Fuck you Safeway checker!

The BBQ Pit
101

[QUOTE=DrDeth]
Ok, dude, I agree, that cashier was a moron. But it’s 2007 so why the fuck are you still writing checks? See that is what caused the error. If you had handed him your checkcard, and he had done that, you would have still owed $27 as your card would only have been charged $58.60.

Think of the errors that would have ensued had you tried to pay with wampum. Checks are to pay bills (and even there there are faster better ways for most bills), not to shop.
[/QUOTE]

Substitute the word “cash” for check-say he handed him 85.20 in CASH, and the cashier still put it in wrong-would you say he was stupid for using cash?

featherlou, true, but his drawer in TOTAL would balance out, you’d just have the correct amount in the one check, instead of one check and $27 cash. I was told as long as I gave correct change, I would be okay, and that’s what I always did.

You’d be off on both your checks and your cash, according to the computer, but it would still balance in the end.

Or, you could just get the manager to come and undo the mistake.
shefDave, you can’t print on the other side-most checks say, Endorse HERE" on the back, and then you can’t write below that line, or whatever. And printing on the other side would make it impossible to read. Of course, you could always just put a stray piece of receipt paper in…

Martini Enfield, if the kid needs the job that badly, then he needs to learn to do it right, and not be a jackass to customers. It’s one thing to have a bad day and snap at some rude jerk, or make a minor mistake-it’s quite another to behave as the kid in the OP did.

102

[QUOTE=Jodi]
Sorry, PL, but it doesn’t in Britian and Australia. Check his/her location.
[/QUOTE]

Also a habit indicative of computer programmers. It’s a string issue.

103

[QUOTE=PunditLisa]
Are you serious? Crap. Is this a derivative of Gaudere’s Law?
[/QUOTE]

Actually, a double whammy for you, as the issue is not a case of grammar, but style.

104

[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Actually, a double whammy for you, as the issue is not a case of grammar, but style.
[/QUOTE]

Screw.

I can’t seem to find the penalty schedule. Does this mean I get slapped on the wrist, ex-communicated, or forced to listen to Yoko Ono until my head explodes?

105

Perhaps I’m missing something here:

Safeway, in Australia, is what Woolworths Supermarkets in Victoria are called.

Is Safeway in the US a major chain, or a lower-tier supermarket like IGA is here?

106

what dffererence des thsat make to your argument?

107

[QUOTE=Martini Enfield]
Perhaps I’m missing something here:

Safeway, in Australia, is what Woolworths Supermarkets in Victoria are called.

Is Safeway in the US a major chain, or a lower-tier supermarket like IGA is here?
[/QUOTE]

Safeway is a lower-tier supermarket.

108

The checker was about a 30-35 YO male, FTR. Not that that should matter, but I would guess he’s had plenty of times to warm up to the checking idea.

I’m in a live-in relationship with my SO. We each use plastic almost exclusively for all matters except joint stuff (bills, groceries, etc). It’s easier to keep track of the joint account using checks as we both use the account independent of each other. Not that that should matter either. Not only do I see lots of people writing checks at Safeway, accepting checks is part of his job description and I’m sure he was trained at it (or at least the attempt was made).

[QUOTE=Monty]
So, why didn’t you turn around when the checker made the smartaleck comment? It wouldn’t take more than five minutes of your time to have a meeting with the checker and the supervisor in the store manager’s office.
[/QUOTE]

-Because up until that time I had kept my temper somewhat in check. Not sure that would have happened if I had turned around. I decided to come home and write a letter to the store instead. Besides, two managers were already aware of the problem.

109

[QUOTE=PunditLisa]
Safeway is a lower-tier supermarket.
[/QUOTE]

Gotta argue that - it’s one of the biggest grocery chains in the US, I believe.

110

[QUOTE=Lissa]
In a small way, I understand the manager’s refusal. When I was trained as a cashier many, many moons ago, they drilled into us that this was a common scam that customers pulled: saying that they had given you a larger bill than they actually had and demanding the difference. The manager did the right thing in counting the till. If it didn’t show a ten dollar overage, there was nothing for her to do unless she had security camera footage. (The fact that the register till wasn’t correct anyway is another kettle of fish in her mind.) She certainly wasn’t going to take your word for it.

[/quote]

Wow, the last thing I thought was that anyone would take the manager’s side after I told that story. “Another kettle of fish”? That makes no sense whatsoever. If the register is off, it means at least one mistake was made in giving change. At that point, there is no way to know how many mistakes were made or which were over or under charges.

The manager took the word of the cashier that she gave me the correct change. The fact that the register was off proves that the cashier did not give correct change to everyone that day. Yet the manager still took her at her word. That makes no sense.

Yes, I stuck the money in my ass in the middle of a roomful of people. :rolleyes:

Logic and common sense are dead.

111

Safeway is the third largest US grocer with sales of $35 billion and almost 200,000 employees. Up until a few years ago, it was the largest grocer in the country.

Not very “second tier”, if you ask me.

