They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
I love the conversion to chip cards, and how salty card thieves get when you tell them no, we can't just run it as credit.
The other day at CVS I had a cashier get salty at me about the chip reader. I put my card in, and I waited, and I waited, and I waited, and I eventually commented "Wow this chip reader is really slow" and he shoots back "All chip readers are slow".
No, dude, your chip readers take about 3x as long as any other I've ever used.
not in other countries :whistle:
Quit lording your fancy internet infrastructure and secure financial transactions and free healthcare over us.
Oh wait, you live in the US now. Jokes on you!
It really is. I had to spend $25 on a chequebook because my electricity company charges $5 per transaction for an online payment, which is gonna add up quickly.
I haven't written a cheque since the 90s. To be honest I'm not sure I remember how. Do you still have to like, do that double-cross-out thing?
I long for this. Every place I've ever lived has required rent payment by check. I'm not sure what you mean by "double-cross-out thing" so I'm guessing, no you don't still have to do that.
Also, wtf, charging for online payments? Most places I've dealt with give you a discount for going paperless.
I love the conversion to chip cards, and how salty card thieves get when you tell them no, we can't just run it as credit.
The other day at CVS I had a cashier get salty at me about the chip reader. I put my card in, and I waited, and I waited, and I waited, and I eventually commented "Wow this chip reader is really slow" and he shoots back "All chip readers are slow".
No, dude, your chip readers take about 3x as long as any other I've ever used.
not in other countries :whistle:
Quit lording your fancy internet infrastructure and secure financial transactions and free healthcare over us.
Oh wait, you live in the US now. Jokes on you!
It really is. I had to spend $25 on a chequebook because my electricity company charges $5 per transaction for an online payment, which is gonna add up quickly.
I haven't written a cheque since the 90s. To be honest I'm not sure I remember how. Do you still have to like, do that double-cross-out thing?
I long for this. Every place I've ever lived has required rent payment by check. I'm not sure what you mean by "double-cross-out thing" so I'm guessing, no you don't still have to do that.
Also, wtf, charging for online payments? Most places I've dealt with give you a discount for going paperless.
I love the conversion to chip cards, and how salty card thieves get when you tell them no, we can't just run it as credit.
The other day at CVS I had a cashier get salty at me about the chip reader. I put my card in, and I waited, and I waited, and I waited, and I eventually commented "Wow this chip reader is really slow" and he shoots back "All chip readers are slow".
No, dude, your chip readers take about 3x as long as any other I've ever used.
not in other countries :whistle:
Quit lording your fancy internet infrastructure and secure financial transactions and free healthcare over us.
Oh wait, you live in the US now. Jokes on you!
It really is. I had to spend $25 on a chequebook because my electricity company charges $5 per transaction for an online payment, which is gonna add up quickly.
I haven't written a cheque since the 90s. To be honest I'm not sure I remember how. Do you still have to like, do that double-cross-out thing?
I long for this. Every place I've ever lived has required rent payment by check. I'm not sure what you mean by "double-cross-out thing" so I'm guessing, no you don't still have to do that.
Also, wtf, charging for online payments? Most places I've dealt with give you a discount for going paperless.
So most utilities will charge you for a credit/debit payment but will take a bank payment for free
@tynic you should check to see, there may be a place to give them your routing number from your bank and pay that way, then you don't need checks or the card fee
If a chip reader is slow it's probably because the transaction is going over a landline instead of over the internet. The chip reader I use at work goes over the internet and takes around 5 seconds to authenticate, but the chip reader at our other location is still dialing in over the landline and takes at least 60-80 seconds. Around 40% of the time the authentication over landline take so long that it times out and they have the manually enter the card number in.
I've lost my swank large private office and now am in a communal office. This is bad, but also good because we have a dedicated accountant again and I like being paid.
Well I've already paid for the chequebook so now i may as well use it. The paper bill pretty much has only those two payment options on it. It's possible I could set up a direct debit from the bank end but I have a really irregular billing cycle for some reason. And on top of that it seems like bank transfers here take a long time? I'm used to them taking an hour or two at most but my bank warns that I should allow several days, and up to a week in the case of a new payee.
It's like living in a different century to be honest.
Edit: it's not a card fee, it's a direct transaction from my bank account, incl. routing number etc, which they charge me $5 for.
