Dude, Get A New Card

[Dreamstalker]

A CW had a Doordash customer whose card wasn't reading at all. The card itself wasn't even recognizable as a payment card unless you looked really closely. The front was scratched to hell and almost plain white--it looked like the card got wet and the ink had run off--and the stripe on the back was even half worn away. For the rest of my shift we were trying to figure out how that happens...since it was a gig service, I'm betting that they cheap out on making the cards. My college student ID is in better shape than that card was.

After a few minutes of both of us trying to explain to the SC that his card wasn't going through and he needed to call Doordash, Shuffles got involved. Even he couldn't get it across to the SC, and SC decided that the best way to 'solve' this was throw something at us (luckily my reflexes were better than he thought, he had shitty aim and hit the counter behind me), storm over to the desk and proceed to yell at Shuffles in Spanish for five minutes...probably hoping that he'd give the guy his stuff for free. Thankfully that didn't work.

We reported to SM that SC was throwing things, but the response was along the lines of a shrug.

[Pixilated]

Wow. That reminds me of something that happened to me years ago when I was a cashier at one of those big-box DIY/appliance/etc. stores.
A woman came in and bought a lot of stuff (mostly wood, if I remember correctly).
She then gave me her First Nations (Native Americans to all the Yanks here ) ID card so I could give her the tax break the law allows her.
Our machines were old and wonky and tended to become very uncooperative without warning.
So ... my machine decided to become very uncooperative.
I struggled with it for several minutes, trying to get the bloody thing to start the process to give her her tax break.
She put 2 and 2 together and immediately came up with 5 3/4.
SC: "I HOPE you're not doing this just because I'm Native!"
Sure, lady. Because my white brain is SO brilliant that it can reach into the machine while it's trying to process your order and screw it up. Didn't you know that?
Finally I get this part fixed.
She then hands me her store account card.
It's expired.
I try to tell her this and she goes completely apeshit, screaming that it CAN'T be expired ... because she was so fucking stupid and triggered that she thought I was telling her that her First Nations ID card had expired! Because suddenly she's no longer a First Nations person!
Outside of some bizarre dystopian science-fiction story that would clearly not be possible.
I finally had had enough and called a supervisor over. I gestured to the customer when supervisor showed up that the customer's ACCOUNT CARD has expired. Supervisor took the customer up to the front desk and dealt with her there.
The woman was with a younger woman, possibly a daughter (?), who looked increasingly appalled and embarrassed at the spiralling rants coming from the older woman.
I had been in that department temporarily. When I was called back to my normal register, who do I run into but the younger woman. She gave me a sheepish smile. I was petty enough that I didn't respond.

[Dreamstalker]

Sure, lady. Because my white brain is SO brilliant that it can reach into the machine while it's trying to process your order and screw it up. Didn't you know that?

Oh, I tend to get accused of that a lot. because the only two registers that get used have serious problems (I'm honestly surprised one of them hasn't burst into flames) If I could control technology like that I wouldn't be working retail...

I've had customers apologize for a parent's tantrums before; we have a few SCs who are always that way, and one of the cool managers has told a few of them that their children/significant others can come in and shop, but not them. So of course they come in when said managers aren't actually working (we don't even know managers' schedules, how the hell do they figure it out?).

[Pixilated]

That's just wild, that they figure out when the managers-with-a-spine aren't there. I'd be inclined to think they send in a friend or something to check the place out first ...

[Pixilated]

Had something a bit similar happen to me a day or so ago, although with no tantrum.
Woman comes in to buy some groceries. Tells me she has a new card.
Okay, not a problem.
Or at least it shouldn't be.
Lady, you have to give the damn machine at *least* a second or two to enable it to "read" your card!
She was whipping it at the machine and then away again as if the machine was a venomous snake!
Not surprisingly ... nothing happened.
Yes, I could have explained things to her.
No, I didn't.
She finally took out a different card and used it. Properly. Why she couldn't do that with the first one is beyond me.

[Monterey Jack]

This happens frequently at work, some customer's store card so dirty, bent and with the plastic peeling off that it's almost impossible to scan. Dude, just order a new one online or at the service desk!

[taxguykarl]

I see social security cards that are so frayed, that I worry about feeding them through our scanners....understand that laminating them is technically against regulations.
Also, I often have to ask for the security number on credit cards as they are faded.