Man I don't care if your card is denied, as I am frequently poor myself. Also, a lot of times the bank will deny your card even IF you have money if the purchase is outside your "normal purchasing habits", for security reasons. I get the occasional "refer to bank" message when the card is declined, and once the customer talks to the card company it's all good and they release the hold on the account.
Also because sometimes gas stations will put a freaking 50-dollar hold on your card when you buy like 8 bucks worth of gas, and it won't come off for days.
When my card is denied (which only happened once or twice, for big purchases), I just said "Oh. Ok." and found an alternate method of payment. If none was to be found, I'd come back later with my mother's uber-credit card (and herself, of course, I didn't steal the card). I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
When I buy something, it's means that I think that I have money. If I'm suddenly told that "no, actually, you don't", it's a bit of a shock. It means that I have less money than I thought, and when you pretty much live from payday to payday, that can be a problem. Also, it means that the cashier, and anyone else nearby, suddenly knows a little bit too much about me, and it's not something that I really want them to know.
When it happens to a customer, I'm always thinking that they will react similarly, or perhaps angrily. Neither is good, and so I find it very awkward.
When I buy something, it's means that I think that I have money. If I'm suddenly told that "no, actually, you don't", it's a bit of a shock. It means that I have less money than I thought, and when you pretty much live from payday to payday, that can be a problem. Also, it means that the cashier, and anyone else nearby, suddenly knows a little bit too much about me, and it's not something that I really want them to know.
It can also mean that the system f'ed up. When I got my card denied, I had the money in my account.
Cards being denied isn't always just because there's no money/credit left. I've had cards fail for no discernible reason before. Don't work at one shop, no flag to call the issuer, take it to another shop, works fine. My most embarrassing situation is typically forgetting my PIN after handing over a card. Just hovering there over the keypad, blank and then having to say 'You know, I've completely forgotten the PIN for that card, do you mind if I use another one?' Luckily my wife an uncanny memory and knows the PINs for all my cards as well as her own.
This is the point where I ask anyone why on earth they use a credit card.
...
Why wouldn't we?
It's credit, so you can buy now, pay later (ideally by the end of the month, but if you need to make a big purchase, you can pay it off over a couple of months and eat the interest).
Amex basically pays me to use their card, with points for every £ I spend that they then convert into money that gets credited back onto my card at the end of the year.
It lets me purchase products outside of the UK (although a VISA or Mastercard debit card would also do this, my bank doesn't issue debit cards from either of them).
When I go on holiday abroad, the same benefit as above applies, plus I can spread costs over different cards so I don't need to worry about running short when I'm on holiday (Stick the hotel on Amex, run general expenditure on VISA, eg.).
Credit cards give you another branch of personal finance management as well as additional freedom.
I always hate the people that have you run the card five or six times trying to see if it will get a different result. If it gets denied as credit the first time, it will get denied all the other times as well. Though, if you try using that bank card as a debit (with PIN), it will go through if the daily limit is the only thing stopping you. When you have a long line and a bunch of other people to help in a high theft area of the store, you get kinda ticked off when someone thinks you are lying to them about their card not going through. Believe me, if I could make it magically accept it, I would... I'm not just being a dick here.
I always hate the people that have you run the card five or six times trying to see if it will get a different result. If it gets denied as credit the first time, it will get denied all the other times as well. Though, if you try using that bank card as a debit (with PIN), it will go through if the daily limit is the only thing stopping you. When you have a long line and a bunch of other people to help in a high theft area of the store, you get kinda ticked off when someone thinks you are lying to them about their card not going through. Believe me, if I could make it magically accept it, I would... I'm not just being a dick here.
I've had shop assistants 'retry' my card before. Sometimes it goes through the second time, I guess they just fucked up something the first time or their computer didn't connect to the network properly or something (does anybody even drop packets anymore these days?). Demanding that they retry, especially three or more times, is just obnoxious though. I don't think I've ever had to ask for them to retry it, they always just offer to do it themselves, but if it doesn't work the first or second time, it's very unlikely to work the third or eighth time.