112

[QUOTE=lowbrass]
<snip>Logic and common sense are dead.
[/QUOTE]

My husband who works in Construction Safety doesn’t use the term “common sense” at all in his work - he uses the term “good judgement,” because expecting common sense isn’t going to keep anyone safe.

113

[QUOTE=Guinastasia]
Substitute the word “cash” for check-say he handed him 85.20 in CASH, and the cashier still put it in wrong-would you say he was stupid for using cash?

.
[/QUOTE]

You know, I said the clerk was a moron, but everyone ignores that. Paying by check is passe and few clerks know how to do it. Many stores have given up on checks and the few that haven’t keep it as an option for dudes like the OP. But there is no reason at all to pay by check.

114

[QUOTE=DrDeth]
You know, I said the clerk was a moron, but everyone ignores that. Paying by check is passe and few clerks know how to do it. Many stores have given up on checks and the few that haven’t keep it as an option for dudes like the OP. But there is no reason at all to pay by check.
[/QUOTE]

No reason to pay by check? Some people don’t have credit cards and don’t have the cash on hand, so they pay by check. It’s a perfectly acceptable form of payment at a lot of places. And while it may becoming increasingly passe, I’d be willing to bet that a cashier at a grocery store processes several checks a day. Senior citizens especially seem to prefer this form of payment.

And regardless of whether the guy was a moron, he erred by copping an attitude. At the end of the day, he was WRONG and he acted like the customer was being a jerk for not paying $30 more than he owed. For that alone, he should be given a tongue lashing.

(I just hope that when he recounted this story to his friends and/or family, one of them let him know that he was wrong.)

115

[QUOTE=DrDeth]
Paying by check is passe and few clerks know how to do it.
[/QUOTE]

Er … seriously?

Probably 30% of the people I see at the grocery store pay with checks. Another 15% use cash, and the rest use credit or debit cards. I do live in a pretty rural area, but are checks really that unusual in other places? Enough that clerks don’t know what to do with them?

As PunditLisa said, there are still people left on the planet that don’t have credit cards. My 45-year old cousin has never had one, and doesn’t plan to get one. No debit card, either. He uses checks or cash. I can think of three other people off the top of my head that are the same way. Given time, I could probably come up with even more. It’s somewhat unusual, but it doesn’t automatically land you in tinfoilhat freakville. At least not around here.

116

Then the stores need to either (a) stop taking checks or (b) train their clerks how to process them. But it’s just silly to accept a form of payment and then not train your people in how to handle it.

But I think your claim that “few clerks know how to do it” is largely BS; I think the vast majority of clerks know how to process a check through the register because, you’re argument that checks are going the way of the dinosaur notwithstanding, lots of people still pay for groceries with checks, in every store, every day. That’s why most grocery stores still take them, when many other establishments (like restaurants) no longer do.

117

I’m a cashier. If you don’t know how to process a check (its not as hard as they’re trying to make it sound!) then you need to find another job. Seriously. Most places all you have to do is enter the amount and maybe the check number. I understand what happened with this guy, he accidentally typed the amount in wrong. It happens. But not realizing that it was HIS mistake was dumb. Also checks are not “passe”; I get them all the time and it is an expected part of the job. They may be old fashioned or whatever, but lots of people still use them every day and cashiers should know how to handle them.

118

I think second-tier or lower-tier don’t mean the size of the chain or its business, but rather what consumer experience it offers. A first- or higher-tier chain offers a more luxurious shopping experience and offers more services. A lower- or second-tier chain offers a more bare-bones experience with fewer services (think carpeted vs. tiled floors, baggers vs. bagging your own groceries, etc.).

119

[QUOTE=StuffLikeThatThere]
I do live in a pretty rural area, but are checks really that unusual in other places?
[/QUOTE]

I live in a very urban area and I see people paying with checks all the time.

120

[QUOTE=Beadalin]
I think second-tier or lower-tier don’t mean the size of the chain or its business, but rather what consumer experience it offers. A first- or higher-tier chain offers a more luxurious shopping experience and offers more services. A lower- or second-tier chain offers a more bare-bones experience with fewer services (think carpeted vs. tiled floors, baggers vs. bagging your own groceries, etc.).
[/QUOTE]
Well, we no longer have Safeway stores in SoCal. Safeway bought out Von’s and transmogrified all the Safeway stores into Von’s stores. Safeway still exists in Northern California (as well as other places), but as far as the Los Angeles Basin is concerned, Von’s and Von’s Pavillions are pretty much upper middle class, and they’re controlled by Safeway.

Tiers? I don’t really know from tiers. If anyone is suggesting that Safeway is the lower of exactly two tiers, I don’t really think that fits. If one wishes to postulate multiple (more than two) tiers, I won’t argue that Safeway belongs in the highest rank, even though the Pavillion’s stores do have large portions of the floor carpeted, as well as offering more expansive catering options and fancy-schmancy value-added services than, say, Ralph’s or Albertson’s. All of these places bag your groceries for you, except Food-4-Less (part of the Kroger family).

If you want upper UPPER class, you’re talking Whole Foods Markets, Gelson’s, and Bristol Farms. They are not well-represented in Orange County.