I believe that you are you

[Raveni]

So, as I mentioned in another thread, this year I got suckered into convinced to take a nice paying seasonal manager job with a department store. Maybe it's because I know that I'm here because I want to and I will be free gone come January, but I haven't seen any of the usual holiday grouches this year. Until now.

M - Me
S - Sales Associate
C - Crazy Lady
H - Crazy Lady's Husband

M: (Walking past Fine Jewelry, getting ready to close...)

C: YOU MUST BE THE MANAGER!!!

M: Yes, I am a manager, what can I...

C: THIS LADY DOESN'T BELIEVE WHO I AM!!!

M: Okay, I can help with that... S, what's the situation?

S: Card came up as "call authorization", they wanted to speak to the customer, and she screamed into the phone and hung up on them.


M: S, okay, thanks. I'll take care of her if you can go help someone else (looks around at empty department) anywhere but here.

C: CAN'T YOU OVERRIDE THE REGISTER?!?!

M: Ma'm, I can override a lot of things on the register, but when it asks for an approval code, we have to call credit and get an approval number.

H: Don't you believe she is who she says she is?

M: I most certainly do believe both of you (ha, having never even looked at her card or ID), but you have to answer some questions to confirm your identity on the phone. If you like, I can call them back and answer as many of the questions as I can myself. I'm sure it's just a precaution since you are purchasing over (looks at register) TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS worth of jewelry.

C: FORGET IT!!! I'M NOT SHOPPING HERE ANYMORE IF I CAN'T JUST USE MY CARD WHENEVER I WANT TO WITHOUT HAVING TO TALK TO SOMEONE IN INDIA AND GIVE THEM ALL MY PERSONAL DETAILS!!!

M: Our call center is in New York, and they already have all of your personal information, they just want to make sure that your answers match theirs so they can protect you from fraud. Would you like me to dial them again? I can wrap this up very quickly for you.

H: No, we're leaving. It's obvious that you don't want to help us.

[KiaKat]

...

That lady owes me a new brain. I just bruised this one by *facedesk*ing repeatedly.

[Dave1982]

GAAH! That was one of my MAJOR pet peeves, people who do not understand the way credit cards work and want to make up their own damn rules.

Edited to Add: The jaded side of me would be willing to bet that this was a fraudulent purchase. AFAIK jewelery can be easily converted to cash at a pawn shop or various other outlets, so she may have been trying to score quick cash on a stolen card (ala Porter in "Payback")

Or should might've just been a raging EW.

[Treasure]

Most CC's have a default of anything over 1500 - must speak w/ the customer/card holder. It is a precautionary measure to protect both the card holder and the card issuer in the even of a stolen card or scam - if the holder does make the purchase, and then calls in "my card was stolen i didn't purchase that (while its in their hand!)" then the issuer would have to send out a new card, cancel the old one and return the amount of the purchase, as well as any that were run (not cleared) after that date - they would be out of a LOT of money - so they make you confirm that you're actually making that big a purchase First!

Now its possible, (wait - take your shot of tequila, and that "grain" of salt - now hear me out!)

it is possible, that the Sales Assoc could've pre-warned the EW "Now ma'am, as I'm sure you are aware your card has a "flag" amount - any purchases over that amount they want to make sure you are trying to make, and that your card hasn't been stolen, so when i run this for you, its probably going to tell me that i need to call and get an authorization, and they may need to talk to you as well. Its more for your protection than anything else...but lets go ahead and run this - we'll see how it goes"

but with some people even that doesn't stop the EW behavior - which then tends to turn on my "its probably stolen then" radar.

[PepperElf]

of course is she was a thief she'd also be saying that too

[iradney]

FREAAAAAAAAAAAAKING hell! If I were that customer, I would be beyond overjoyed that a store is taking measures to protect me from fraud

[Mytical]

FREAAAAAAAAAAAAKING hell! If I were that customer, I would be beyond overjoyed that a store is taking measures to protect me from fraud

This. See I had issues with my CC when I went to Atlanta for D*C. Cause you know me from Ohio and it being used in Georgia. Believe me, I was in full on panic mode because of it, but at the same time .. I appreciated the CC company looking out for me. Sure I had to jump through hoops, and the hotel was really patient/nice/understanding, but I would have rather had that then somebody steal my credit card go to Georgia and live it up on my dime.

[lordlundar]

And first thing that popped into my mind was a clip from Babylon 5, where Londo Mollari was ragging on the security recruiting Narns to boos their security detail, only to be confronted with one:

Londo: Oh please, you know who I am.
Narn: Oh yes, I know who you are ambassador Mollari, but the system you see, does not. And verification is required before entry.
Londo: Now see here...
Narn: In a moment, there are other people looking to enter. If you'll please step aside ambassador. This shouldn't take more than, oh, 2 to 3 standard hours.

