Tweet
I really wonder about some of the customers around here....
Pinpad Woes
Backstory: So this older gentleman comes through my line and goes to pay with an American Express card. I'm running one of the registers with a pinpad where the number buttons are actually on a touch-screen rather than physical buttons on the machine. At Wal-Mart, AmEx cards require billing zipcodes for verification, kind of like a PIN number for credit cards though you still have to sign. These must be entered on the pinpad; I can't put them in on my screen.
Story: Old Guy swiped his AmEx card. Since it's AmEx, the pinpad went right to the zipcode screen (with the number buttons). The guy stared at the screen for a while (which is displaying the helpful instruction, "Please enter 5-digit billing zipcode"), then looked at me. I asked him to put in his zipcode. He starts to write it at the top of the screen where the instructions are. Obviously doesn't work.
OG: So I hit Cancel, right?
Me: No, sir, you need to enter your zipcode.
OG: *rattles off his zipcode at me.*
Me: You need to enter it on the screen, sir.
OG: I hit Cancel for credit payment, right? *hits Cancel before I can stop him.*
Me: No, sir, now--
OG: *hits the Credit button and ends up at the zipcode screen again.* Now what?
Me: *sigh* Please enter your zipcode, sir.
OG: *tells me his zipcode again.*
Me: On the screen.
OG: Oh. *Starts to write it again, this time across the number buttons, which enter the wrong numbers (obviously).*
Me: No, sir. You need to push the buttons. *leaning over now to clear the misentered numbers on the screen, so the card isn't declined.*
OG: Cancel for credit, right?
Me: No, sir. You need to put in your zipcode.
OG: *tells me it yet again.*
I finally got him to enter it by leaning over and pointing to the first three buttons as he told me the numbers, and he got the hint and entered the whole thing just fine. The signature screen came up and he signed, but then it took four tries to hit the flashing OK button (finishing up with me hitting it for him).
The Master Technician
Before my last break, I was assigned to the self-checkouts. I noticed on my screen that a customer had scanned a bottle of bleach, but the register was complaining that it hadn't been bagged. This happens a lot, especially with heavy detergent and large items and when customers don't hit the "Skip Bagging" button, so I looked up and noticed she had put it back in her cart. No biggie. I clear it off the screen.
And proceed to watch the woman stare blankly as the self-check takes a moment to catch up with me and shows her an image of a customer bagging an item. The woman then turns and pushes her cart over to the nearest manned register, leaving the self-check in mid-transaction.
I go over to the customer and ask what was wrong. She gave me a "duh" look and said sourly, "It's not working."
I glance over at the self-check and see it waiting patiently for the next item to be scanned. I shrug and go void the transaction. Yet another customer who can't be bothered to actually pay attention to what's on the screen and assumes that if it's not behaving the way they think it should, it must be broken.
What Gate?
Toward the end of the day, I was on the cigarette lines again. The cigarette aisle is segregated from the rest of the store by two registers and two matching gates intended to deter customers. Problem is, fully half the associates in the store who go into the cigarette aisle for one reason or another forget to shut the gate, leaving it wide open.
I was busily ringing through a line of customers perpetually 3-4 people deep when I noticed the surprised exclamation of one of my fellow cashiers four registers away: "Why are you bringing those over here, sir?"
I look up to see Lisa with a customer, who happens to be holding four packs of cigarettes. Wal-Mart only allows cigarette sales on the two registers actually at the cigarette aisle. So Lisa walks the gentleman over, who confesses that he didn't know he wasn't allowed back there (past the registers and the gates) to get cigarettes, and didn't want to wait in line.
Luckily, my next customer was a wonderful older gentleman who let Mr. Clueless cut in line to quickly pay for his four packs of cigarettes. Mr. Clueless, despite looking well old enough (and, incidentally, being over 50), promptly got carded.
More Peeves
- Customers at the self-checkouts who see items marked with "Item not bagged" (shows up when you skip bagging or take too long to put the item on the scale; not usually a problem), and decide that the register must be screwy and void their whole transaction (requires approval) just so they can scan it again.
- Customers who fail to notice that a particular self-checkout register's light is off and go to that self-check anyway, then stare at the screen that shows something that looks like an ancient version of Windows or MacOS and attempt to push buttons to get it working. Or better, who go to the self-check with the light off and the large, red, Do Not Enter-like symbol emblazoned across the touch-screen with the words "Lane Closed" and try to get it to work.
- Customers who manage to slide their card (once or several times; it varies) in the pinpad with the magnetic strip under their fingers instead of in the machine. Nevermind having it pointed in the right direction in the first place.
