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I work in a retail establishment that takes SNAP (EBT or food stamps, if you don't recognize that term). The amount of actual food we carry is small, since we are a pharmacy, otherwise known as a drugstore.
For the past couple of months, we have had a family that comes in, usually about 1/2 hour before closing, and buys the most expensive food items we have, always paying by SNAP. Then the next day (again shortly before closing), they return it without a receipt. Company policy is that if you return something without a receipt, you get a shopping card/gift card (whatever your store calls it) that can only be used to purchase items in our store.
Those of us who work the registers KNOW what this family is doing ... they are returning items that were bought with SNAP, without a receipt so that they can then buy the items they really wanted which, of course, are NOT food. This has been brought to the attention of all of the assistant managers and they have refused to do anything about it.
Well on Friday, they came in during the day (wonder of wonders!), which means they came in while the store/district manager was in the store. Head guy of the family stops me and tells me he is going to return some candy but he doesn't have the receipt and what would I do for him? I give him the standard line that he will get a shopping card. He says "OK I'll be back tomorrow". The entire family then proceeds to wander around the store picking out what they will get tomorrow with their shopping card (lounge chairs, "cute" shiny hair accessories, etc.) I tell the store/district manager and that this has been going on for months, he says "they are cheating the system"!.
Saturday, they come in with the candy, which by the way was the most expensive boxes we sell, and proceed to try to get a refund/shopping card. Store/district manager goes to their aid. "Sir, we have it on video that you purchased this candy using a SNAP card. Any refund we give you will be put back on the SNAP card."
:::::Cue deer in headlights look::::: "But we don't need this candy! We NEED these lounge chairs/cute shiny hair accessories!" "We don't have ANYYYYYYYYYYYYY income!!!!!!!!!!!!" (I call bull**** on this, they obviously have enough money to buy gas to come here all the time - we don't have public transportation in this town)
Manager: "I understand that sir and I sympathize, really I do. But you are using the SNAP system for something for which it was not intended. If you try this again, you WILL be reported to DSS (which oversees the program)."
:::: cue much dancing and high fiving by the cashiers:::::
For the past couple of months, we have had a family that comes in, usually about 1/2 hour before closing, and buys the most expensive food items we have, always paying by SNAP. Then the next day (again shortly before closing), they return it without a receipt. Company policy is that if you return something without a receipt, you get a shopping card/gift card (whatever your store calls it) that can only be used to purchase items in our store.
Those of us who work the registers KNOW what this family is doing ... they are returning items that were bought with SNAP, without a receipt so that they can then buy the items they really wanted which, of course, are NOT food. This has been brought to the attention of all of the assistant managers and they have refused to do anything about it.
Well on Friday, they came in during the day (wonder of wonders!), which means they came in while the store/district manager was in the store. Head guy of the family stops me and tells me he is going to return some candy but he doesn't have the receipt and what would I do for him? I give him the standard line that he will get a shopping card. He says "OK I'll be back tomorrow". The entire family then proceeds to wander around the store picking out what they will get tomorrow with their shopping card (lounge chairs, "cute" shiny hair accessories, etc.) I tell the store/district manager and that this has been going on for months, he says "they are cheating the system"!.
Saturday, they come in with the candy, which by the way was the most expensive boxes we sell, and proceed to try to get a refund/shopping card. Store/district manager goes to their aid. "Sir, we have it on video that you purchased this candy using a SNAP card. Any refund we give you will be put back on the SNAP card."
:::::Cue deer in headlights look::::: "But we don't need this candy! We NEED these lounge chairs/cute shiny hair accessories!" "We don't have ANYYYYYYYYYYYYY income!!!!!!!!!!!!" (I call bull**** on this, they obviously have enough money to buy gas to come here all the time - we don't have public transportation in this town)
Manager: "I understand that sir and I sympathize, really I do. But you are using the SNAP system for something for which it was not intended. If you try this again, you WILL be reported to DSS (which oversees the program)."
:::: cue much dancing and high fiving by the cashiers:::::
to the manager who stopped them in their tracks!
Of course, that's his day off, so we are scrambling, stealing tape from unused registers (which btw, makes them beep until the tape is replaced). The next day I was off, so don't know what happened or how the cashiers coped, but the next day I'm in at opening. Unused registers are beeping, my register and the two others that are usually used are on pink tape. My direct supervisor asks me about it, I tell her "John" was told FIVE days ago we were out and he didn't order. She goes to store/district manager. He says he was waiting for "John" to do his job and order, but he'll go right now to another store. And he does, and brings us more than double the number of tapes we need to operate for a week! YAY bossman.
Stay tuned 
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