In an accounting class I once took, kiting checks was described as deliberate con which is substantially more malicious. It went something like this: The perp opens a checking account account at Bank A and deposits X dollars. Then he writes a check for much more than X dollars and presents it at Bank B, and uses it to open another account at that bank. Then he goes to Bank C and opens another account, and deposits a check drawn on the Bank B account for much more money than he “deposited” there…and so on.
I used to work in the Operations section of a large IT department, and for some reason most of the official emails and memos would turn the abbreviation “Ops.” into a pseudo-acronym “OPS”. For some reason that was always like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Same here. I’ve worked with a few idiots in retail, but most people weren’t stupid. Corporate, on the other hand, seems to consist, regardless of the company, of slack-jawed drooling morons to judge by what they think the lowly store clerk should do. They think these things are good because they have never worked in a store in their lives, and I don’t think they bother to do their own shopping either! I don’t think anybody should move up in a retail company without having worked at the bottom, to see what it’s like in the real world.
When you’re told, “Do it this way or you’re fired,” you tend to do it that way, even if you’re looking for another job at the time because of the stupidity (to head off the “you don’t like it, find another job” argument, which also sets me off)…another job where they will probably tell you, “Do it this way or you’re fired” about something else that’s completely stupid.
Yesterday at Target I was behind Old Lady With Check. You know her.
Only, she was ready! She filled it out except for the amount in line! She was on top of shit!
And THEN what does she do? Why yes, she spends a glacial eternity writing that shit down, filing pictures of her grandchildren, putting the receipt away, thinking about maybe moving her fucking cart, etc. So I had a ton of stuff but the cashier had still scanned it all before I had the chance to move up.
And THEN she stopped on her way out of the store to, I don’t know, chew her cud or something, so I still couldn’t get around her!
This makes me frothing at the mouth insane! I get this at the grocery store ALL THE DAMN TIME. We also have the idiots who stop in between the doors to dig up coinage so precious can block the exist while getting gum, candy, toys, etc. our of the machines.
GAH!!!
At the corner stores where I live, I have noticed that the people who deeply deliberate on their choice of lighter color, select several different kinds of scratchers, ask the clerk to wait while their buddy picks out what they want in the fridge & then saunters up to the counter to add that stuff on —
Those are the SAME people who, when behind me, CANNOT wait for me to pay cash for a pack of smokes, and instead will shove their stuff on the counter and thrust a bill at the cashier before I can open my mouth to ask for my cigarettes.
I know you’re awfully busy frothing at the mouth and all, but consider, for a moment, that some of those average chimps are sick-and-fucking-tired of certain customers who write “Check ID” on the back of their card who then proceed to get all put-out when the chimp doesn’t violate their Visa/MC terms of service in order to do things the way that Certain Customer wants them done.
When I was an average retail chimp, it was a customer who (kindly and politely) informed me that it was against TOS to request ID for credit card transactions. Lo and behold, he was right. So I stopped asking, only to have the next eleventy million customers treat me to lectures ranging from condescending to abusive about how I’m “supposed to ask for their ID”. The thing is, if you work in retail, half the customers believe you deserve to be treated with total disregard anyway because, you know, if you had any “cranial capacity” you wouldn’t be a retail chimp, right? :rolleyes:
The point is, on one hand we have InvisibleWombat getting frosted at the employee for not asking for ID, then you calling people chimps and dumbasses for asking. Anyway, the idiocy of directing this rage at the employee who asked for your ID rather than the “asshat GED totin’ supervisor” who requires them to do it or lose their job seems… self-evident.
InvisibleWombat, according to my Visa/MC/Discover/AMEX TOS agreement, if you ask to purchase something from me and hand me a card that says “Check ID” I am not supposed to even accept your card, until you sign it in front of me. If you refuse to sign it, I’m allowed to call the company, and confiscate the card. I’m not enough of a jerk to actually ever do this, but keep in mind that it’s only your idea coming from some stupid meme that writing “Check ID” makes your credit card any safer, and that your credit card companies not only do not want you to do this, but they don’t want their merchants to go along with it, either.
Furthermore, it says in my TOS that I’m absolutely not allowed to check ID as a condition for using the credit card. According to Visa/MC etc, the card is ID for the purposes of using it to purchase things. If I refuse to allow you to use your card because you didn’t have ID on you and you complain to Visa/MC, I can lose my ability to accept credit cards. Also, I am told by my CC processing company that I’m really not supposed to reject a card for a signature mismatch, because I am not a trained handwriting analyst, and again, if and when customers complain (and they will) I’ll lose my ability to accept CCs. More or less, the CC companies want me as a merchant to accept the card under all but the most suspicious of circumstances and if there’s a fraud problem, they’ll sort it out with the CC holder.
Sucks for the customer, but don’t get pissed at the merchant. They don’t set the rules.
