i don’t mind being poor, but i hate being embarrassed
one of the convenient things about where i work is that it’s near a supermarket, walking distance really, but i always drive because there’s no sidewalk.
i can do the grocery shopping at lunchtime if need be or just run in and pick up a few items. that’s what i did last week, i ran in to pick up a few items, so few i used a hand basket instead of a shopping cart.
i don’t know what it is with me and shopping carts, but every first cart i select, no matter where i am, is always defective. the wheel wobbles, the cart tilts, a wheel won’t roll or it’s spinning in a circle when it should be going straight. there’s always something wrong with it!
i even try to fake out the shopping cart devil by selecting a cart and then picking another one. after testing two or three carts, i know there’s someone up above nudging my tormentor saying, “leave her alone.”
naturally, i’m walking around the store waiting for the handles to fall off the basket, but that did not happen. i made it to the checkout line, the cashier scanned my items and asked for money. twenty-one dollars and some cents, not to be exact. i swiped my debit card and the monitor asked if the total was okay. i selected yes. it asked if i would like cash back, i selected yes again, key in the amount or sixty dollars, and waited.
“not approved.” my first mental response was the machine is broken.
not approved? that means i don’t have enough money in my account to cover this transaction. i just used my debit card at the art store, something’s wrong. the cashier told me to try again, i did and still not approved.
as if it would make any difference i reached in my pocket and pulled out a crumpled receipt that showed a recent purchase. “there is money in the account.”
we tried the transaction three times and it continued to display the not approved status. the cashier shook her head and said, “it’s not me,” referring to the machine and i said “it’s not me,” referring to my bank account.
i stood there for a minute and decided it wasn’t worth trying to make a run for it, so i told her i would put the groceries back. she suggested we try the transaction again, sans the cash back. i agreed because i was already embarrassed, what else could it say? no, really, you’re not leaving this store with those groceries?
we went through the same steps again, minus the cash back and – is this where i type lo and behold – my transaction was approved!
i’m still so embarrassed, but if i was there under false pretense, when the machine said ‘not approved’ the first time, i would have bolted, but on that day i was standing my ground. i told the cashier i had money and breathed a small sigh of relief that i at least had $22 in my account, even if i couldn’t get cash back.
oh crap! i can’t get cash back and i have no money to buy lunch. i wondered if it was too late, since my debit card was approved for groceries but not cash back, to run and get a tv dinner. i decided not to ask her but walked out of the store feeling perplexed and embarrassed.
i can’t even come up with a witty analogy but it’s liken to getting undressed at the gym in a room full of women and you realize you’re not wearing a thong, but your kid’s icarly underwear.
as i walked to my car, i pondered question after question. did someone hack into my account? was my identity stolen and if my identity was stolen, i hoped they’d come back and live my life. don’t just take my money and run, punk! naturally, i’m nervous and when i got back to my desk, i immediately checked my account online. everything was fine and now i’m really mad.
i went about telling everyone who would listen what happened to me at the supermarket. not just because i needed to blow off some steam, but because if they listened carefully to my story, they could hear my stomach growling.
after telling this story to erica, she said the same thing happened to her. the reason being? stores limit the cash back amount and obviously shoprite forgot to tell the customers, and the cashiers.
i know when i go to k-mart, that’s the case, but at shoprite, we were free to key in an amount with no restrictions. the maximum cash back amount is now $30. i assume it was lowered around the holidays or to prevent people like me for using it as an atm. why offer it though, if they don’t want to give it to us.
i was tempted to call the store and ask to speak to the manager, but decided to let it go. just for the day, i would be the fool who tried to get cash back with no money in the bank. i don’t mind being poor, but i hate being embarrassed. next time i use my debit card and the machine asks if i want cash back, i’m going to say, you tell me.
In: Money · Tagged with: cash back, Money, shoprite
on January 11, 2010 at 8:39 am
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That happened to me at Shoprite in Hillside about 9 years ago. However, my total for my groceries was $93 and to my chagrin, I had no money in my account. How was I to know I was overdrawn? So there I stand crazed out of my mind; my stomach turning in knots. I called my godmother, explained my story with a promise to repay, and she got out of bed, dressed and drove to Shoprite to rescue me. I was standing against the window with my cart of groceries looking dejected. I can laugh now but I learned from that point forward to always check my balance or lack thereof before shopping wrong in Shoprite.
on January 14, 2010 at 6:22 am
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well you know how i can be with money, i always have an idea of how much is in there. actually a lady at jcpenney, there was something wrong with the machine again, years ago, insinuated that because the transaction didn’t go through and my debit card was unreadable that there was no money in the account and asked if i had another card. i don’t show my butt in public, but i did that day.
on January 14, 2010 at 5:03 am
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Oww. Ch. That does suck that the chick had no idea that the store policy is to limit the cash back amount. There should be a sign right there at the register.
I am impressed that you used your debit card to pay for groceries. That’s like playing Russian Roulette to me. I always, always use the credit card. Just in case.
And now that Taco Bell takes MasterCard at the drive-thru window, I’m golden.
cardiogirl´s last blog ..If I didn’t have to deal with the ramifications I’d take a jackhammer to that wall
on January 14, 2010 at 6:21 am
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and i look for her every time i go into shoprite now. yesterday i was tempted to ask the cashier if there was a cash back limit, just to see if she knew. little voice in my head said to leave it alone.
i’m anti-credit card, but will be using one soon to pay for an order i have for some of my prints, until i am paid. stupid me didn’t ask for a deposit.