Angry ID Check Customer

[purplecat41877]

Recently, a customer bought some groceries and decided to pay by check. The system ended up requesting ID which she didn't have so I had to get the order suspended and the order put aside so she could go get it.

When she came back, she mentioned that she's been shopping there for years and since she was asked for ID, she didn't think that she'd be shopping at the store again. The supervisor even mentioned that there was no way to override the ID option and the customer mentioned that the machine should have that option for regular customers/customers that have shopped at the store for years.

[Marmalady]

Ah yes, the well-known 'The rules don't apply to me because I'm special' approach.

[sms001]

Was this custy Sucky, Purple?

I ask 'cause I don't wanna engage in Fail-To-See-The-Suck if she was whinging or whining or demanding. All depends on how she phrased the "Never coming back" statement, I suppose.

But from the way you state things, I kinda have to agree with her. Probably not a lot the store can do if it is an outside vendor supplying the check servicing, but there are plenty of places where people shop year after year, decade after decade where exceptions might be made as a convenience for the regular.

Why anyone wouldn't have their ID on their person as a matter of routine is, of course, a whole thread to itself.

[EricKei]

sms - Well, the only stores I've seen that forego the ID requirement have people using a check-cashing card or other special system, as we all know that we generally can't trust people who claim to have been "shopping here forever!" Of course, this requires that the user present some sort of card, either way...

[raudf]

Wow, to use an ID request an excuse to "never shop here again." This person must have a loooonnnggg list of places she doesn't shop at, because most places require an ID from time to time.

a) System requires ID to be slid or throws up a screen saying that it is required. And most of these types can't be overridden. Only thing to do is con the system and put it in as another payment type.. and that leads us to:

b) Company policy requires an ID to be written on the check by the cashier. Failure to do so can (usually WILL) result in a write-up.

c) A new cashier who doesn't know you and follows b to keep her job.

I can't think of a single time I haven't been carded for using a check.. well, except for Walmart, but I was carded for using a check for the first time during this year. So even there, you get carded at least once a year.

[AnaKhouri]

I am always amazed when people want to write a check and don't have their ID on them. Every store I know of requires an ID for a check. I really don't understand why people think they can jet around without it, it's pretty much universal here that you need one for a check.

[XCashier]

Was this custy Sucky, Purple?

Yes, she was. Being asked for ID is not rude, or bad customer service, or the end of the world as too many customers think it is. Everybody gets asked for ID at one time or another. That's modern life for you.

It was both sucky and stupid of her not to have it on her, and especially sucky when she pulled the old "never shopping here again" card. Double suck if she doesn't keep that promise.

[It's me]

Also there is no gurantee the person on cash has seen you before.... subbing from a different shift, new employee, etc.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I am always amazed when people want to write a check and don't have their ID on them. Every store I know of requires an ID for a check. I really don't understand why people think they can jet around without it, it's pretty much universal here that you need one for a check.

Not to mention that if they are driving, then they are required by law to have valid ID on their person.
So from that perspective if they don't have proper ID on their person, not only can they NOT get their check cashed but they really shouldn't even be on the road to get to your store.

How many times I wanted to ask them if they were driving when they'd pull the "No ID" excuse I lost count over a decade ago . . .

And also speaking of no ID, I'd like to see them try that one with a police officer after leaving a grocery store where they couldn't get their check cased due to "no ID.".

Now that would be Karma on Toast.

[EricKei]

As always, our SC here would be the first to scream for somebody's head if her checkbook had been stolen and a store honored "her" checks without asking for ID...

[DGoddessChardonnay]

As always, our SC here would be the first to scream for somebody's head if her checkbook had been stolen and a store honored "her" checks without asking for ID...

True that.

It's a lose/lose situation no matter how you look at it.

[Pagan]

Not to mention that if they are driving, then they are required by law to have valid ID on their person.
So from that perspective if they don't have proper ID on their person, not only can they NOT get their check cashed but they really shouldn't even be on the road to get to your store.

How many times I wanted to ask them if they were driving when they'd pull the "No ID" excuse I lost count over a decade ago . . .

Not just valid ID, but a valid driver's license. I have a passport, but no LEO I know of is going to accept that if I get pulled over.

Oh, we got the "Oh, I left my ID out in the car" line at the pharmacy when they were picking up a control or pseudoephedrine. Both of which require an ID by federal law. And it was usually guys, who had just pulled their CC out of their wallet. Don't know why they didn't just stick it in their wallet. Then there were the ones that had left their wallet out in the car. Several times they said they hadn't just forgotten it out there, just didn't ever bring it in. How did you expect to pay, ya maroon?

Sorry, but I'm not risking loss of my license, certification, a fine and possible jail time, and my livelihood for your ass!

[wolfie]

The supervisor even mentioned that there was no way to override the ID option and the customer mentioned that the machine should have that option for regular customers/customers that have shopped at the store for years.

If the override option existed, it would be a fraud magnet. You've seen on these forums (fora?) numerous cases of someone trying to bully a cashier into taking a fraudulent payment. I wonder what proportion of overrides would be legitimate "cashier recognizes regular customer", and what proportion would be a new cashier being bullied into accepting (what turns out to be) a stolen cheque - or spineless manager ordering the cashier to do so "because we don't want to lose a customer".

[XRogue]

Exactly, this has happened to me soooo many times, "Ooo I forgot my money/id in the car, and/or I am going to throw a tantie like a 3 year old because you dared to ask for ID!"

One guy got so mad he dumped every card in his wallet out on the floor, cursing all the while and complaining he was in a hurry.... well you'd have been done a LOT quicker if you'd just taken your ID out when you got out your card, bub.

AND of course, he was one of those that sloooowwwly pulls out his wallet and unfolds it, and dillydallies, oh which card do I want to put this one on, looks at one, then another, then picks a third, and takes his merry time folding his wallet back up and putting it in his pocket before swiping his credit card, too.

Seriously, do people not understand these policies are in place for their protection?

[emax4]

That would be a good time to say, "If you ever want to purchase items from this place again, then you'll need to present your ID for this purchase." If they say they're never going to shop here again, or they do present their ID, chalk up a victory for yourself and the store.