Well I've already paid for the chequebook so now i may as well use it. The paper bill pretty much has only those two payment options on it. It's possible I could set up a direct debit from the bank end but I have a really irregular billing cycle for some reason. And on top of that it seems like bank transfers here take a long time? I'm used to them taking an hour or two at most but my bank warns that I should allow several days, and up to a week in the case of a new payee.
It's like living in a different century to be honest.
Edit: it's not a card fee, it's a direct transaction from my bank account, incl. routing number etc, which they charge me $5 for.
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
Well I've already paid for the chequebook so now i may as well use it. The paper bill pretty much has only those two payment options on it. It's possible I could set up a direct debit from the bank end but I have a really irregular billing cycle for some reason. And on top of that it seems like bank transfers here take a long time? I'm used to them taking an hour or two at most but my bank warns that I should allow several days, and up to a week in the case of a new payee.
It's like living in a different century to be honest.
Edit: it's not a card fee, it's a direct transaction from my bank account, incl. routing number etc, which they charge me $5 for.
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
While I knew that Trader Joe's belongs to Aldi I didn't know that Trader Joe products are also available in Germany. But I've also been living in the Aldi Süd area for a few years and TJ belongs to Aldi Nord.
0
Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
Is chip and PIN not a standard thing in America? Even South Africa has that as standard.
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
While I knew that Trader Joe's belongs to Aldi I didn't know that Trader Joe products are also available in Germany. But I've also been living in the Aldi Süd area for a few years and TJ belongs to Aldi Nord.
Are they? I didn't know that either. But I didn't actually shop at Aldi much because there was a Lidl and a Jibi right near my house.
Hmm.
The guy in our Portland office (where I work now) who has the job I used to have is known to be a guy with a temper and not much of a filter. He also doesn't get along with the woman who I now work with; their animosity is long known about, but pretty subdued.
Until today.
Apparently they were both involved in something (I wasn't in on it, and neither was the other cube-dweller here), and he (K) asked her (J) via email to follow up on something. All of a sudden he stands up, walks over to my desk, shouting something about J won't take a step outside her normal duties, and he throws a file at my desk, hitting my cube wall and monitor. I cut him off there, telling him to knock that off, that's not ok, etc. K stepped back, apologized to me, but then started ranting about J, shouting, swearing, generally having an episode.
He knocked on the door where our District Manager (S) is on a conference call, along with our new CEO visiting the office. Goes into that room, shouts the same things (almost word for word) into that room, and steps out. S steps out, tells him this is inappropriate, important phone call, a few things like that. K says he needs to take a walk, and S tells him if he does to keep going. K and S, it should be noted, have been friends for a long time, but S and J have been friends and co-workers for longer. S goes back into the room to the call.
K does a few things at his desk, calls J a bitch (at which point I actually pipe up saying he can't speak that way). K leaves, we wonder if we'll ever see him again.
Oh hey, he just came back in, back to his desk. Surrendered his company phone to me (not sure why me), and may be clearing his stuff out of his desk or may be trying to do his work. Not sure.
But I am just about to leave for lunch, though I kinda think I should stay in case he gets riles up again.
I swear, this job can be stressful, yeah, but there's not really a good reason to act this way.
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
While I knew that Trader Joe's belongs to Aldi I didn't know that Trader Joe products are also available in Germany. But I've also been living in the Aldi Süd area for a few years and TJ belongs to Aldi Nord.
Are they? I didn't know that either. But I didn't actually shop at Aldi much because there was a Lidl and a Jibi right near my house.
I've actually never heard of Jibi before.
edit: looking at their site's map, they seem highly localized and my hometown is right on the border of their distribution area.
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
While I knew that Trader Joe's belongs to Aldi I didn't know that Trader Joe products are also available in Germany. But I've also been living in the Aldi Süd area for a few years and TJ belongs to Aldi Nord.
Are they? I didn't know that either. But I didn't actually shop at Aldi much because there was a Lidl and a Jibi right near my house.
I've actually never heard of Jibi before.
I think it's a super regional chain. May not even exist outside Bielefeld. I was going to append something to that effect to the sentence, but I figured you'd get the gist.
Is chip and PIN not a standard thing in America? Even South Africa has that as standard.
It's just becoming a thing with most such cards issued within the last year. Before that it was all mag strips.
Edit: Oh yeah, a lot of our issuers are actually doing Chip and Signature instead of PIN, because we're stupid I mean AMERICA!
I'd be fine with chip+sig if the cashier actually verified your signature like they're technically supposed to. There's a signature block on the back of the card for a reason.