I have to say as well, people who believe their card shouldn't have been declined etc. aren't inherently ass-holes. I tend to keep a decent mental note when spending on credit or debit and if I believe there's still money or credit left there probably is. If you know the money is there, it's probably an auto-lock based on spending habits or something which can be resolved with a security check. However, getting angry or irate when your card is declined is just being an ignorant asshole and is likely to only lead to you further embarrassing yourself.
Most of the time, getting angry or irate about anything is indicative of being an ignorant asshole.
I always hate the people that have you run the card five or six times trying to see if it will get a different result. If it gets denied as credit the first time, it will get denied all the other times as well. Though, if you try using that bank card as a debit (with PIN), it will go through if the daily limit is the only thing stopping you. When you have a long line and a bunch of other people to help in a high theft area of the store, you get kinda ticked off when someone thinks you are lying to them about their card not going through. Believe me, if I could make it magically accept it, I would... I'm not just being a dick here.
I've had shop assistants 'retry' my card before. Sometimes it goes through the second time, I guess they just fucked up something the first time or their computer didn't connect to the network properly or something (does anybody even drop packets anymore these days?). Demanding that they retry, especially three or more times, is just obnoxious though. I don't think I've ever had to ask for them to retry it, they always just offer to do it themselves, but if it doesn't work the first or second time, it's very unlikely to work the third or eighth time.
My experience in retail is that on an older card (as in one they have had for a while which is about to be replaced with a new one) the magnetic strip does not read as well. Sometime is you re-run the card wrapped in a plastic shopping bag it will work - something to do with the static electricity I assume.
Also, yes, credit cards get rejecting for a number of reasons - often times having nothing to do with being maxed. I have a Platinum card that routinely shits out on me, it will flag "unusual purchase" on just about anything and lock it (I can only assume since I don't use it that much that pretty much every purchase is "unusual"). For reference, I have about a 15k limit on the damn thing and no ongoing balance.
Still makes me feel poor when it is rejected though.
Also because sometimes gas stations will put a freaking 50-dollar hold on your card when you buy like 8 bucks worth of gas, and it won't come off for days.
This isn't a big deal to me, because I rarely spend within $100 of my limit.
This is the point where I ask anyone why on earth they use a credit card.
Assuming you keep up with your payments and keep track of your current spending limit, problems with credit cards are few and far between. It beats having to have cash on you all the time. Yeah, I know debit cards offer that same benefit, but responsible use of credit cards can improve your credit score, which is a plus if you ever plan on taking out a loan later in life.
Credit cards: It's money that isn't yours. If you have to pay later then just wait until you have the money and pay then.
By and large I agree with this and tend to operate in that fashion. However, there are situations where it isn't possible or undesirable. Also, there can be advantages to spending money you do have, only with a credit card.
For example, I get cashback every time I spend with my Amex, so if I use it to do my weekly shopping using it, I earn huge amounts of credit over the course of a year and get loads of cashback. But I still have the money I spent in my bank account, so I can always clear the balance when I get home, well before getting charged interest.
Or if I go on holiday abroad, I could buy enough spending money to pay for hotels and travel and food and general expenses, but that could mean carrying around in excess of £3000 in foreign currency. Frankly, fuck that. I'll take a couple of credit cards and pay off the balance when I get home.
Also, as you get older, you start to have responsibilities. Maybe you need a washing machine this month, but you won't be able to afford it until next. So what do you do? Not wash any clothes for a month? Why, when you know you'll have the money next month so can safely buy the machine on credit this month?
There's nothing wrong with spending credit so long as you are responsible enough to handle it maturely.
I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
Well, the one time it happened to me, a couple of people gave me that look. It was not a pleasant experience.
One time I took my wife (then girlfriend) shopping in Glasgow for her birthday. All day, running up a balance on my Amex in girls clothes shops in a city I hardly ever visit and they don't bat an eyelid. Come back home to Edinburgh and go out to an Italian for dinner and now my card gets security checked. The manager was very discreet about the situation, comes up to the table, asking me if I wouldn't mind following him to the telephone in a voice barely above a whisper all trying not to offend or embarrass me, proper old school.
