Next installament of "Math is hard"....

[Dreamstalker]

So I'm watching SCO on Wednesday. Two of the four decide to not take cash, so we have to put up signs.

(let's see if I can explain this)

I'm called over to one of the no-cash registers for a cash error...one of our scammer SCs buying a $4.99 rotisserie chicken. The register spits out a refund voucher for $5.01...almost immediately I see what happened (debit card for $10...odd cashback amount but whatever). I cash it out at the paystation, give the SC her cash and receipt and go off to deal with another problem.

I sense something vile at my shoulder and turn around...SC is there, waving the receipt in my face and yelling about being charged twice and I owe her money and another chicken. A look at her receipt shows a $10 debit charge, which would result in the $5.01 change with the one $4.99 chicken purchase. I explain (multiple times) what happened. SC is having none of it, thinks that I owe her $10 and also says that she went to a no-cash lane and paid with cash (not possible, the bill acceptor is physically blocked and I would have been alerted). After the third round, I lead her over to the desk and tell J that there's a problem and SC is accusing me of theft. At this point SC is implying that she paid with her debit card at the other no-cash register (so to hear her tell it she has now paid THREE times: once with cash and twice with a debit card), and I must have taken the $10 cash back

We quickly figure out what actually happened:

SC only had ONE transaction. She paid via debit card, selected NO for cash back, but also selected NO for Amount OK and typed in $10.00 (probably thinking she was asking for $10 cash)...cue $5.01 change. We must have explained this to her about six times, eventually ran out of small words so J just told her to call tomorrow and manufactured some problems to get both of us out of her event horizon.

J was wondering if SC was trying a weird variant on the quick-change scam...

[eltf177]

J was wondering if SC was trying a weird variant on the quick-change scam...

Either that or SC is a complete loon...

[Silent-Hunter]

It sounds to me like she's a dolt, and thought she was asking for cash back. But how could she not know? Those machines have been relatively the same for years!

[Trixie]

It doesn't matter if the machine hasn't changed. I have regular customers who use their cards all the time and you'd think it was the first time they've seen the contraption that wants to take payment.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

It doesn't matter if the machine hasn't changed. I have regular customers who use their cards all the time and you'd think it was the first time they've seen the contraption that wants to take payment.

Only update we've made to our POS debit machines is the newer model that takes the chip cards.

Never mind that we have a small sign posted above the machines now that give detailed instructions on using your chip-enabled card, people still try to swipe when they should stick it in the slot underneath the numerical keypad, much less can tell you if they have a chip in their card or not.

Now to be able to wave my phone over the machine and go . . . I have both Samsung pay and Android pay apps on my phone but I can't use either because my bank doesn't participate with the mobile payments yet.

[Trixie]

Oh the chip cards have been so much fun to deal with. There are still a few that will let people slide even with a chip. Some where people insert it and it won't work so they slide it and then get told they have to insert it again.

About the only fun we get is telling people to "insert it" and "take it out". We had one cashier almost lose it because the girl next to her was telling the customer to "push it in there hard."

Makes up for all the people who complain about the whole process. Personally I haven't found it much different. Don't notice it slower or faster than just sliding it.

[Dreamstalker]

We still don't have the chip working. I've seen other stores stick old gift cards in the slots with "No Chip" signs on the visible end...people will remove them and wonder why their chip card isn't working. My short answer is "The screen is telling you what to do" (Please Slide Card)

I've had SCs stick their card in the coupon slot (can be retrieved, but is annoying as peons aren't supposed to open the coupon boxes at all and any time we need the key it needs to be explained), bill dispenser (not so easy to get, only cash office peeps have those keys), gap between the scale faceplate and unit (now what made you think it goes in there?!)...etc. I'm just waiting for someone to jam it into the bill acceptor which would really screw things up (that requires a tech call).

[manybellsdown]

Oh the chip cards have been so much fun to deal with. There are still a few that will let people slide even with a chip. Some where people insert it and it won't work so they slide it and then get told they have to insert it again.

This was me the other day, I'm afraid. I didn't even realize the new credit card they sent me after the old one expired had a chip; I almost never use that particular card. I kept trying to swipe it not realizing that the lady was telling me to stick it in the chip slot!