I kinda wish I had that much loose change...

[Dreamstalker]

Yesterday, the cashier I was bagging for scanned a customer's store card (nothing else), and the gremlin that's been haunting our store for the past few weeks decided to have some fun.

What came up on the screen, instead of the usual "card XXXXX" was....a Coinstar redemption for $898.72 O_o Coinstar vouchers can't be stored on the card. The customer was in a good mood about it though ("$900 in change would fill our car and the shocks are still good; how would I carry it in anyway?")

We had two managers at the register trying to figure out WTF happened and how to clear it (apparently A could not clear it using her keys and had to run a receipt paper through as if it was an actual redemption; now she had to explain why that drawer had a $900 redemption that never actually happened). When A scanned the customer's card again at the service desk, it processed as it should The glass on the register scanner is so scratched that I suspect something combined with the barcode and mis-read in just the wrong way....but why only that one card?

[pzychobitch]

My brain is full of fuck. That's just... Wow. How the hell? Computer glitch involved maybe?

[ArcticChicken]

The glass on the register scanner is so scratched that I suspect something combined with the barcode and mis-read in just the wrong way....but why only that one card?

Actually, it makes way more sense to me that it would be only the one card, if the reason was scratched glass. You'd have to hold it exactly the right way to get a misread, most of the time it would probably just have trouble reading things.

[Merriweather]

Cue the twilight zone music. Maybe that's how the 2012 Apocolypse will happen, just one small computer glitch after another all year til it brings us to our knees.....

But that is so weird. The computers are set to take over. The registers & coinstar machines are in on the conspiracy. Quick, get the tin foil.

[Dreamstalker]

Our registers run on a legacy IBM PS/2 system that I suspect hasn't been updated or patched since they were installed. The register I was on today had its own set of issues (half the items refused to scan and I had to type in the SKU manually, the card reader wouldn't read roughly a third of customers' cards unless I did the plastic bag trick, etc).

[hornet95]

Point of information: $900 in change is not THAT much. 2 boxes of quarters. Weighs far less than a live human body. $900 in nickels only is 9 boxes... roughly 2 live humans... would be an interesting view if someone was missing in the area and that vehicle ran by the police with that change in the trunk....

[bainsidhe]

I once had a Hershey's bar ring for over 80 bucks. After I voided it off, I tried again and it rang for the correct price. Weird.

[dragon_wings]

Every once in a while when the price changes for cigs are printed out one kind (varies) will print out for $1100/pack.

[Dreamstalker]

I got a "Does cust look over 30?" prompt for...a slice of cheesecake. The sticker was slightly wrinkled, but for that to happen in such a way that could mimic an age-restricted item...

What gets fun is when the stickers on meat are wrinkled; no way to peel them up without ruining the wrapping, and half the time some of the numbers are obscured as well.

"Policy" is to never type in the numbers manually as it takes too long...the alternative is to give away stuff for free because it won't scan accurately. I still haven't gotten an answer from FEM when I asked her (honestly) what to do in that situation: take a few extra seconds and be accurate (but ruin the IPM), or give away everything that doesn't scan? Different people have told me at different times that it's OK and not OK

[AyreBiskits]

Our registers run on a legacy IBM PS/2 system that I suspect hasn't been updated or patched since they were installed. The register I was on today had its own set of issues (half the items refused to scan and I had to type in the SKU manually, the card reader wouldn't read roughly a third of customers' cards unless I did the plastic bag trick, etc).

you know...
IBM is one letter off from HAL. your name wouldn't happen to be Dave, would it?

daisy, daisy...

[Dreamstalker]

No, but the IT guy's named Dave O_o

[DerangedHermit]

You'd think they'd get a new POS system to replace their old POS POS. It seems like they just try and add and add on to a system that is way too outdated.

[Dreamstalker]

Yup; a classic example of 'why waste money on new hardware when we can just fix this as it breaks'...so a hard unrecoverable crash isn't worse?

[wolfie]

Our registers run on a legacy IBM PS/2 system that I suspect hasn't been updated or patched since they were installed.

Considering the highest that series went before it was discontinued was an 80486, that's OLD. Of course, your store is probably running it off either the model 25 or the model 30.