD STAMPS!"
me: "Well, the welfare office IS where food stamps are issued from. If you don't know your PIN number, and don't know where you got your EBT card, if not through the welfare dept, then I am not sure I know how to help you..."
SC gives that big eye-roll "hrmrmmph" kinda sigh, cancels the card transaction and pulls out a $50 bill to pay me with....Still wondering if maybe it was a stolen card...
(for the record, Im not trying to delve into Fratching territory; I get a bit of food stamps each month myself. The point of the story is the hassle she caused with her ignorance of the system, hence my inclination to believe it was a stolen card)
She swipes her food stamp/EBT card. "Now what do I do??"
me: "Press 'EBT'"
SC: "It's FOOD STAMPS!"
me: "I understand. To use food stamps, you press the 'EBT' button.
SC: "NO! It's not EBT! it's FOOD STAMPS!"
me: "On the screen, it should be offering you 'DEbit', 'Credit', or 'EBT', you need to choose 'EBT' for a food stamp card..."
SC: "But it NOT EBT, it's FOOD STAMPS!" (yelling)
Lather, rinse, repeat.
She eventually presses the correct sequence of buttons.
SC: " Enter PIN number?? What's the PIN number??"
me: "It's your Personal ID number", should be a 4-digit number that you chose....
SC: "What is it??"
me: "Ma'am, I have no access to your PIN number, only you know it.."
Sc starts punching in the ENTIRE card number..
me: "No, ma'am, your PIN is a 4-digit number that you chose when you got the card..."
SC: "I didnt choose any numbers!"
me:" well, maybe they assigned you one...?"
SC flops down her giant purse and digs through it. Flips an old reciept from another store at me
SC: "It's probably on there, find it for me"
me: "Ma'am, your PIN number is not going to be printed anywhere. It's a number you chose as your password when you activated your card.."
SC: "well, where do I get that number??"
me: " There's a phone number on the back of the card, maybe if you call it, they can reset your PIN.."
SC stares blankly at me
me: "Or you can go down to the office and get a new one issued?
SC: "what office? What are you talking about??"
me: "well, the welfare office..."
SC starts screaming "I AIN'T ON WELFARE! HOW DARE YOU SAY WELFARE! I'M USING FOOD STAMPS!"
me: "Well, the welfare office IS where food stamps are issued from. If you don't know your PIN number, and don't know where you got your EBT card, if not through the welfare dept, then I am not sure I know how to help you..."
SC gives that big eye-roll "hrmrmmph" kinda sigh, cancels the card transaction and pulls out a $50 bill to pay me with....Still wondering if maybe it was a stolen card...
(for the record, Im not trying to delve into Fratching territory; I get a bit of food stamps each month myself. The point of the story is the hassle she caused with her ignorance of the system, hence my inclination to believe it was a stolen card)
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