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
While I knew that Trader Joe's belongs to Aldi I didn't know that Trader Joe products are also available in Germany. But I've also been living in the Aldi Süd area for a few years and TJ belongs to Aldi Nord.
Are they? I didn't know that either. But I didn't actually shop at Aldi much because there was a Lidl and a Jibi right near my house.
I've actually never heard of Jibi before.
I think it's a super regional chain. May not even exist outside Bielefeld. I was going to append something to that effect to the sentence, but I figured you'd get the gist.
Did you know of Bielefeld before you went there? Some might say that's an interesting choice.
Is chip and PIN not a standard thing in America? Even South Africa has that as standard.
It's just becoming a thing with most such cards issued within the last year. Before that it was all mag strips.
Edit: Oh yeah, a lot of our issuers are actually doing Chip and Signature instead of PIN, because we're stupid I mean AMERICA!
I'd be fine with chip+sig if the cashier actually verified your signature like they're technically supposed to. There's a signature block on the back of the card for a reason.
We are not cave men.
Well, I mean we are because we're using chip+sig, but we shouldn't be.
Is chip and PIN not a standard thing in America? Even South Africa has that as standard.
It's just becoming a thing with most such cards issued within the last year. Before that it was all mag strips.
Edit: Oh yeah, a lot of our issuers are actually doing Chip and Signature instead of PIN, because we're stupid I mean AMERICA!
I'd be fine with chip+sig if the cashier actually verified your signature like they're technically supposed to. There's a signature block on the back of the card for a reason.
We are not cave men.
Well, I mean we are because we're using chip+sig, but we shouldn't be.
Supermarket is the only place here where it is chip and signature 90 percent of the time. Not exactly sure why.
Is chip and PIN not a standard thing in America? Even South Africa has that as standard.
It's just becoming a thing with most such cards issued within the last year. Before that it was all mag strips.
Edit: Oh yeah, a lot of our issuers are actually doing Chip and Signature instead of PIN, because we're stupid I mean AMERICA!
I'd be fine with chip+sig if the cashier actually verified your signature like they're technically supposed to. There's a signature block on the back of the card for a reason.
I've never seen anyone in the US verify a signature. But i've seen a lot of US tourists complain in europe and australia when people demand to look at their card, or even that they are expected to have the back of their card signed!
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
While I knew that Trader Joe's belongs to Aldi I didn't know that Trader Joe products are also available in Germany. But I've also been living in the Aldi Süd area for a few years and TJ belongs to Aldi Nord.
Are they? I didn't know that either. But I didn't actually shop at Aldi much because there was a Lidl and a Jibi right near my house.
I've actually never heard of Jibi before.
I think it's a super regional chain. May not even exist outside Bielefeld. I was going to append something to that effect to the sentence, but I figured you'd get the gist.
Did you know of Bielefeld before you went there? Some might say that's an interesting choice.
I did not! And by 'interesting' you mean 'baffling', right?
Their university has a large robotics centre (well, cognitive technology technically), but until I saw the job posting and applied I'd never heard of the place. Weirdly, as soon as I got accepted I had people popping out of the woodwork telling me how they worked there or knew people there or ... ???
Is chip and PIN not a standard thing in America? Even South Africa has that as standard.
It's just becoming a thing with most such cards issued within the last year. Before that it was all mag strips.
Edit: Oh yeah, a lot of our issuers are actually doing Chip and Signature instead of PIN, because we're stupid I mean AMERICA!
I'd be fine with chip+sig if the cashier actually verified your signature like they're technically supposed to. There's a signature block on the back of the card for a reason.
I've never seen anyone in the US verify a signature. But i've seen a lot of US tourists complain in europe and australia when people demand to look at their card, or even that they are expected to have the back of their card signed!
I think it took about 9 months before anyone looked at my card, and that was at the post office, so of they gotta follow the government regs.
UPDATE 2: S came out of the call and is talking to K in her office; he took the phone in with him -- this is really the most important part to me, because what the hell am I going to do with it?!?!
UPDATE 2: S came out of the call and is talking to K in her office; he took the phone in with him -- this is really the most important part to me, because what the hell am I going to do with it?!?!
Ugh... I hate this much acrimony at work. Is there any chance you can just leave early until this all blows over??
"Simple, real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time." -Mustrum Ridcully in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather p. 142 (HarperPrism 1996)
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
While I knew that Trader Joe's belongs to Aldi I didn't know that Trader Joe products are also available in Germany. But I've also been living in the Aldi Süd area for a few years and TJ belongs to Aldi Nord.
