The Check Customer

[hellhathnofury]

I don't know of any stores here (in Ontario - or in most of Canada for that matter) that still accept cheques. If you don't want to carry the cash, you use Interac(debit) or credit, or in the rare instance where a store doesn't have interac, you use cash. But other than paying bills, cheques are never used.

[CurlyLocks]

Most places here in Northeastern PA will absolutely take checks, even though debit cards are commonly used. There are even a couple of Chinese restaurants that we like to go to and they take checks. I still write them myself but I suppose one day I'll have to get a debit card.

[Freemage]

I suspect most of the folks who still prefer checks to debit cards are those who religiously maintained their checkbook registers; it is a bit easier to know exactly how much you've got left in your account that way, after all.

And hell, I technically 'kited' a few checks back in the day (doing the bit where I knew a deposit was in the making, and so the check itself would be honored--NOT writing a check intending it to bounce). You do what you have to to get by, sometimes.

[Killer Bees]

I can't remember the last time I saw a cheque book, let alone used one. Purchases here are either made by cash, or some form of card eg credit, debit, ATM, etc.

Slightly OT: You can't get paid in your job unless you have a bank account because everthing is electronically deposited straight in. Getting paid in cash has gone the way of the dinosaur. Also, most places pay your salary every two weeks or every month. The only time you get paid weekly is when you're a temp.

My job fantasy is to get paid in cash every week

[Andara Bledin]

Not quite on topic, but can anybody here understand why a store would refuse to accept a debit card for the purchase of a money order? I had to pick one up yesterday, and they would take cash only. So I bough something at the store, got the cash back after the purchase, then bought the money order with that. I just don't get it.

*teasing Killer Bees* I have always had jobs that paid weekly. Every single one of them. And they give out checks, too.

However, my boyfriend now works for an agency that does the deposit-only thing. It'll cost him like $5 just to get his money because he doesn't currently have a bank account, though that will change next month.

^-.-^

[Andara Bledin]

Um... but I went 20 feet away, used the debit card at a register to get cash, then walked back to get the money order.

If it were stolen, the store would be just as out the money, only now it would also include a case of soda.

^-.-^

[purplecat41877]

Yesterday, a customer complained to one of my service desk coworkers who was scheduled to check that night that she had to show ID for writing a check and another customer before her didn't. Where I work, you're usually only required to show ID if the computer prompts it. My coworker explained this to the customer. The customer wouldn't accept it but she eventually left.

[GingerBiscuit]

On the pay thing, I'd hate being paid weekly, or in cash or cheque. Just cause I'd spend it all faster than I already do.

FRom next payday on I'm saving up for commercialmas anyway, and after commercialmas am saving for our five year anniversary, so I can't spend too much though.

[Hon'ya-chan]

I suspect most of the folks who still prefer checks to debit cards are those who religiously maintained their checkbook registers; it is a bit easier to know exactly how much you've got left in your account that way, after all.

I still see folks with the Debit Card, AND the checkbook register.

My job fantasy is to get paid in cash every week

Theirs a couple of businesses in the US that still do it....but i'm not gonna get labeled a racist here. Thought I do believe that the Japanese still do alot of currency transactions like paying for goods with cash and paying employees with cash.

There was this japanese variety show I torrented a while back, and it showed this Hong Kong distributor guy buying Japanese Goods in japan from a Liquidator....he had nearly $1 Million in US Currency and $2 million in Japanese Yen. All stuffed into this bank bag. Of course, his transaction later ended up costing him $7 million.

[purplecat41877]

Yesterday, a customer had a problem with putting her phone # on the front of the check but she did it anyway since I told her that we're supposed to do that. I let her complain to my service desk coworker who informed me that we didn't have to put the phone # on the front of the check and that the customer was in there all the time. I remember the policy being that there was supposed to be a phone # on the front of all personal checks. A little later, I told the service desk coworker that she should check with someone about the check policy involving phone #s.

[powerboy]

This happened on Friday, and as far as I know, a non-sucky customer. But he wrote his check for OVER the amount of his total, and I discovered this when I was doing that day's accounting.

How is that even a problem. My mom and grandmother do that, when they need the cash for something. You just give them that change back

Slightly OT: You can't get paid in your job unless you have a bank account because everything is electronically deposited straight in.

Ummmm, I get a paycheck every 2 weeks. I am thinking about it getting it directly deposited.

[VenomX]

Slightly OT: You can't get paid in your job unless you have a bank account because everthing is electronically deposited straight in. Getting paid in cash has gone the way of the dinosaur. Also, most places pay your salary every two weeks or every month. The only time you get paid weekly is when you're a temp.

My job fantasy is to get paid in cash every week

Where I work the boss has always paid by cash and yes weekly. Its great to walk in and get handed an envelope that has my pay stub and cash.
No need to goto a bank and weekly pays makes paying bills and stuff easier.

[PepperElf]

The customer had me give back his check and ID which I did.

but at least he didn't yell?
i remember a couple of times when i had to over-write checks for cash, like when i was waiting for my new debit card to arrive. it sucked but, until i found the local bank that was associated with my own bank, it was about the only way i could do anything with my money... and i was short on checks too, so every one written mattered.

[GolfCart34]

On the debit card thing: believe it or not, some customers are not allowed to have debit cards. I'm not sure if larger banks do this, but at my bank we will suspend debit and atm card privileges to those who are notorious for overdrawing their account. They will usually have a message on the computer system stating if a customer's privileges have been suspended.

I personally stopped writing checks at stores years ago and started using my credit card instead (I don't use my debit card since I usually don't remember to write transactions into my register) but I can understand why the old (both in age and school) masses still like to write them. Most of the smaller business and restaurants who bank with us only accept cash and checks surprisingly. And, even though they're not customers of ours, we do have a few Chinese restaurants in the area who post bad checks on the wall of shame for all to see in their establishments. At least the good Chinese restaurant here where I live does not accept checks at all (and I make sure to tip well when I get take out from them since the lady who owns the restaurants banks where I work and is really nice).

[purplecat41877]

Yesterday, one of the checkers sent a customer up to me since there was no phone # on the check. I told the customer that we required a phone # on the check and she mentioned that she'd been writing checks there for 35 years. I called the store director and the customer and I both spoke to him over the phone. He gave me permission to have the check go through without the phone # and so the customer and I went over to the checker who originally had her and she put the transaction through.

The customer didn't request a manager. I voluntarily called for one since he would be able to approve a check without a phone #.