Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Retail Story: Yes, I Need to See ID, Part 1

Hello, my friend! I hope your day is wonderful so far. Over the next however long I decide to drag this out, I will revisit some of my favorite retail stories: unsigned credit cards. Am I making them separate posts to get more "content" (ugh)? Yes, yes I am. Let's do the thing!


"My ID is at work. Why do you need to see it?"

Ah yes, my first-ever retail story. This woman was the one who made me realize that I should start keeping track of these encounters. I didn't have an outlet at the time, but I figured I should save them for a rainy day. That rainy day has become 300+ episodes of me yelling and trying to understand technology, so I'd say it was a great idea.

I had been working at [REDACTED] for maybe a week when this happened. I hadn't really dealt with a "sponge-worthy" (ha!) customer yet, so I didn't know how ridiculous they could be. But this woman was just not-smart enough for me to record this encounter, and the rest...well you know.

It was the beginning of my shift when she came to the counter with a small purchase (a card and a gift bag, I think). She handed me her credit card and I flipped it over to check her signature. What I saw was blank space, right below where it read: NOT VALID UNLESS SIGNED.

Sometimes it's above, but you get the idea.

I, as my training dictated, asked to see her ID so I could verify that the card was hers (because fraud is no bueno). She didn't become irate, but she was certainly upset with the question. "Why do you need to see my ID?" she wondered. "It's at work. I work in the mall and I'm on break. Why do you need to see it?" I did my best to explain why I needed to make sure the card was hers, but it did little to ease her frustration.

She left, bewildered and perturbed, and I figured that would be that.

Hours later, she returned and stormed to the register with her purchases in hand once again. She set them down and I began to ring. When I gave her the total, she threw her credit card and her ID down on the counter and glared through her bifocals. I quickly verified the information and handed her the bag of goodies, after calmly returning her cards.

She left, I think more perturbed, as I wished her well. And that, my friends, was finally that.

I learned throughout my tenure that this would be a recurring issue. I don't know why people got so upset about me protecting their identities, but maybe we'll uncover that together as we go on these adventures. Let's have some fun!

Until next time, don't be a dope and do anything I wouldn't do!

Crap open a cold one!

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