Are they? I didn't know that either. But I didn't actually shop at Aldi much because there was a Lidl and a Jibi right near my house.
I've actually never heard of Jibi before.
I think it's a super regional chain. May not even exist outside Bielefeld. I was going to append something to that effect to the sentence, but I figured you'd get the gist.
Did you know of Bielefeld before you went there? Some might say that's an interesting choice.
I did not! And by 'interesting' you mean 'baffling', right?
Their university has a large robotics centre (well, cognitive technology technically), but until I saw the job posting and applied I'd never heard of the place. Weirdly, as soon as I got accepted I had people popping out of the woodwork telling me how they worked there or knew people there or ... ???
I didn't know that about Bielefeld either.Although in general it's pretty much only known for Bielefeld Conspiracy anyway I think.
UPDATE 2: S came out of the call and is talking to K in her office; he took the phone in with him -- this is really the most important part to me, because what the hell am I going to do with it?!?!
Ugh... I hate this much acrimony at work. Is there any chance you can just leave early until this all blows over??
My supposition was that since the meeting wasn't just "That was unacceptable, you're fired. Clean out your desk and go" length, that means he's staying.
K is in speaking in a civil tone to J right now, and S took new CEO to lunch.
I stayed mainly because as the only other male in the office, if things took a physical slant, I wanted to be there. Which is super shitty and makes me sick, and assuming he's not fired, I'll be letting S know about that.
Is chip and PIN not a standard thing in America? Even South Africa has that as standard.
It's just becoming a thing with most such cards issued within the last year. Before that it was all mag strips.
Edit: Oh yeah, a lot of our issuers are actually doing Chip and Signature instead of PIN, because we're stupid I mean AMERICA!
I'd be fine with chip+sig if the cashier actually verified your signature like they're technically supposed to. There's a signature block on the back of the card for a reason.
I've never seen anyone in the US verify a signature. But i've seen a lot of US tourists complain in europe and australia when people demand to look at their card, or even that they are expected to have the back of their card signed!
There was a time when I was younger where I thought I was being super witty when instead of signing the back of my cards, I just wrote "Do you trust me?"
Which, of course, technically invalidates the cards at any place that stuck that much to the rules. It also prompted nearly everyone that took the card to ask for my ID, which I rationalized to be a theft deterrent in case anyone swiped it.
DaimarA Million Feet Tall of AwesomeRegistered Userregular
When I was in college I had one of my dad's VISA cards for emergencies and it wasn't signed. I had it for two years before anyone bothered to look on the back of it and point out it wasn't signed. I signed it at the till and the cashier was happy with that. I don't think anyone has checked the signature on my own credit cards.
Also, for anyone that has the option to get a chip on their cards but just hasn't because it hasn't come up for renewal yet go request one from your bank ASAP. A card without a chip is much easier to scam than a chipped card and you don't want to be fighting with your bank or worrying if $500 gets taken out of your account.
When I worked registers (over a decade ago) I'd have people come up with blank signature panels on their cards and expect that to work like "ask for ID"
Their excuse when we asked was "nobody else can sign my card" :?
Is there a word for that kind of thinking, where you blithely assume the world revolves around you/other people have access to all the same information you do, not in an entitled way exactly but just as a brain fart? I used to make the same kind of error all the time as a kid, so I assume it's fairly common.
Posts
They've just instituted a cambridge-wide charge for carrier bags at shops, which is making me feel even more at home! It's like being back in germany. Except the checkout people at trader joes are so nice it freaks me out.
I long for this. Every place I've ever lived has required rent payment by check. I'm not sure what you mean by "double-cross-out thing" so I'm guessing, no you don't still have to do that.
Also, wtf, charging for online payments? Most places I've dealt with give you a discount for going paperless.
Yeah I'm less than thrilled with that.
So most utilities will charge you for a credit/debit payment but will take a bank payment for free
@tynic you should check to see, there may be a place to give them your routing number from your bank and pay that way, then you don't need checks or the card fee
this is how I pay all my utilities
It's like living in a different century to be honest.
Edit: it's not a card fee, it's a direct transaction from my bank account, incl. routing number etc, which they charge me $5 for.
ok yeah that's bananas, I've never heard of that
they just moved to a new office and it is niiiice
So you're even shopping at a german store there?
It is--the 20th.
It seems so! If i could find a can/bottle deposit machine somewhere it would be like I never left.