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ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
Well, the one time it happened to me, a couple of people gave me that look. It was not a pleasant experience.
One time I took my wife (then girlfriend) shopping in Glasgow for her birthday. All day, running up a balance on my Amex in girls clothes shops in a city I hardly ever visit and they don't bat an eyelid. Come back home to Edinburgh and go out to an Italian for dinner and now my card gets security checked. The manager was very discreet about the situation, comes up to the table, asking me if I wouldn't mind following him to the telephone in a voice barely above a whisper all trying not to offend or embarrass me, proper old school.
I've had that issue as well. I went to Vancouver and when I came back I couldn't use my card for anything back in Houston.
I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
Well, the one time it happened to me, a couple of people gave me that look. It was not a pleasant experience.
One time I took my wife (then girlfriend) shopping in Glasgow for her birthday. All day, running up a balance on my Amex in girls clothes shops in a city I hardly ever visit and they don't bat an eyelid. Come back home to Edinburgh and go out to an Italian for dinner and now my card gets security checked. The manager was very discreet about the situation, comes up to the table, asking me if I wouldn't mind following him to the telephone in a voice barely above a whisper all trying not to offend or embarrass me, proper old school.
I had the same happen to me at a restaurant because I was retarded and gave the guy an un-activated Visa (I had just received it the day before as a replacement). He came over and said it will be just one moment and could I follow him so I did, found out what I did, apologized and got it activated and paid with a healthy tip. Being discreet about it is really polite. How many people go to a restaurant and honestly have no money to pay for the meal?
I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
Well, the one time it happened to me, a couple of people gave me that look. It was not a pleasant experience.
One time I took my wife (then girlfriend) shopping in Glasgow for her birthday. All day, running up a balance on my Amex in girls clothes shops in a city I hardly ever visit and they don't bat an eyelid. Come back home to Edinburgh and go out to an Italian for dinner and now my card gets security checked. The manager was very discreet about the situation, comes up to the table, asking me if I wouldn't mind following him to the telephone in a voice barely above a whisper all trying not to offend or embarrass me, proper old school.
And that's how it should work. Instead, you get some random kid who seems to announce it in the loudest possible voice that your card's been denied.
Essentially, it's an indirect accusation that you're bad with money and can't take care of yourself, or that you're trying to scam the store. Of course, it'll piss people off. I imagine that if the person saying, "hey, your card's not working," in as discreet a fashion as possible, then perhaps the result wouldn't be getting yelled at by the customer.
I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
Well, the one time it happened to me, a couple of people gave me that look. It was not a pleasant experience.
One time I took my wife (then girlfriend) shopping in Glasgow for her birthday. All day, running up a balance on my Amex in girls clothes shops in a city I hardly ever visit and they don't bat an eyelid. Come back home to Edinburgh and go out to an Italian for dinner and now my card gets security checked. The manager was very discreet about the situation, comes up to the table, asking me if I wouldn't mind following him to the telephone in a voice barely above a whisper all trying not to offend or embarrass me, proper old school.
And that's how it should work. Instead, you get some random kid who seems to announce it in the loudest possible voice that your card's been denied.
Essentially, it's an indirect accusation that you're bad with money and can't take care of yourself, or that you're trying to scam the store. Of course, it'll piss people off. I imagine that if the person saying, "hey, your card's not working," in as discreet a fashion as possible, then perhaps the result wouldn't be getting yelled at by the customer.
It's tough to whisper to a customer in line from behind the counter, and even tougher to be indiscrete with a line behind them.
Usually I'll just furrow my brow, tell them that the card seems to be having trouble going through, and ask if they want me to try it again, or if they want to go ahead and pay a different way.
