There are so many things that piss me off at the store, check writers, even slow ones, are too far down the list to worry about. I’m too busy contemplating strangling the bagboy for using plastic bags when I specifically askjed for paper. And worrying about breaking a blood vessel in my head when I inform him again that I want paper and then he puts the goods in a paper bag and then puts the paper bag IN A PLASTIC BAG!!! AAAAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!
But check writers? Who cares?
One more thing…
When your check transaction is completed and your groceries are bagged, GET THE FUCK OUT OF LINE!
It is NOT time for you to balance your fucking checking account at the expense of my time. My time which I will fill with a debit card transaction in which not only is my card run, but my PIN is entered LONG before my groceries are even scanned yet.
Thank you for letting me get that off of my chest.
Sam
You shoulda known me when I was in college.
I realize it’s very common, but the practice you’ve described is also quite illegal, subject to both civil and criminal penalty in all fifty states.
You are required to have funds available to cover your check at the time you write your check. Not doing so is committing fraud.
Living this close to the line is a sign of real, impending financial disaster. At the very least, a check of the budget should be in order.
Sorry to be such a downer. But I got into lots of financial trouble as a much younger man, so I really know what it’s like. My financial woes were so bad I pretty much had to join the Navy to dig myself out.
That’s pretty drastic.
Indeed - the practice is called “kiteing”.
However, I wonder if anyone has been convicted of “kiteing” in the recent past.
DING DING DING!!!
We have a winner here. Over the course of a year, I can guarantee that every single one of us is inconvenienced more by moron card users than by moron check users.
The food store where I shop only takes cash or checks - no credit cards and no debit cards. Plastic costs the store money and they do what they can to keep down such costs. The store does have a third-party ATM installed so you can use your plastic to get some cash to pay for groceries.
I know you’re trying to be helpful, but you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. As for the budget–let’s just say that short of ceasing to eat, there’s not much that can be done about it at this point. Once the kiddos are older and over 1/2 of my income stops going to daycare, I’ll be in much better shape. Thank heavens.
As for it being illegal, even if the funds are in place when the check clears, I actually didn’t know that. Fortunately, I don’t have to do it often and, as I said, I only do so when my automatic deposits are less than 24-48 hours away. I’ve never bounced a check because of it.
Hi, belladonna! Fellow check-writer here who kites and is on the brink of financial disaster.
I do fill out my check beforehand, though, and when I worked retail, it was always the plastic transactions that made me cringe. Especially with the argumentative customers that swore there shouldn’t be any problem with their card. :rolleyes:
And some stores are beating us to the punch. I’ve not written a check in a store for years, however right before Mother’s Day we found ourselves in the predicament of having to buy gifts for 2 moms, a stepmom, a grandmother, and a live-in aunt a few days before the next paycheck was scheduled to be direct deposited. We decided to write a check at the stores where we’d buy the Mom’s day gifts, and by the time everything was deposited we’d be in the clear. Except that one of the stores had a Telecheck system that would pre-approve the amount in your checking account before it approved the check and we were declined. Wow, talk about embarassing. And it taught us a lesson about trying that tactic again. Stores have to protect themselves, too, and it’s expensive and time-consuming to chase bad-check writers.
I don’t care if you write a check, balance your checkbook, put little Jimmy’s coat on, write a book, take a shit or show us your ping-pong ball trick. Just don’t do it in the U-Scan line. Me, my 12 pack and a bag of cat food have to get out the door.
Fully agree with this statement.
If your expectations don’t match the real world, change your expectations. There are people writing cheques, they won’t go away because you wish they would, and you’ll have to suffer the extreme inconvenience of having to wait for a minute more that you would if people lived their life according to your rules. If it’s really unbearable for you, find a way to avoid having ever to wait in line in a store. Pay someone to buy your groceries and bring them home. That’s your problem, not their.
People don’t live to be “efficient” in order that you can spare some seconds. If it makes you that unhappy, search for an “efficient people only” store.
If only there were such a place. But seriously from your tone, I imagine you’re the sort who shows up late for doctor’s appointments, and then expects to resume their place at the head of the line.
Sorry, but my time is important to me, and believe it or not, your time is important to me too. I get my ass out of line as fast as humanly possible when my transactions are complete, so as to facilitate the next patron’s transaction.
I hate the attitude of “I waited, so now that I’m being served, it’s other peoples turn to wait.”
The world would be a better place if we just all got on with our business in a timely fashion.
Why anyone would voluntarily want to use checks is beyond me. I use my checkcard (debit card) which does the same exact thing - take money out of my checking account - except:
The money comes out immediately, unlike the 3-7 days (or more) it takes for a check to show up on my account.
I can look at my online statement and see my transaction immediately, so my “checkbook” is always up to date, I don’t have to remember to write every transaction down. By the time I get home, it’s on my computer.
All I have to do is slide it, type in a 4-digit PIN and VOILA! I am done. 10 seconds tops. No writing, no signing, no having to show ID and waiting for my check to go through the machine or waiting for the cashier to look at the check and make sure my SSN and phone number are on there, and circle them.
There’s more room in my purse, a debit card takes up a fraction of the space.
No having to reorder checks or pay for new checks.
Less risk of identity theft. Checks have your phone number on them, and the cashier always writes your SSN or your driver’s license number on the check. With a check card, there’s no phone number or SSN (or address for that matter) for anyone to steal.
And now that I pay all my bills online, I only use one check a month: to pay my rent.
Why would you want to use a check?
I hope none of you are as impatient as this guy…
Had a near full basket of groceries already on the conveyer belt, ready to go when the cashier finishes with the lady in front of me. Whipped out the check book and started to fill out the obvious things like date, store and my signature. Then this one guy (who is in an obvious hurry) shows up with a case of beer, vodka, tequila and some tic-tacs, (but no cat food) and then gets pissed off at me for being in front of him. His bellyaching ensues with such lame comments as, “You have to get all this stuff?”, “You still write checks?”, “Can you ring him up a little faster?”, etc…just being a total dipshit.
I glanced at my watch, turned to look at him in the eyes, and responded, “It’s 8:36pm, so what lame excuse will you tell me after I gave you a generous amount of time totaling 13 hours and 36 minutes to get in line here before me, and yet, you totally failed to achieve such a simple task?” :wally
Finished my check, gave it to the cashier, got the receipt, and the cashier responded, “You sir, have a great evening!” 
Indeed, I will!
I just stay mad at everyone, all the time.
Saves time–no need to decide at whom I should be mad about what!
Who will think of the old people?
I can assure you that the time it took my mother in law to a. find the car park ticket and b. find her library card, only to be told by the attendant that she couldn’t pay for parking using a library card and then find her cashflow card, I could have written 10 cheques.
Trust me, there are ALOT of reasons, and not one of them being “Behind the Times”.
No, personal obsolescence is clearly one of the ‘check writing’ reasons. Whatever else might be a reason I see no reason to exclude that one from the list.
And, in truth, most debit card transactions do take a day or two to process out of one’s account. I track my purchases every single weekday through Quicken and my online banking and swear it to be true. From 1-5 days, I’d say. Wal-Mart and the local Kroger food store being the speedy ones here.