While I knew that Trader Joe's belongs to Aldi I didn't know that Trader Joe products are also available in Germany. But I've also been living in the Aldi Süd area for a few years and TJ belongs to Aldi Nord.
It's just becoming a thing with most such cards issued within the last year. Before that it was all mag strips.
Edit: Oh yeah, a lot of our issuers are actually doing Chip and Signature instead of PIN, because we're stupid I mean AMERICA!
Are they? I didn't know that either. But I didn't actually shop at Aldi much because there was a Lidl and a Jibi right near my house.
The guy in our Portland office (where I work now) who has the job I used to have is known to be a guy with a temper and not much of a filter. He also doesn't get along with the woman who I now work with; their animosity is long known about, but pretty subdued.
Until today.
Apparently they were both involved in something (I wasn't in on it, and neither was the other cube-dweller here), and he (K) asked her (J) via email to follow up on something. All of a sudden he stands up, walks over to my desk, shouting something about J won't take a step outside her normal duties, and he throws a file at my desk, hitting my cube wall and monitor. I cut him off there, telling him to knock that off, that's not ok, etc. K stepped back, apologized to me, but then started ranting about J, shouting, swearing, generally having an episode.
He knocked on the door where our District Manager (S) is on a conference call, along with our new CEO visiting the office. Goes into that room, shouts the same things (almost word for word) into that room, and steps out. S steps out, tells him this is inappropriate, important phone call, a few things like that. K says he needs to take a walk, and S tells him if he does to keep going. K and S, it should be noted, have been friends for a long time, but S and J have been friends and co-workers for longer. S goes back into the room to the call.
K does a few things at his desk, calls J a bitch (at which point I actually pipe up saying he can't speak that way). K leaves, we wonder if we'll ever see him again.
Oh hey, he just came back in, back to his desk. Surrendered his company phone to me (not sure why me), and may be clearing his stuff out of his desk or may be trying to do his work. Not sure.
But I am just about to leave for lunch, though I kinda think I should stay in case he gets riles up again.
I swear, this job can be stressful, yeah, but there's not really a good reason to act this way.
I've actually never heard of Jibi before.
edit: looking at their site's map, they seem highly localized and my hometown is right on the border of their distribution area.
I think it's a super regional chain. May not even exist outside Bielefeld. I was going to append something to that effect to the sentence, but I figured you'd get the gist.
I'd be fine with chip+sig if the cashier actually verified your signature like they're technically supposed to. There's a signature block on the back of the card for a reason.
Did you know of Bielefeld before you went there? Some might say that's an interesting choice.
We are not cave men.
Well, I mean we are because we're using chip+sig, but we shouldn't be.
Supermarket is the only place here where it is chip and signature 90 percent of the time. Not exactly sure why.
I've never seen anyone in the US verify a signature. But i've seen a lot of US tourists complain in europe and australia when people demand to look at their card, or even that they are expected to have the back of their card signed!
I did not! And by 'interesting' you mean 'baffling', right?
Their university has a large robotics centre (well, cognitive technology technically), but until I saw the job posting and applied I'd never heard of the place. Weirdly, as soon as I got accepted I had people popping out of the woodwork telling me how they worked there or knew people there or ... ???
Ugh... I hate this much acrimony at work. Is there any chance you can just leave early until this all blows over??
I didn't know that about Bielefeld either.Although in general it's pretty much only known for Bielefeld Conspiracy anyway I think.
My supposition was that since the meeting wasn't just "That was unacceptable, you're fired. Clean out your desk and go" length, that means he's staying.
K is in speaking in a civil tone to J right now, and S took new CEO to lunch.
I stayed mainly because as the only other male in the office, if things took a physical slant, I wanted to be there. Which is super shitty and makes me sick, and assuming he's not fired, I'll be letting S know about that.
Looks like he's staying. He's off the next few days (previously scheduled vacation), so I will speak to S about what went down tomorrow.
There was a time when I was younger where I thought I was being super witty when instead of signing the back of my cards, I just wrote "Do you trust me?"
Which, of course, technically invalidates the cards at any place that stuck that much to the rules. It also prompted nearly everyone that took the card to ask for my ID, which I rationalized to be a theft deterrent in case anyone swiped it.
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
Also, for anyone that has the option to get a chip on their cards but just hasn't because it hasn't come up for renewal yet go request one from your bank ASAP. A card without a chip is much easier to scam than a chipped card and you don't want to be fighting with your bank or worrying if $500 gets taken out of your account.
Their excuse when we asked was "nobody else can sign my card" :?