I know I have enough money on this thing...

[NateTheChops]

Am I the only one who gets these?

More often its a customer who swears he has enough money in his bank account. He just deposited his paycheck or he did an inquiry a few minutes ago but when he goes to pay for a purchase with his debit card I get the "No Funds Left" sign on my register.

Me - unofficial financial advisor
SC - Can't tell his own ass from hole in the ground

SC: (Swipes card)
Me: (Seeing the No Funds Left on register) Do you want to try that again?

SC: Aw man. I always have a problem with these registers.

(He swipes his card again. Enters pin number. Still no funds.)

SC: Dude, I know I have money in there. I have at least 200 dollars in there.
Me: (Running the list of usual problems that customers fail to think about) Did you deposit a check? (It's a Friday and with most banks if he deposited it now the funds wouldn't be available until next week)
SC: No. I had 200 dollars in there.
ME: Well, did you make a lot of credit purchases with your card? Because sometimes I'll do that and I won't notice a change in my statement until-
SC: No, man. I have money in there. It's these registers, they just don't like me or something.

Yes, the registers have a grudge against you and two other customers. They like the million or so other people who come in and don't have a problem.

Okay, maybe it's a glitch on our part. But if it was it would have happened more times than with just this one punk and nine times out of ten if the No Funds Left sign pops up it's because the bank account does not have the funds. That is not our fault or our register's fault.

[Apathy]

SC: Aw man. I always have a problem with these registers.

The ones that accurately display his financial standing. Those stupid registers.

[ralerin]

Ohhh my gosh, I get them ALL. THE. TIME. "Bleh, these registers don't like me, whine, whine, whine!"

Most annoying? People who have giftcards that work as credit and don't TELL me they're giftcards so when I have them swipe it through it's declined.

"Oh! Um, it's a giftcard, should have $20 left on it!"

"Then why did you NOT tell me the amount first so I could key it in?"

"...Uh...."

Grrr.

[bainsidhe]

Ah yes, I see how you made such a mistake. But not about funds, your error was in trying to be helpful. See, people with common sense already know why they don't have funds available. People trying to cover it up will simply fail before your logic and become angry. You would've been better off simply stating that the "bank" is declining the sale and the customer would have to take it up with them. It's true, your registers send a request to authorize payment and the bank declines it. So blame the bank.

Interesting though, during these past 3 years of working at *big box retail*, I'll have someone tell me "I know there's money in there" multiple times each shift. Usually the customer will then grab another card to run. Few will try to argue with me, they just grab another card.

If it were MY card that was declined (and I KNOW I have money in my account), I'd be freaking out and running to the bank to find out if I was attacked by ID thieves or if something else freaky was going on. But hey, that's just me

[Danno]

Stories like these fill me with anticipation. My little ice cream shop was seemingly the last place on the planet to take cash only, until tomorrow when we start using the new card reader. Man, I can't wait to start getting the "your machine is wrong" and "can't you run it anyway" people. Good times ahead.

[NateTheChops]

And you will, Danno. I promise you.

[Salted Grump]

Actually, I was guilty of that on one occasion. I had deposited several hundred dollars into my account the day before, and went to a local Dairy Queen for a blizzard because I was in the area.

Problem is, for whatever reason the register wouldn't accept my debit card, so I apologized profusely, asked that my order be cancelled as it had not been started at that point (the Cashier also did the blizzard-making), and went to the bank across the plaza to find out what had gone wrong.

Turns out my card had demagged, so I got a fresh card, and withdrew a 20 for lunch.

[Bella_Vixen]

Most annoying? People who have giftcards that work as credit and don't TELL me they're giftcards so when I have them swipe it through it's declined.

"Oh! Um, it's a giftcard, should have $20 left on it!"

"Then why did you NOT tell me the amount first so I could key it in?"

"...Uh...."

Grrr.

I get this with the foodstamps card at work.

The people bitch at ME when it initially gets declined because I'm supposed to know that they only have $2.83 on the card when their entire grocery total is $158.67.

[edible_hat]

I tell them to check their card at the ATM, they do so and then complain that the ATM doesn't like them either. ("I'll be careful." "You'll be dead!")

That being said, most of the time when a card declines they're sort of half expecting it and have cash or another card ready to go.

[Iced Coffee Man]

There was one time I attempted to pay by card and was told insufficient funds when I thought I had about $600, so like others said, I went to the ATM and just got the cash out of there.

[Pagan]

("I'll be careful." "You'll be dead!")

Heh, I was just watching that last night!

[crashhelmet]

I almost became this customer one day last June. I went to a Jack in the Box for lunch and used my Debit card cuz i only had like $3 in my wallet. When the cashier told me it declined, I was like WTF? instead of making them re-run it, i reduced my order and paid with the cash I had.

I went back to work and checked my balance online and found out I had become a victim of fraud. A credit card bank, that I happen to have an account with, charged my checking account to pay SOMEONE ELSE'S bill. A total of over $700.00. The next day I went to the bank, canceled the account and had the payments reversed back.

CH

[NateTheChops]

That's got to suck.
I remember when Hanaford's had their little "episode" and everyone in my area, my parents and anyone else who had used a debit or credit card at Hannafords was being told to get theirs replaced as soon as possible.

[Tireana Dorcha]

There actually are a few places that don't like my card. Like Suncoast (they typically have to do the plastic bag trick to get it to run)...but, crazy enough, it doesn't read as ISF or anything along those lines, it just doesn't read it period. The loons like in the OP just don't want to admit they're crappy at keeping track of their funds.

It can't possibly be their fault, it has to be someone else's.

[MergedLoki]

I've had this happen to me a few times (only once did i actually NOT have the funds, toher times it was something w/the bank. hold on the deposit or something of that nature.) however never ONCE did i blame 'the registers' i just either went to a bank machine and pulled out cash, used a credit card, or didn't buy whatever it was I wanted lol