I think a parliamentary government is essentially a temporary dictatorship for the period of it’s term. This is especially true in a place like New Zealand with a single house and no written constitution. The government can pass a law to do pretty much anything it wants. Their only real restraint is the desire to be reelected. It’s just not that simple in the US with two houses, a president, a constitution and megabucks of lobbying money.
And if you immediately dump that penny in the tip jar next to the register, you’re saying, “I am such a douchebag that I’m not really tipping you, I just don’t want that shit jangling in my pocket.”
There’s a “swipe charge” for each transaction, which is regarded as the cost of doing business for higher ticket items, but which will eliminate any profit or even cost the business money on lower ticket items. Some businesses will refuse to take a debit card, unless the bill is over a certain amount. For instance, my neighborhood cafe has a (handwritten) sign that tells customers that the total bill needs to come to $15 before they can take a debit card. One deli that I go to refuses to take debit OR credit cards, because of the swipe fees. They take checks, though. In the case of the OP, swiping a card would cost the business more than it would profit them.
I think that the OP should simply speak to the manager, and ask if it’s the shop’s policy to not give out pennies, or if this cashier is doing it on his own initiative. Yeah, it’s petty, but apparently it’s aggravating at least ONE customer enough that s/he will rant about it.
I have converted to doing most of my transactions with a debit card…but I still carry some cash on me, and I carry my checkbook on me, too. And a few credit cards.
I’m sure you’re right although something seems backwards with that system. Why does the card transaction cost more than a check? The card is automated with no moving parts and no risk to the business. I don’t think a debit card can “bounce” once it’s approved. The check is piece of paper that needs to be taken to the bank and then trucked to the customer’s back to be cleared. A person gets involved if it can’t be read electronically. It seems crazy for a card transaction to cost more than a physical check.
This business is likely violating their merchant agreement. Standard contracts don’t allow for minimums or other conditions; if you accept cards, you agree to accept cards for any purchase, period.
I do understand the merchant’s reasoning, and it’s no skin off my nose, but the card companies take this seriously. If you’re ever faced with a business trying to impose a minimum purchase for card use, threaten to report them to Visa and they’ll change their tune pretty quickly.
I actually light my cigars with pennies. Burns the shit out of my fingers, but it’s worth it to feel important.
I can’t believe I read through this whole thread and not one of you even blinks an eye at paying $1.99 for that dreck Dunkin Donuts coffee.
We have threads about this fairly often. I think you will find that the credit card companies don’t take these things seriously. Calling the credit card company with probably not result in any action being taken. Have you personally called and subsequently seen the policy of a minimum charge reversed. Because we have lots of reports of people calling having the credit card company politely take your complaint and then nothing.
I was thinking about this, too (having been the person who was in the accounting office trying to balance all the tills every morning). The ideal is that you do every transaction correctly, and balance at the end of your shift, not try to remember how many pennies to take out, or come out ahead or behind at the end of every shift. Being over on a till isn’t much better than being under; it still means that you’re making errors.
It’s the same here; some transactions even double-dip (charging the business AND the customer - it’s good to be a bank). I’ve seen the occasional sign asking people not to use debit cards for small transactions, and I try to do that.
The thing is, for a debit card, there’s a transaction fee (I believe that it’s a quarter) and then there’s a percentage of the purchase, too. So DD is having to pay twentyfive cents just to swipe that card. For a transaction of just under two bucks, that’s a pretty steep cost, not even adding in the percentage.
Now, if someone wants to buy $100 of merchandise, a twenty five cent swipe fee is insignificant, and the percentage is the same.
I’m aware that CREDIT cards require the merchant to take all charges, with no minimum, but I’m not sure that applies to DEBIT cards.
I don’t doubt what you’re saying. I’m just making the comment that somewhere in the bigger picture of things something is screwed up, not that that’s any surprise I guess.
The total real cost for everyone, not just the store, of handling a check must surely be more than an electronic card transaction. It’s bit like email compared to snail mail.
And speaking from experience… A half a handfull dumped into a sock, and forcefully applied to the side of someones head, will knock a person out cold. :eek:
With the additional benefit of … You won’t hurt your hand! 
DAMN! Just look at what you’ve done! :eek:
I now have to clean Dr Pepper off of my keyboard, before it gets all stickyyyy.
Tttooo lllaaaattttteeeee!!!
What is it about Giraffe’s posts that would compel you to drink Dr. Pepper? 
Well, I never have, but now that you planted the seed plenty of others are going to. Maybe I’ll even start to carry an abacus and scoring my coins. What fun!
He who lives by rounding dies by rounding.
Pre-Euro Germany was like that, with 1Pf, 2Pf, and 5Pf coins along with others all the way up to five marks. And obviously one Pfennig was worth far less than a Euro-cent today. Based on my own experience, even the tiniest coins tended to get spent, because there were so many other things you could buy with just coins, and whenever you reach for coins in your pocket you get pennies/pfennigs if they are there. And as far as I could tell, it was much the same for everyone. You didn’t see people filling up boxes or jars with pfennigs.
I should point out though, that my year over there was long before the advent of the Euro. I loved the old German coin-centric system, so I’m a bit sorry that Euro coins don’t go higher than 2. Or do they?
The ARCO station mini-marts (and possibly other retailers) out here in CA add a $0.45 surcharge to debit card swipes.
And they don’t take credit cards at all.
Why?.. Because it tastes mm…mmm, good!
You, sir, are obviously not, from my neck of the woods! (So to speak.:p)
Well I did watch one show where a anorexic bulked herself up before a weigh in by using a roll of coins up the…
welll…
The female teacher that caught her thought she was using the pennies as ben wa balls..:o