It just seemed appropriate.

[Raveni]

The jaded side of me would be willing to bet that this was a fraudulent purchase. AFAIK jewelery can be easily converted to cash at a pawn shop or various other outlets, so she may have been trying to score quick cash on a stolen card (ala Porter in "Payback")

The theives pretty much just stick to walking in, grabbing as much Polo as they can, and walking out. They end up selling the sensor tags seperately from the clothes at the flea market.

This. See I had issues with my CC when I went to Atlanta for D*C. Cause you know me from Ohio and it being used in Georgia. Believe me, I was in full on panic mode because of it, but at the same time .. I appreciated the CC company looking out for me. Sure I had to jump through hoops, and the hotel was really patient/nice/understanding, but I would have rather had that then somebody steal my credit card go to Georgia and live it up on my dime.

Most of my customers are like this. One comes in once a week, and the first thing that he does is ask to borrow the store phone to clear any flags on his account because he is visiting from out of state. He always buys something nice for his wife and girlfriend on seperate receipts.

[Jetfire]

it is possible, that the Sales Assoc could've pre-warned the EW "Now ma'am, as I'm sure you are aware your card has a "flag" amount - any purchases over that amount they want to make sure you are trying to make, and that your card hasn't been stolen, so when i run this for you, its probably going to tell me that i need to call and get an authorization, and they may need to talk to you as well. Its more for your protection than anything else...but lets go ahead and run this - we'll see how it goes"

but with some people even that doesn't stop the EW behavior - which then tends to turn on my "its probably stolen then" radar.

Are you forgetting who you are dealing with? If the Sales Assoc had even hinted the word "stolen", she would have blown up twice as much as she did there. When it comes to people like that EW, it's a lose/lose situation no matter how its cut.

[MoonCat]

"Help" in the customer's mind, in this case, translates to "take my word for it." Yeah, that's gonna happen.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Frankly, judging from the bitchfit the EW threw, the card probably was stolen. The majority of honest customers aren't going to get bent out of shape over a ID verification.

I had to go through 3 calls to Walk-All-Over-You early last month after placing an online order for a DVD box set. First call was on my cell (after Mom had called me at work and gave me the number) and I went through an automated transaction verification.

Second phone call ended up with me speaking to a fraud specialist after confirming my ID and answering a few security questions. I was assured that the flag would come off the purchase.

Third phone call (later that day after I'd gotten yet another email from online company) and I spoke with yet another specialist, who confirmed that the flag was off but that sometimes their computers take their time to update the info.

I didn't see any reason to get upset over any of this. I'm just glad my bank is careful when it comes to my account.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

it is possible, that the Sales Assoc could've pre-warned the EW "Now ma'am, as I'm sure you are aware your card has a "flag" amount - any purchases over that amount they want to make sure you are trying to make, and that your card hasn't been stolen, so when i run this for you, its probably going to tell me that i need to call and get an authorization, and they may need to talk to you as well. Its more for your protection than anything else...but lets go ahead and run this - we'll see how it goes"

but with some people even that doesn't stop the EW behavior - which then tends to turn on my "its probably stolen then" radar.

That's very innocuous, but policy at the swamp (and probably other places as well) is you do not mention the words "stolen" and "credit card" in the same sentence, unless you want a nuke-bomb tantrum at the register or want to talk to some attorneys.

They're that paranoid about accusing somebody of a crime. 99% of people wouldn't have a problem with that pre-warning, but it's the other 1% that drive the policy.

Then again, we get such large credit card purchases maybe once or twice a year at the most.

And you can add me to the group of people who think the credit card in the OP was stolen. Why else would she go to 11 on a verification if she wasn't trying to pull something?

[Argus]

H: Don't you believe she is who she says she is?

M: I most certainly do believe both of you (ha, having never even looked at her card or ID), but you have to answer some questions to confirm your identity on the phone.

Would it perhaps work to say something like "I believe you, but the credit card department (or your bank, as the case may be) won't take my word for it"?

[42_42_42]

This. See I had issues with my CC when I went to Atlanta for D*C. Cause you know me from Ohio and it being used in Georgia. Believe me, I was in full on panic mode because of it, but at the same time .. I appreciated the CC company looking out for me. Sure I had to jump through hoops, and the hotel was really patient/nice/understanding, but I would have rather had that then somebody steal my credit card go to Georgia and live it up on my dime.

Next time, if you call your CC co before you leave and advise them of the trip and dates, you won't have to go through the flag hassle.