Lots of EBT jackasses.

[Plaidman]

Seemed like everyone with foodstamps was a real jackass today. Here are a few of them.

Thats ILLEGAL

A lady was cramming a bunch of crap with her friends, as the one with the card told them they can each get 20 bucks. The total was only like 26 or something though in the end. After that was cleared, she asked me to sell her ciggeretes on her foodstamp card.

ME: No. Illegal.
SC: Everyone else here does!
ME: Impossible, the register wouldn't let them, and if they rang it up anyway else our cig count would be off and it be discovered the next day and them fired.
SC: I didn't mean here, I meant other stores!
ME: Still illegal. We get letters all the time on businesses losing their rights to accept ebt because they sold invalid items. I'm NOT going to fire for you to have smokes.
SC: ... Its really illegal??
ME: Yes.
SC: ...oh. I didn't know that.

Maybe you should look before you go rabid on me
Whenever I run a card, unless I feel like its ether stolen or not going to clear, I always tap the pin machince with the card and ask them to please put in their pin while handing them their card. Never had a problem with that til today. Guy brought up a bunch of stuff, gave me his ebt card. I asked him to pay for the candybar under his arm that he (In my opinon, HONESTLY forgot he put there as he had grabbed a bunch of stuff) tapped the machine and told him to put in his pin. He stared off into space. I asked him again.
SC: "...huh?"
ME: "Put in your PIN!"
SC: OH!
He puts in his pin and leaves. All is good. I ring up more customers and good 15-20 minutes go by, before the above comes storming into the store.

SC: "I WANT MY CARD back! You NEVER gave it back!"
ME: "Yeah I did when I a-"
SC: NO YOU DIDNT! You STOLE it when you ask me to put in that stupid piN!
ME: *knowing full well I did* I did give back. I'll check the camera to see where you put it." *as I hobbled over to the monitor
SC: OH I found it. It was in my pocket" He starts to leave.
ME: Next time look before ya scream at me jackass!
SC: Yeah whatever!!
He left without incident.

But for some reason my radar started going off. He was deadset that I took it, then magiacally and quiockly found it when it was revealed I could look at camera history. So I search at the time he was in here as it was quite busy and even I couldn't keep an eye on everyone. Sure enough he put a bag of jerky in his coat.


No its not a new card...
I had these two ladies in, complaining they had nowhere to go in the cold that night, as they grab beers to pay in with pennies and dirty bottle returns. Then they grabbed a bunch of junk, and gave me a EBT card. A OLD ebt card. How do I know its old? The current one has spaced numbers, like this 1234 5678 9000. The old one, from a few years ago, is all combiined 123456789000. She was telling me her husband just got it, so she wasn't sure on the pin yet. She made a big show off squinting at a piece of blank paper, and put in number.

REGISTAR: CARD RESTRICTED!

Typically that means that the card has been diactivated, ether cause the recipits no longer needed them, or the card was reported stolen.

I tell her the card is restricted, and its not a new card.
SC: What does that mean, restricted!?
ME: Typically it means the card is no longer activated, and/or reported stolen.
SC: I DIDNT STEAL THIS! MY BOYFRIEND JUST GOT IT TODAY!
ME: *eyeing the taped, old old ebt card* ... Well he went to the wrong place casue thats a used old card.
SC: *storms out* I DIDNDT STEAL! I DIDNT" STEAL THIS CARD!!!

[EricKei]

But for some reason my radar started going off. He was deadset that I took it, then magiacally and quiockly found it when it was revealed I could look at camera history. So I search at the time he was in here as it was quite busy and even I couldn't keep an eye on everyone. Sure enough he put a bag of jerky in his coat.

...And so, he came back to the scene of the crime, WHY...?!

SC: *storms out* I DIDNDT STEAL! I DIDNT" STEAL THIS CARD!!!

Maybe not, but somebody probably did.

[slavetotheman]

ME: Next time look before ya scream at me jackass!
SC: Yeah whatever!!
He left without incident.

Did you really call him a jackass to his face or is part of this what's going on in your head? 'Cos if you did, you know, awesome.

[EvilEmpryss]

The last one is classic Queen Gertrude: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

[Kristev]

The people we see who have the food stamp cards fall into two catagories. 1/4 are hard working people who are, as we live in a right-to-fire state, badly underpaid and need the relief. Most of us at my job need Government help too, but we're always paid just high enough to avoid being able to qualify.

