Apologies for threadshitting. I find it alarming that she is on the verge of telling off a customer for getting caught without enough money to pay for her order. Am I misinterpreting her post?
No, but like Broomstick said, retail clerks are human beings, too. How many times have you ever refrained from cussing someone out? I can understand Annie-Xmas’ frustration with her customer, which was justified. However, the point of her post was she kept her temper in check, and did her job, and came here to vent instead of going off on her customer.
Thank you. Added to the incident was that it happened on Friday afternoon, where we are supposed to close two hours before sundown, and the higher ups are very strict about that. Since I called the manager, it became her problem.
And no, I love my job and I am not looking for another line of work. 99% of the customers are okay or even great. The customers who compliment me on my speed, and when I explain about my disabled hand and the fact I cashier one handed, tell me I’m great. The children you can interact with. One of my favorite ploys when I ring up an order for someone with a child is to point at the youngster and say in a mock serious tone “You’re paying, right?” When they say “no” I say “Oh, I though you were,” look at the adult and say “I guess it’s you again.”
Frustrating, yes, but partly the fault of your POS system. Every system I’ve used in the last 5 years has the ability to undo payment information at any point up to the finalization of the sale. You would have been able to clear the partially-paid transaction and free up your register in the meantime.
I know that’s not your fault, but perhaps you should talk to management about getting a more flexible system.
I’ve read this a couple of times, and am unsure if “POS” was intended to stand for “Point of Sale” or “Piece of Sh*t.” 
Maybe both?
I meant “Point of Sale,” but yeah, sometimes the latter applies as well!
If you really want to drive a store cashier batshit insane go into a store with a friend, full a cart to the top (or even two carts) go to the register and have a discussion with your friend about whether to buy every single item. Keep at it for at least a minute for every single item. Bonus points if you can do it in a language the cashier does not understand (like Hebrew).
That happened to me yesterday.
LOL! I got frustrated just picturing that. Next time that happens, ask them about each item as they put it on the belt. “Are you sure you want this 4 oz pack of cream cheese? Would you be better off with the 8 oz? And what about this box of tissues? Is one enough?”
Our grocery store daily has an overflowing multi-cart stash of putbacks for the overnight crew due to the massive number of items jettisoned at the register. We’d love it if people didn’t change their mind at the last second, but humans are going to be human.
You are paid for maintaining a pleasant demeanor and so you’re a professional. Don’t short-change yourself–it’s not a skill everyone can do.
Particularly if others are in line, it would be reasonable for you to ask them to step out of line until they decide what they really want to purchase.
Sometimes it’s the stores fault. Like when I went to target. I had a bottle of wine. Now, I am old enuf to get AARP mailings, but they asked for my ID anyway. OK, sure, policy is policy. But the clerk said, they had to scan my ID in. I pointed out that wasnt secure*. Manager called, manager looked saw I was over 50 even, but insisted they had to swipe my ID anyway. (this would store by Dr#, DOB, address etc)
I walked out, leaving all my purchases there. Wrote a letter to the President of target and cc to AARP. Got a apology,but no change in policy and a $10 gift card, which i gave away.
- and indeed target was hacked sometime after that.
My store says we have to scan the back of your ID, but 50% of what we’re doing is checking to see if your ID has been altered. The other thing is that the bar code on the back confirms your age. The system doesn’t keep anything.
They don’t care if you are old enough, they are trying to build a customer database for free.
They do care if you’re old enough, because selling certain items to the underage has penalties. And yeah, maybe also building a database.
Target’s policy may well be overkill, but…
- Retailers can get in huge trouble for selling alcohol to minors.
- They likely decided that documenting ID for every single alcohol sale is the best way to avoid this trouble.
- Cashiers likely do not have the authority to override the policy, and in fact probably would face disciplinary action if they sold alcohol without documenting proof of age.
- Your tin-foil hat paranoia is just silly. Nobody is going to use the information on your driver’s license against you.
- If there’s one thing retail cashiers absolutely hate, it’s having a customer make a huge stink over a policy that the cashier did not create, cannot change, and yet is required to enforce.
Meijer is similar, and discussions with cashiers is that they do have discretion. They certainly don’t ID me most of the time, but when they do, they want me to take out my license and scan it. The law doesn’t require that; it only requires proof. This is a policy issue, pure and simple. I’ve not abandoned my cart, but I support having a personal policy against stupid bullshit.
Not only can they, but they have.
DoB is a critical fact that is very hard for the thieves to get.
The best thing to do is safeguard your driver’s license information. Don’t allow anyone but government officials to scan/swipe your license unless they are required to by law (buying medicine, checking ID at a bar, employment, rental property, etc.)
*A driver’s license is an identity thief’s paradise. With that one card, someone knows your birthdate, address, and even your height, eye color, and signature.
If someone gets your driver’s license number, it is also concerning because it’s connected to your vehicle registration and insurance policies, as well as records on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles, place of employment (that keep a copy of your driver’s license on file), doctor’s office, government agencies, and other entities. Having access to that one number can provide an identity thief with several pieces of information they want to know about you.
Next to your Social Security number, your driver’s license number is one of the most important pieces of information to keep safe from thieves.
Your driver’s license number can be taken in two ways. First, it can be stolen through a data breach.*
https://www.nextadvisor.com/common-forms-of-id-criminals-use-to-commit-identity-theft/
https://thefinalanalysis.info/drivers-license-identity-theft/
Your “Nobody is going to use the information on your driver’s license against you.” is possibly the most wrong thing posted today, and certainly the most dangerous piece of advice I have seen recently.
As a certified Expert in Anti-Money Laundering, ID theft, Wire fraud etc, i can tell you you are very wrong indeed.
Incidentally AARP also agrees.
And so? Do I just have to let them steal my id?
Target has had several Data breaches. They are not in any way secure.
https://bravatek.com/latent-effects-of-the-recent-target-data-breach-on-the-us-economy/
As I said - they aren’t just scanning it, they’re looking at it. By asking you to take it out of your wallet and hand it to them they can get a good look at it and check it for alterations.
The “discretion” is only for people who look comfortably old enough to be legal. If the cashier guesses wrong they are still fired, jailed, and fined. Here in Indiana a first time offense of selling alcohol to a minor that’s up to 180 days in jail and $1000. No thanks. Be as pissed as you like, I’m asking that you take your ID out so I can see it and scan it because I value my employment, freedom, and money.
And yes, I have caught altered ID’s.
I also ask to physically handle peoples’ passports when they use those for proof of age.
And if there’s an issue of selling to someone under age one of the first questions that will be asked is “how closely did you look at their ID?”
If I recall correctly, Meijers has a little plaque of sorts by their checkout saying something like “We reserve the right to ID customers who look under 40” or some such so their policy is not in any way secret. If you do not like the store policies you are free to shop elsewhere
If you don’t want your drivers’ license examined then bring in a passport, I’ll be happy to accept that as proof of age.
I don’t have an objection to showing my license to a cashier, and they can look at it with a magnifying glass if they want, but like Dr Deth, I do have a problem if they want to scan it. Scanning is done as a matter of store policy, not the law. Fortunately(unfortunately?)I look my age so I never get “carded”.