Payments made via credit cards and debit cards are instant. It’s a simple process, person slides card, store contacts bank to verify funds, bank tells store to process. We have nothing to do with the bank. We don’t know anything, all we know is if the payment processed or if the payment is denied. We cannot contact the bank or ask why. It’s the responsibility of the customers to know. However, some customers assume the store is the bank or better yet it’s not really their fault, it’s the card readers…
Me: Oops, try it again.
Ignorant and Insufficient: What’s it say?
Me: Unable to process.
Ignorant and Insufficient: No. That can’t be right!
Slides payment card again…
Me: It says the same thing.
Ignorant and Insufficient: I know I have money in the bank!
Me: Would you like to try a different card?
Ignorant and Insufficient: No! I don’t want to try another card! Try it again!
Slides payment card…
Me: Unable to process.
Ignorant and Insufficient: Its probably your machine!
Me: It’s not our card reader. Maybe you should call your bank and see what’s going on?
Ignorant and Insufficient: Its your machine! I had this problem before!
Because we’re a customer service orientated store. We go to another checkstand. Lines are piling up now…
Slides payment card…
Me: Unable to process.
Ignorant and Insufficient: Again!
Me: Ma’am we can save your groceries until your ready.
Ignorant and Insufficient: Maybe it’s this checkstand too.
*Sigh…*
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
This is probably my biggest nightmare! That I would pay and and my card would be rejected!!!!
You probably hear every excuse in the book as to why it doesn’t go through.
I can’t be overdrawn, I still have checks!
I live in a very small town and we actually had a situation where the bank had to cancel all of their clients debit cards because of a breach of security. I have never felt more sympathy towards grocery store clerks in my entire life. The bank cancelled the cards, but the letters didn’t arrive for 2 to 3 days, so people were coming into the stores here in town attempting to use them, not reading the signs that were posted at EVERY door, register, ATM, card machine. It was awful. Of course, there were people blaming clerks for all of it. Lovely.
LOL@Sercretia…With my card, it does that sometimes when I do have the money in the bank. I just go to the atm and get the money out, but its a pain. I think mine is a daily limit thing or something…but its irritating when I KNOW the money is in there…
Now, that must be annoying for all, including the shoppers in the line.
I actually had the issue where the reader wouldn’t work once at BJs wholsale… True story. I ended up having to leave a bunch of stuff there because their reader didn’t work on my card.
bummer, that would be a low point in the day if that happened to me. hopefully it’s a rare occurrence for most shoppers.
You play games with everyone and in the process hurt people’s feelings.
There is a regular client at work who is forever having me try three different cards, debit included knowing that the full amount can not be had on any of them. Our machine will actually say DECLINED if that is what it is. Her cards always decline. The kicker is then she will say “how about I write a check?” knowing all well and good that we process our checks right then. So I always end up “holding” a check from her. I would rather she just tell me up front than make me go through the same thing everytime!
Loved the gameshow post!
My favorite is when the customer pulls out a week old ATM transaction receipt from their wallet to evidence they “have money in the bank”. As if that is going to magically change the fact that the machine is denying them.
One time I was at a clothing store in the mall, and waiting in line for a long time, and when we FINALLY got to the woman in front of me, her credit card was denied, and they let her call her bank from their phone to find out what was going on while everyone behind her kept waiting. I was SO mad, and just threw all my stuff down on the ground and walked out, and shopped somewhere else. Can’t do that at the grocery store though, once you get that close, you’re trapped!!