First friggin' customer of the day

[ArcticChicken]

....decides to escalate to the store manager.

SC:"Can I pay with a check?"
ME:"Sure, if you have your drivers license."
SC:"Got it right here."
....
ME:"I'm sorry ma'am, the address on the check needs to be the same as that on your license."
SC:"Well I have dual residences."
ME:"I'm sorry, but I need the addresses to match before I can take the check."
SC:"But I have three houses."
ME:"I cannot approve this check, would you like to speak to the Front End Manager?"
SC:"Yes."
....
FEM:"What's going on?"
ME:"It's this check, the addresses don't match."
SC:"I live in Ocean City and Philadelphia."
FEM:"I'm sorry, but the addresses need to match, that's store policy, there's nothing I can do about it."
SC:"But I can't get two addresses on my license!"
FEM:"I'm sorry ma'am, but I don't make up store policy, I only enforce it."
SC:"I want to speak to a manager."

From this point on I couldn't hear the conversation, but FEM came back with the check, so the Store Manager obviously caved.


So here's my question. It's not, y'know, entirely beyond the realm of possibility that someone will want to verify a relatively insecure method of payment, why not get the address of your checks to match the fucking address on your license?

*sigh* Five bucks says she's back next week.

[Evil Queen]

I have duel residency in TN and NC and I'm about to have it in NM (being smart and dropping NC) but all my cheques, licenses, insurance info and everything else that needs my address and or name on it has my TN addy. Even my current paychecks here in TX has my TN addy on it!

That lady is a whackjob.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Duel resident here, too. All my checks have the TN addy, and if they (whomever They may be) won't take a check, I got plastic. If no plastic, a quick trip to the atm gets the cash.

[Nakajo]

ArcticChicken, I wouldn't be surprised if we worked for the same damn company... I get that exact convo every day and it's our exact check policy....

[marasbaras]

Ah, another spineless manager. You can blame at least 95% of your issues with SCs on those managers. The SCs know that if they complain enough, those spineless pieces of shit (not ALL managers are spineless, just the spineless ones) will cave.

All the manager has to do is enforce store policy. In fact, it's usually they who set it. Is it all that hard?

[freaktard]

Sears had the exact same policy. In training, we were told that under no circumstances were we to accept a check if the ID didn't match the address on the check.

Of course, every time this got escalated to a manager, they caved on the spot. After the second or third time, I didn't even bother.

[ebonyknight]

Sears had the exact same policy. In training, we were told that under no circumstances were we to accept a check if the ID didn't match the address on the check.

Of course, every time this got escalated to a manager, they caved on the spot. After the second or third time, I didn't even bother.

You shouldn't do that. If something happens and they ask you if you escalated it, you are gonna be in trouble.

Sure it's a waste of time, but you can't say you didn't follow procedure. Always better to be safe than sorry. Who knows...if you bug them enough times, maybe they will do something about it.

[chainedbarista]

definitely; don't risk your job on a bad op (even if you hate your job) in situations like that. corporate will punish the lowest level employee possible, even when they're aware that a caving manager is the base cause of the problem.

damn all spineless managers to the lowest pits of hell; may you dance the macarena with ALL your scs for all eternity.

[freaktard]

Oh, I agree in retrospect, and if I were doing it now I'm sure I would be calling the managers. But I quit Sears years ago, so my continued employment there is no longer an issue.

[jaya9581]

I get why for an employee it's important to follow policy. That's your job and it's frustrating when you feel management overrides policy in the name of "customer service."

Something to remember though is that your license must have your physical (residence) address, while checks have your mailing address. Therefore, they may not match. A good example is my grandparents house... they are not serviced by the post office, so they have a PO box address that looks like an apartment address (123 fake st, #3) instead of say PO box 3.

Everywhere I've ever gone has just written the other address on the check. It's never been an issue.

[Evil Queen]

Something to remember though is that your license must have your physical (residence) address, while checks have your mailing address. Therefore, they may not match. A good example is my grandparents house... they are not serviced by the post office, so they have a PO box address that looks like an apartment address (123 fake st, #3) instead of say PO box 3.

Must be different in TN because my mail forwarding address is on my drivers license. I even checked it with the DMV and they said that as long as I bring in a little sheet of paper from the mail forwarding service that says I own that box, then it's not a problem.

Granted my checks just say:
[my real name]
[my email address]

So far everyone has taken them (not that I write very many checks) and they generally just ask for the ID number on my DL.

[ArcticChicken]

Something to remember though is that your license must have your physical (residence) address, while checks have your mailing address. Therefore, they may not match. A good example is my grandparents house... they are not serviced by the post office, so they have a PO box address that looks like an apartment address (123 fake st, #3) instead of say PO box 3.

I realize I didn't make this clear in the original post, her DL was from NJ, and the address on her check was in PA. Also, the address on her check was a street address, not a PO box. If it had been a PO box, it would have been a different kettle of fish, as FEMs have the power to approve checks in that case.

What has me wondering now is, how did she open the bank account in the first place? When I opened mine, they want all kinds of proof who I was and where I lived. Wouldn't it have been a lot easier to open the account in Ocean City?

[Byronthebanker]

The check printer will put on the checks practically whatever we ask them to.

The new trend it to get as little as possible up there. As little as an initial and a last name - which isn't a bad idea being that a check normally has:
Your name, address, phone number, bank account number, sometimes your driver's license number, some place copy your birthdate . .and if it's a joint account, your
spouses name sometimes . . entirely too much in my opinion because there is no telling who gets to see and use all that information.

And yes I do have customers that we've ordered multiple sets of checks on the same account with different addresses.

Anyway . ..debit card - slide, sign, done!

[myswtghst]

My checks have my current physical address on them, in part as then my apt # is on there when I pay my rent. My DL still has my parents's address on it, and some of my mail still goes to their house. It's complicated, because I consider the apt a temporary address, but I have bills going there addressed to me, if needed for ID purposes. I also have a state ID with my current physical address on it.

As far as the checks go - the credit union didn't seem to care what I wanted on there - they didn't need proof of address to put the address on them. It's confusing, I'll admit - but I rarely use checks for anything other than paying bills, so it isn't a big deal.

[Boochan]

No addresses at all with checks here. Just the Personal name or Company name, and thats it. Makes sense though with a lot of states, for tracking purposes and for identity theft purposes. Of course the story in this situation doesn't surprise me either, I'm just thankful I work in a small store with a good manager with the same outlook on SCs as I do. As long as we don't get anyone above his position involved with anything, it always works out well.

As I've put on a thread before, checks seem to be one of the most common form of aggravation for anyone working behind the counter I would love to see them be done away with in the retail environment.