A Perfectly Reasonable Grievance Pt. II
By Dan on Jan 13, 2008 in Reasonable Grievance
Excuse me, not to be rude, but could you please pay cash, get a debit card, or get your check-writing self to the back of the check-out line. The times, it seems, have past you by. Society will no longer abide your antiquated form of payment.
By the time you’ve filled in the blanks and had your ID checked, I could have swiped, PINed, and loaded my groceries in the car.
Car? Oh, I’m sorry, I mean horseless carriage. I forgot you are living in a previous century and aren’t familiar with modern conveniences. I know a great way for you to cut back on your monthly kerosene budget, but you’d never believe me.
Maybe there’s an agora someplace that will welcome your promisorry notes. Or maybe you can find a merchant who will let you swap calves for butter and eggs. But here at Meijer, you really should do as the Romans and transact electronically. It’s fast, safe, and green (please don’t make a tree die because you’re petrified of the world in which you live.)
Thanks so much. Oh, by the way, that’s a lovely cloak. Did you weave that yourself?
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Ha - too funny. I had a very similar experience just last week. And I was thinking to myself the very same things you wrote here. Plus, the offensive check-writer in my case had one of those ‘carbon copy’ check books where you don’t have to write the amount in your register because you have a copy of every check you write (double tree-killer). But, apparently it wasn’t suitably readable so she traced over that damn thing too.
Laura | Jan 13, 2008 | Reply
Nice post, and too true! And if they insist on writing checks, couldn’t they at least have the courtesy to fill out everything but the amount prior to getting in line so that those of us who are electronically transacting don’t have to wait so long for them to fill out their checks.
This could lead to an entire post on rudeness in the checkout line. I went into CVS Saturday to grab a ‘quick’ soda. I ended up waiting in there for 20 minutes. The first guy in line didn’t know the price of his item and it wouldn’t scan, so the cashier had to run around the entire store looking for it, rather than asking him where he got it. Then, the next woman in line has this coupon for money off on a $10 or more purchase, but her total is on $8.49. So she proceeds to walk around, very slowly I might add, looking for another $1.51 in purchases. 10 minutes later, I get my sodas, pay the $3 for them, and am on my way. Gotta love it.
Brian | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
OMG! In a world that is leaning on self destruction you are worried about an extra few minutes. It is a viable option of payment.
You have been watching too many VISA commercials. I guess they seem to be working.
ghfhj | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
ghfhj,
It was just a bit of fun. And amidst my pettiness was a defense of the environment. But from here on out, I promise to blog exclusively on the world’s pending destruction and chronic vowel deficiencies in user names selected by the eco-conscious.
Brian and Laura,
You should be ashamed of yourselves for agreeing with me.
Thanks for commenting,
Dan
Dan | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
This might make you feel better: http://usa.visa.com/personal/visa_brings_you/advertising/index.html
This should make you feel so much better while I go back to saving the world.
ghfhj | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
Thank you. That really hit the spot. I love our country’s lending institutions.
Dan | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
Couldn’t agree with you more BlogFree! There are still a few lonely stragglers that require me to pay via check, but at the grocery store where I’m guaranteed to spend more than whatever cash I’m carrying I can only use my debit card. I too was just recently behind a person writing a check at Super Wal-Mart - on a Sunday afternoon! I guess I’m the crazy one for even attempting a little “quick” shopping at SWM on a Sunday, but the time and trees I could have saved using my debit card was stripped away by the person 3 people ahead of me in line who still uses checks. And, I think it was the cursed carbon-copy type as well. Arrrrgh! (p.s. ghfhj, this was a light n fun blog that everyone can relate to! get over yourself, the world is doomed whether we use debit cards & blog about it or any other topic.)
Anon19 | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
O.K. Anon19 you made your point. I guess this is a “fluff” site. That explains why there aren’t too many posts on this website.
I retrace my steps and make sure I don’t disturb this little community. I guess Springfield must be a Utopia. The only thing to worry about is a little old lady using her checkbook.
I will leave you with this: that little old lady who inconvenienced you with a checkbook paid her dues to society and deserves a little patience.
And when you have to spend thousands of dollars and hours of time clearing your credit report from a hacker that little old lady will be buying her milk with a more secure check.
ghfhj | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
Okay, before we start labeling this a “fluff” site, maybe we should go back and look at all of the investigative reporting I’ve done to expose the Red Hat Society as a nefarious band of cutthroats. That’s serious journalism, my friends.
I do have a question for anyone who might know the answer.
Is a check really safer than a debit card? Your bank, account number, and routing number are all on a check. Isn’t that the information that phishers are always trying to get people to reveal?
And when the grocer store scans the check, that information is stored electronically, just as it is with a debit card. So if that information is compromised, how are check writers safer than debit card users?
Thanks for commenting,
Dan
Dan | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
Great post, Dan. I hate the slow check writers at the grocery store. Especially the people who wait until the very end to fill out their check. The entire check can be filled out in the car before you even enter the store, except for the amount. I mean, Sweet Jesus. And some people act like they’re putting on a calligraphy clinic. It’s a check. Your handwriting doesn’t have to be frigging perfect.
Anyway.
John | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
Credit card (includes debit cards) fraud appears to be growing rapidly, especially on a national and international level. However, on a local level, check writing crimes (forgery, deceptive practice) are still king. So in my humble opinion checks are a more risky proposition. That being said, in both cases it is usually the mentally weaker members of the human race who become victims of either crime.
"Just here to serve" | Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
I’m not sure I would go as far as to say it’s usually the “mentally weaker” that fall victim to such crimes.
A couple of local fraud incidences come to mind from the past year - credit card info being stolen from the company that handled the transactions of a restaurant here in town (IHOP I believe?), and the Sams Club cashier that was double-swiping patrons’ credit cards. I don’t think either case depended upon the mental strength of the customers.
I’ve had my debit card info stolen twice in this past year (VISA wouldn’t disclose information but I suspect one was related to the IHOP incident) but still prefer cards over checks. Dan’s right that both checks and cards boil down to an electronic record sitting somewhere waiting to be stolen; but I find some comfort in not having any other human looking at a piece of paper with all the critical data on it (bank account, routing numbers, etc) before it goes electronic.
I’m thankful for the fraud detection systems the credit card companies and banks have employed, they worked for me!
EJ | Jan 16, 2008 | Reply