Your Tax Dollars At Work During Yuletide Suck

[calulu]

I spent yesterday bitching, whining and moaning that I had to work today because usually the day after a major floral holiday is imbued with a special kind of suck, like people placing online orders at 3pm on holiday eve moments before florists cut off all ordering for the day yet outraged that the florist refused to take their order out, not understanding that their total lack of planning is not a (to use PFB exaggerations) 'tragedy', 'horrible experience' or a 'disaster' for anyone but in their own selves. (damn, longest run on sentence I've written for anything outside of a newspaper..) I just knew it would suck the worst ass possible, that the day would be filled with screaming people having hysterics. But it didn't, most people were not pissed, admitting sheepishly that they knew they were ordering impossibly late and accepting redelivery today with a discount. All except one brilliant Ozarkian coconut.

Let me preface my tale by stating I really don't hold it against anyone for being on public assistance. Things happen, life ain't perfect and there are reasons some folks can't work.

SWL: Sucky Welfare Lady
Me: Friendly Floral Consultant

Me - "Blah, blah, blah, opening spiel, state your name and your bidness.."
SWL - spoken with a thick hillbilly accent not inappropriate at a tractor pull, "Yeah, yous can gives me my mun-nee backs what for what you ain't delivered."
Me - "Do you have your order number?"
SWL - "Nope, throwed that away"
Me - "Your name at least?"
SWL - "Velma Jean Ledbetter"
Me - "Ah yes! Your order was canceled and billing has been instructed to drop the hold on your credit card on the twenty fourth. The bank has been told to drop the hold and your money should be freed up sometime today or tomorrow, depending on your banks policy and how they are working their holiday hours."
SWL - "Yew put that damn mun-nee backs on mah card right now! I needs to get some smokes"
Me - "Ma'am, your bank has been told that we are releasing the hold. It's now on their end to complete the release. There's nothing more I can do."

And as I'm looking at the notes and the history of this thing I see what I'm telling her is correct, hold released on our end on the credit card about 4pm on Christmas Eve, meaning it's going to drop off any moment now, either today or tomorrow. The bank has it.

SWL - "You gots to do bettah than that! I needs mah Newports and mah man needs beer mun-nee! What'n duh hell you takin' mah order in the fust place iffen you don deliver up the side of Crippled Crick Mountain up in the wash an' in the holllah? You ad in the phone book don say nuthin' bout you not goin' on dirt roads in hollah.. False advertisin'... now you gonna gibbe mah mun-nee back or iffen I gonna have to call up the A-Turn-Nee Gerneals office in Lil' Rock to get mah mun-nee back?"
Me - "Ma'am, your bank has been told that we are releasing the hold. It's now on their end to complete the release. There's nothing more I can do."

More indecipherable humanoid noises gobblty-gook...
Me - "Ma'am, your bank has been told that we are releasing the hold. It's now on their end to complete the release. There's nothing more I can do."


More begging, pleading and some threatening thrown in with more indecipherable humanoid noises gobblty-gook...
Me - "Ma'am, your bank has been told that we are releasing the hold. It's now on their end to complete the release. There's nothing more I can do."

Lather, rinse and repeat...

More indecipherable humanoid noises gobblty-gook...
Me - "Ma'am, your bank has been told that we are releasing the hold. It's now on their end to complete the release. There's nothing more I can do. If you call the bank and get their fax number I will see if I can get someone in accounting to fax over a release of funds letter so that they will drop the hold today for absolutely sure."
SWL - "It ain't even a credit card and I ain't got no bank."
Me - "Then what kind of card did you use to place your purchase?"
SWL - "It was mah Welfare check Visa Deb-Bitt cawd. You bettah give me that mun-nee rat nowh!!"



So she spent part of her taxpayer funded welfare check buying flowers? Smartttt...

Me - "Ma'am, I cannot help you any further. Have a nice day.' Click

[Wade]

Okay, I know this post is going to start a firewar, BUT.....