I actually was so irritated by this exchange, I just called Visa and MC both to confirm what I remember about my TOS, and what they told me is that when you hand me your card that says “Check ID”, InvisibleWombat, what I am supposed to do is to call the issuing bank to report and/or confirm ownership of the card, and failing that (weekend, holiday, after business hours) I call Visa… but they ask me not to accept the card without a signature and reiterated that if you refuse to sign I should confiscate the card. They also said the only time I’m ever allowed to request ID is if I have a direct probable-cause reason to suspect fraud. I am not allowed to do it as a catch-all safety measure. Reading one of your last posts more carefully, I see that you have signed your card with “Check ID” underneath–in that case I’d go ahead and accept your card, but I wouldn’t attempt to match it to the signature on your license. Anyway, what CC companies are asking for is a signature match between the CC and the signed receipt–not matches between card, license, and receipt.
I know strict following of the CC company rules would cause way more rage from customers than it would prevent fraud, so I’ll continue to do as I do, accept the card absent specific suspicion, and let Visa/MC sort it out if necessary.
I should have said “writing ‘Check ID’ in lieu of a signature”.
#1 - Pickles on Mc Donald’s hamburgers.
I clearly asked for no pickles. You repeated my order back to me. No pickles. You put it in the computer that way. No pickles. The wrapper says it was “Double Checked for Accuracy”. No pickles.
Yet, there they are. Would you please try to explain to me why this happens every single time? Why, oh, why do I keep trying?
#2 - Put me down for standardizing all of the credit/debit card readers at check stands.
#3 - Weather forecasters. Specifically, the National Weather Guessing Service (NOAA). C’mon guys and gals, it ain’t that tough. Are you looking at the same doppler radar image I am? Have you looked outside recently? You are currently batting in the low 100’s. My horses give me better forecasts.
Last, but not least - in fact, you might call it the bell ringer:
#4 - Hey folks, have you seen the white stuff on the road this morning? In this universe, that stuff is slippery. That may be why your fancy 4X4 SUV is in the ditch. Four wheel drive helps in this stuff, but it will never cure bad judgement or driving skills …
Lucy
I cannot stand it when someone within earshot of me answers their cell phone and says hello more than twice. Hello? pause Hello? pause Hello???
Jesus, if they didn’t hear you the first two times, they won’t hear you the third and fourth. We have a lady at work who routinely receives calls from shoddy cellular providers and once, she said hello 6 times! I almost choked her.
Standing behind someone writing a check at a store. Please join the rest of us in the use of a debit card!!!
You know, it’s not necessarily Ludditism. If your credit is bad, you may not be able to get a debit card that also has a major credit card endorsement. Also, CC endorsed debit cards aren’t automatic–some banks and credit unions don’t give you an endorsed card until you’ve held an account with them for some minimum period of time. Some stores, particularly smaller shops that don’t have a PIN pad, only accept debit cards that are also credit card endorsed. In that case, if your debit card doesn’t have a little Visa/MC logo on it, it means you have to write a check or carry cash all the time.
Me? I’ll save my rage for the idiot that parks their full shopping cart in the checkout line then runs back in for “one more thing”.
And one of the little things that sets me off is people who get upset about my posts without reading them. I do not “get frosted” at employees for not asking for ID. I have never criticized anyone for that (although I thank them when they do it). I do, on the other hand, get frosted when they don’t check the signature on the card, as I said in the post you were replying to.
PLEASE go and read my posts before refuting them. I always sign my cards.
Again, if you’re going to address me by name in your argument, then make sure the argument in some way applies to me. There is absolutely nothing whatsoever wrong with writing “check ID” after my signature and it in no way violates TOS. PAY ATTENTION!
Right back atcha, homeboy 
People who don’t identify themselves on the phone. I have trouble recognizing voices over the phone. Is it that hard to say “His it’s Sue” instead of “Hi it’s me”? I always idnetify myself because I know how awkward it feels to not recognize someone right away.
Got me there. Oops. After replying to your post, I should have looked for other posts where you addressed our conversation.
Eh, you were right though–I’d written the whole thing out before I’d realized you’d written both things. At that point, I figured I see enough cards with only “Check ID” that it was worth saying anyway.
Sorry for the confusion!
So my husband does that to YOU, too? 
Some people are afraid to call people they don’t know. My wife can be just like this. Drives me crazy.
Red light runners. When I equip my car with phasers …
A couple of people have mentioned people driving slowly in the left lane. You’d think that these clowns wouldn’t be a problem when all the traffic is moving slowly, wouldn’t you? But they’re more clever than that. I’m all for leaving the appropriate car length of space, but they leave about 5 when the traffic is crawling at 5 mph. Not only that, when someone pulls into that big space in front of them, they slam on the brakes so they won’t be closer than 50 feet. I don’t know if their reflexes are so slow they need the room, or what. A good many are on cellphones, but far from all.
One annoyance that is gone. My wife has the habit of coming into the room when I’m watching TV to talk to me, and standing between me and the TV. Not about anything important. I’m smart enough not to complain. Since we got a DVR, though, I hit pause and I’m good.