- Customers who "just don't like" to sign their credit/debit cards when I ask them why it still lacks a signature. When I ask why, they usually say it's because if someone steals the card, the signature can be faked. I usually point out that if the card's blank and is stolen, the theif can put any signature there so long as it matches the name. Not everyone takes that argument seriously. ::grumble::
Pinpad Woes
Backstory: So this older gentleman comes through my line and goes to pay with an American Express card. I'm running one of the registers with a pinpad where the number buttons are actually on a touch-screen rather than physical buttons on the machine. At Wal-Mart, AmEx cards require billing zipcodes for verification, kind of like a PIN number for credit cards though you still have to sign. These must be entered on the pinpad; I can't put them in on my screen.
Story: Old Guy swiped his AmEx card. Since it's AmEx, the pinpad went right to the zipcode screen (with the number buttons). The guy stared at the screen for a while (which is displaying the helpful instruction, "Please enter 5-digit billing zipcode"), then looked at me. I asked him to put in his zipcode. He starts to write it at the top of the screen where the instructions are. Obviously doesn't work.
OG: So I hit Cancel, right?
Me: No, sir, you need to enter your zipcode.
OG: *rattles off his zipcode at me.*
Me: You need to enter it on the screen, sir.
OG: I hit Cancel for credit payment, right? *hits Cancel before I can stop him.*
Me: No, sir, now--
OG: *hits the Credit button and ends up at the zipcode screen again.* Now what?
Me: *sigh* Please enter your zipcode, sir.
OG: *tells me his zipcode again.*
Me: On the screen.
OG: Oh. *Starts to write it again, this time across the number buttons, which enter the wrong numbers (obviously).*
Me: No, sir. You need to push the buttons. *leaning over now to clear the misentered numbers on the screen, so the card isn't declined.*
OG: Cancel for credit, right?
Me: No, sir. You need to put in your zipcode.
OG: *tells me it yet again.*
I finally got him to enter it by leaning over and pointing to the first three buttons as he told me the numbers, and he got the hint and entered the whole thing just fine. The signature screen came up and he signed, but then it took four tries to hit the flashing OK button (finishing up with me hitting it for him).
The Master Technician
Before my last break, I was assigned to the self-checkouts. I noticed on my screen that a customer had scanned a bottle of bleach, but the register was complaining that it hadn't been bagged. This happens a lot, especially with heavy detergent and large items and when customers don't hit the "Skip Bagging" button, so I looked up and noticed she had put it back in her cart. No biggie. I clear it off the screen.
And proceed to watch the woman stare blankly as the self-check takes a moment to catch up with me and shows her an image of a customer bagging an item. The woman then turns and pushes her cart over to the nearest manned register, leaving the self-check in mid-transaction.
I go over to the customer and ask what was wrong. She gave me a "duh" look and said sourly, "It's not working."
I glance over at the self-check and see it waiting patiently for the next item to be scanned. I shrug and go void the transaction. Yet another customer who can't be bothered to actually pay attention to what's on the screen and assumes that if it's not behaving the way they think it should, it must be broken.
What Gate?
Toward the end of the day, I was on the cigarette lines again. The cigarette aisle is segregated from the rest of the store by two registers and two matching gates intended to deter customers. Problem is, fully half the associates in the store who go into the cigarette aisle for one reason or another forget to shut the gate, leaving it wide open.
I was busily ringing through a line of customers perpetually 3-4 people deep when I noticed the surprised exclamation of one of my fellow cashiers four registers away: "Why are you bringing those over here, sir?"
I look up to see Lisa with a customer, who happens to be holding four packs of cigarettes. Wal-Mart only allows cigarette sales on the two registers actually at the cigarette aisle. So Lisa walks the gentleman over, who confesses that he didn't know he wasn't allowed back there (past the registers and the gates) to get cigarettes, and didn't want to wait in line.
Luckily, my next customer was a wonderful older gentleman who let Mr. Clueless cut in line to quickly pay for his four packs of cigarettes. Mr. Clueless, despite looking well old enough (and, incidentally, being over 50), promptly got carded.More Peeves
- Customers at the self-checkouts who see items marked with "Item not bagged" (shows up when you skip bagging or take too long to put the item on the scale; not usually a problem), and decide that the register must be screwy and void their whole transaction (requires approval) just so they can scan it again.
- Customers who fail to notice that a particular self-checkout register's light is off and go to that self-check anyway, then stare at the screen that shows something that looks like an ancient version of Windows or MacOS and attempt to push buttons to get it working. Or better, who go to the self-check with the light off and the large, red, Do Not Enter-like symbol emblazoned across the touch-screen with the words "Lane Closed" and try to get it to work.
- Customers who manage to slide their card (once or several times; it varies) in the pinpad with the magnetic strip under their fingers instead of in the machine. Nevermind having it pointed in the right direction in the first place.
- Customers who "just don't like" to sign their credit/debit cards when I ask them why it still lacks a signature. When I ask why, they usually say it's because if someone steals the card, the signature can be faked. I usually point out that if the card's blank and is stolen, the theif can put any signature there so long as it matches the name. Not everyone takes that argument seriously. ::grumble::
No, I don't have to accept your unsigned card, cuz there's no proof that it's yours!
Comment