14 February 2010
Have you ever seen those signs near cash registers that read: “Your order is free if we fail to offer you a receipt”? They usually have this addendum, too: “Good at time of sale only.”
I’ve seen these quite often, and I’m not sure what the point is. See, if I pay with cash, I usually don’t care to have a receipt. If I pay with a check card, or if it’s a major purchase (>$100), then I ask for a receipt myself, without having to be prompted by the salesman. And even if no receipt is offered, so what? It’s not like I judge to quality of my purchase based on if I am offered a receipt.
I’m also baffled as to how this ‘guarantee’ is upheld. If I walk out of the store without receiving a receipt, and then return and say: “Hey, I didn’t get a receipt!” what proof do I have? Maybe I just stuffed it in my pocket. And how do the employees know how much to refund me? After all, I don’t have a receipt. I think that’s why the sign usually says “good at time of sale only.” But again, how do I prove this? I could stare at the cashier for a half hour and then, finally, declare: “Okay, well it’s obvious you’re not giving me a receipt. I want me money back.” But then the cashier can declare: “No, honest, I was just going to give it to you. Look – here it is!”
Well, today, I challenged this ‘guarantee.’ At the Mall of America, at Asian Chao today, my son desired a big plate of rice and noodles. I ordered that for him, and it immediately flustered the employees since it wasn’t one of their nice and easy meal numbers. The manager even had to make up a price to charge me. The cashier had no idea what to do, at one point even attempting to charge me over $300. Finally, I paid, and the cashier then offered me…water. So I accepted his offer. As he was getting me water, however, an earlier customer walked up to the counter and requested a refill on his beverage. This caused the cashier to absent-mindedly hand me the water and then move on to other customers. I stood their for about 10 seconds, then was squeezed out of the way by more customers.
Owen and I sat down to eat our food, but when we finished, I walked up with my empty tray and said: “I didn’t get a receipt, so I need my money back.”
“That is only good at time of purchase, sir.”
“Yeah, I know. At the time of purchase, you didn’t give me a receipt.”
“But I am only in training.”
“So? The sign doesn’t say it’s only applicable if I I’m being helped by experienced employees…”
So he fetched the manager, and the manager said: “Oh no, you walked away.”
“Yeah,” I argued, “But how long should I stand here? I paid, then he offered me water, then he even went on to helping other people. He had no intention of giving me a reciept.”
Seeing the waiting line of customers, who were whispering about my predicament, the manger relented and opened the cash register drawer, further confusing the new emlpoyee who was holding a $10 bill from another customer who was awaiting change.
Yes, I know, it’s not a big deal, but it only took me about 2 minutes of arguing to get my $3.20 back. So, unless you make over $3.20 every 2 minutes at your job (that equals $96/hour), then don’t get on my case – you routinely work for less.
15 February 2010
The three of us headed over to the local Goodwill today. I picked out five pairs of jeans, tried them on, and ended up buying four pairs of them. My son, meanwhile, found a bingo cage he insisted we buy. Yep, it’s exactly what you think it is: all these little numbered balls are in a cage, and you spin it to mix them, then spin it the other way to get one ball to come out. So far it’s netted us an hour of peace and quiet at home (apart from the sound of the balls mixing), so I think, ultimately, it was a good investment.
My mom called this yesterday to tell me she had to hole up for the night in York. That’s a city. In Nebraska. I’m not sure if she and her husband forgot to check the weather forecast, or if the conditions just unexpectedly changed in Nebraska today, but my mom planned to drive straight through from her home in Colorado to my sister’s home in southern Minnesota. But she got stuck in a white-out. She said her knuckles were white, and she couldn’t see anything but snow. At one point, she had to make a u-turn on the interstate, and the cop behind her closed the freeway. A phone call to her husband assisted her in finding the correct off ramp to York, where she obtained a simple motel room. The clerk told her Pizza Hut was across the street, but the visibility is so low, my mom’s not sure if she should brave the trek over there to get dinner. I told her to see if they deliver.
Anyway, she just called again to say the roads are cleared and she’s back in the car on her way to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
I should’ve asked her if she got a receipt from Pizza Hut.