"Cash or Credit, Sir?"
I don't go shopping very often. When I do, it's typically in our po-dunk area. So our big city shopping trip / anniversary vacation was a bit of a shock to the system. Especially so when, on more than one occasion, a cashier asked me the simple question of, "Cash or credit, Sir?
This was an easy one, as we were spending all cash on the trip.
--What!? In the big city? With muggers, and pick-pockets?! What if you got robbed? What if they broke into your hotel?! What..... --- I know, I know, I know, calm down and b-r-e-a-t-h-e.
After responding that I would be paying cash, it was the reply that really surprised me.
"Oh, you'll have to use that register for cash" - indicating that the other cashier would have to help me. Now I tend to err on the smart-ass side, so my initial thought is to ask if he/she can't count. The look on their faces did not indicate that they were in the mood to put up with any crap, so I went on about my business.
Now this did not necessarily mean that I had to wait longer or that my transaction would take longer than the card wielding shopper behind me. What it did mean was that a consumer has a cashier telling them that they cannot help them. Which is annoying for any reason.
The Mrs. being the smart person she is, had a couple hypotheses:
- That the store had one cash register per area, and if they opened a second due to higher demand, then it was plastic-only.
- With less registers stocked with cash, it's easier to open and close registers.
- With less registers stocked with cash, it reduces their liability for theft.
2 comments:
Whatever the reason, there should be a sign indicating it's a credit-only line. Nothing bothers me more than waiting in line, only to get to the front and have the cashier tell me I have to go elsewhere. That's just bad service!
Would it really kill them to put a little sign up that says, "credit only"?
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