I also have no problem with people being on public assistance provided A) they are completely incapable of working (disabled or some other circumstances) and B) they don't spend it on frivolous shit like flowers while the rest of us who aren't on public assistance are struggling to get food on the table.

Maybe if she wasn't spending all her welfare check muh-nee on tabakee and bee-ah, throwing it out the winda on flow-uhs wouldn't be such an issha.

Welcome to the wide, wonderful world of Appalachian home-schooling.

[ShinyKitsune]

I was actually on a public assistance program(food stamps and medicaid) for a month or two, when the job I was working at shut down. I only needed them to get by until I got a new job and had enough of my own hard-earned money to live on my own.

Even then, I didn't waste the food stamps on stupid stuff like candy or other junk food. I spent it on actual meals, and I made those meals stretch.

[chainedbarista]

there are times, like this, where i wish people (i use that term very loosely) who use this 'benefit' can be reported for fraud and lose said benefits.

i also have no problem with people collecting it when it's an actual need to get by.

having said that, she is a paragon of suck, and not just as a customer. >: X

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Yeah, I don't think social assistance programs are designed to help people obtain beer, cigarettes and flowers.

I can speak to the whole "people being sucky after a holiday" thing. Seemed today like people were more pissed off than usual because they had to return stuff they didn't want or need and were then counting on getting some item we ran out of or don't carry anymore to salvage their Christmas.

[One-Fang]

Is this one of those schemes where she wouldn't have been able to buy beer or cigarettes with it anyway? I think food stamps can't be used for those purchases. In which case, that money was never "beer mun nee" anyway.

I know, I know, preaching to the choir ...

[Kirkygirl]

We've had people using gift cards from the food bank try and return stuff so that they can get the cash instead. We were told to put it on to another gift card, or onto the same gift card that the money came from.
Sorry, but you can get your smokes and beer and everything else another way.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I have to agree, that woman's behavior was definitely sucky. Of course, any time we think humanity can't sink any deeper somebody grabs a shovel and starts digging.

Aside from that, I'll save any comments about the welfare system for Fratching where it will be more appropriate.

So let's not let this thread stray so far that it grows into a debate. We've had similar threads before that had to be shut down for like reasons so let's keep it civil and don't lose your heads.

[crashhelmet]

That's the thing. To make everything easier and reduce the amount of paper that's used, they now issue debit cards that have money deposited into their respective accounts on the first of every month. If they try to use it at a store and buy alcohol or tobacco products, the cashier is supposed to decline the sale. However, there is nothing that stops the person from going to an ATM or request cash back from the transaction to buy said products with. I've met many people on state assistance with gambling problems that blow it all within the first few days of the month. But that's a topic prolly better left for Fratching, as the Goddess pointed out.

CH

[calulu]

I was more amazed by her broken record quality of refusing to accept my explanation of how these things worked and her complete lack of knowledge who issued the card in the first place. Welfare or not there should have been an issuing financial institutes number somewhere on that card. I only offer to fax the bank if their turn into a huge pain in the ass that shows no ability to understand the words 'wait for your bank' because it truly is on the banks end. Different banks have different credit/debit card hold procedures and processing times.

Didn't mean to start discussion on nature of welfare. Does amaze me still she's spending that money on non essentials.

[Naaman]

Even with normal customers it was horrible to explain "The bank will take money from your account almost immediately, processing a refund can take up to seven days"

[Megg]

I might be able to help out with this one. In my state, they also add any child support or cash benefits to those cards. So chances are, the ... person ... was using her child support money or possibly cash assistance for her beer and smokes "muh-nee".

Even if she was using child support funds or whatever, she was still wrong. Since when do kids need beer and smokes? People like that piss me off.

*stopping now before I get too far into Fratching territory*

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I see my words went unheeded.

Time to shut it down and take this to Fratching.