The other 3/4 are twits who don't know how to act correctly. This is not to say that Food stamps are a bad program. They're essential. But something seems to be wrong with the large group of people who insist that it's to be used for candy and junk, and try to make a real spectacle of themselves. It would be like watching a circus. You don't know how many times the wrong pin has been pushed, or there's a problem that needs a manager to correct . . .

Food stamp/EBT transactions are the worst. Cashiers hate them, and many shoppers in a line behind one will simply turn away to another register.

[RavenStarr]

I had a guy who didn't have his EBT card, but yet memorized all the numbers, and wanted me to punch them in. Then he got pissed off, when I told him I couldn't do that.

A ladys EBT card came up declined, or something like that. I can't remember the exact wording. I do remember that she said, " Its illegal not to accept an EBT card". Yeah still on that one.

[BrenDAnn]

I had one just tonight that tried to buy a slice of pizza from our warmer on his EBT card. Sorry, hot food can NOT be purchased on EBT. All I got was a snotty "thanks for telling me" and him putting the pizza back and buying the two bags of chips or whatever it was he had. Learn the EBT rules, people!

[Plaidman]

Did you really call him a jackass to his face or is part of this what's going on in your head? 'Cos if you did, you know, awesome.

I did. I have no real problems calling people names back to me if they're rude to me first. management knows of it, and tends to look the other way, however if a I get a complaint on a number line, then I'll get in trouble. Basically a, We know your doing it, but you better watch out, type of deal.

Food stamp/EBT transactions are the worst. Cashiers hate them, and many shoppers in a line behind one will simply turn away to another register.

Oh how I hate the bulk of them. I might have meant four or five in my entire store out of thousands that not only deserved it, but looked for deals on it too.

I had a guy who didn't have his EBT card, but yet memorized all the numbers, and wanted me to punch them in. Then he got pissed off, when I told him I couldn't do that.

A ladys EBT card came up declined, or something like that. I can't remember the exact wording. I do remember that she said, " Its illegal not to accept an EBT card". Yeah still on that one.

It is illegal, but you have to, you know, have the card there. 9706 9300 (or somethibng like that) are the first 8 numbers to EBT cards. Alot of cashiers remember them, leaving the customer to remember the last 8 and his pin number. Small places like ours have to put the card in maniually when they're dimaganatized, which happens ALOT.

I had one just tonight that tried to buy a slice of pizza from our warmer on his EBT card. Sorry, hot food can NOT be purchased on EBT. All I got was a snotty "thanks for telling me" and him putting the pizza back and buying the two bags of chips or whatever it was he had. Learn the EBT rules, people!

If its cold it's sold, if its hot its not.

However you can still buy certain energy drinks, but no health bars. It really seems to change at store to store here. Some 7-11 I can't buy energy bars, but I can energy drinks. Etc etc.

[hobbitt97]

me and ebt

Now I might be opening myself to criticism, I do get food stamps due to a pending disability claim. When I go shopping I remember to use a kind word, a smile, and acknowledgment that the job that they are performing is not easy. I've had several people in retail ask me why I am so different from other customers. I had a few decades of hard work in retail and customer service. I know how it feels to have the shoe on the other foot. If I am having a bad day it is not some clerks problem. With some of them I speak to I recommend this website.

[Ree]

Now I might be opening myself to criticism, I do get food stamps due to a pending disability claim.

I can't imagine anyone from CS criticizing you simply because you use food stamps.
The behaviour you describe certainly doesn't seem worthy of criticism either.

[Plaidman]

Now I might be opening myself to criticism, I do get food stamps due to a pending disability claim. When I go shopping I remember to use a kind word, a smile, and acknowledgment that the job that they are performing is not easy. I've had several people in retail ask me why I am so different from other customers. I had a few decades of hard work in retail and customer service. I know how it feels to have the shoe on the other foot. If I am having a bad day it is not some clerks problem. With some of them I speak to I recommend this website.

No, your not. I may hate people on foodstamps, buts very unfair of me too assume all are like it. I work at a convience store. All I sell is junk. I work in a bad area. Lots of people just use it. I seen whole families who lie so that their 8-9 year old also has their own card. Its a great system, but horrible excusted.

I have no problems with people who you know, need it and don't use it to scores hundreds of dollars of junk food just because they can. I'm sorry if it sounded like I crowded you into it, and I had no intention of doing that.