My debit card is weird. My old one would never scan at the local greasy spoon. I got a new one, which almost never scans the liquor store by my house or the Sonic in the next town over. It also won't scan at the express lanes at Wal-Mart. If they manually enter it it runs fine, but I know they've had to do the plastic bag trick a couple times for me. Its one reason why I picked up a credit card too, so I'd have a backup.
I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
Well, the one time it happened to me, a couple of people gave me that look. It was not a pleasant experience.
Fuck those people. Seeing how most of humanity is retarded, odds are good that every single one of them is a dumbass, so you shouldn't care about how they look at you. I know I don't.
Your card gets denied. Big whoop. You know you have the money? Then something fucked up. It's computers. They fuck up. The people in line will assume that. And if they don't, and instead assume you're broke, then they're idiots and screw them.
And knock over a trolley, run for the door, clutching their tin of baked beans and king size Mars, yelling 'I WIN! I WIN!'
Heh.
Honestly, though, I often have my card legitimately have trouble going through, without actually being declined, because there is a crack in it on one side.
If you slide it from the other side, it goes through without issue, but when you start with that side, it usually comes up with an error "decoding".
I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
Well, the one time it happened to me, a couple of people gave me that look. It was not a pleasant experience.
Fuck those people. Seeing how most of humanity is retarded, odds are good that every single one of them is a dumbass, so you shouldn't care about how they look at you. I know I don't.
Your card gets denied. Big whoop. You know you have the money? Then something fucked up. It's computers. They fuck up. The people in line will assume that. And if they don't, and instead assume you're broke, then they're idiots and screw them.
And even if you don't have the money, does that really make you a bad person?
Well, yes. Yes, I suppose it does. But even bad people deserve a second chance.
However, if it doesn't work after the second time, then you rightly deserve the disdain of all within shouting distance.
Yeah, when I do have issues, its usually a read problem. When I worked at Target, I found that most cards that would just not swipe would work just fine when wrapped in a plastic bag. I don't know the science behind it, as I'm not a scientologist.
If your card reads wrong or isn't being swiped correctly or the computer doesn't connect to the bank, at least at the places I've worked at, you get a different message than "declined". So it doesn't just decline for any old reason, like a bad magnetic strip or whatever. It comes up "declined" when the bank decides it does. My old card didn't work at starbucks, but it didn't come up declined, just "Unable to decode data."
Also, I'm not going to leave over a counter to whisper to someone that their card has been declined. In fact, that would probably make them even more uncomfortable.
This right here is probably one of my favorite stories from a warehouse that I work at during the summer and the breaks I'm home from college. I drive a forklift and just load and unload trucks for this company, clean the warehouse, ship out UPS, and even on some occasions do tech support oddly enough because they know I'm good at it, not my job but whatever. Well one day during the summer it was about 106 degrees out, and in the warehouse it amplifies about another 20 degrees so the of course the office was getting a nice AC unit while we fucking sweat like dogs. And its another really boring day and I'm taping up a box to ship something out UPS in and the other warehouse worker Bill is just sweeping the floor, when suddenly Larry my supervisor comes running out and yells.
"Bill! Johnny! Go grab the extinguishers! We got a problem!"
So of course Bill and I get off our asses and grab the fire extinguishers and fucking bolt outside and see that about 3 bushes (large mind you) are ablaze. So we try and put them out to no avail. When one of the guys putting in the AC unit yells out
"Get a hose! Get a hose!"
Jake, the guy who owns the company walks out and says to us
"You're not putting that shit out with fire extinguishers"
He goes inside and seconds later bursts out a side door with a huge fucking fire hose and tells me and Larry to go turn the hose on, so we run back to where you do, and as soon as Larry turns the wheel to let out the water, and the water comes otu so powerfully the hose flails when its filling up and it knocked a Larry off his feet. So Jake puts the fire out and fire dept. and cops show up and we tell them what happened.
Apparently the guys putting in the AC unit were cutting copper wire with a flame torch and the day before they cut the bushes and the brush caught on fire and lit the place up. Best part is I have the whole thing on video on my phone, but I'm too poor to buy the cord to transfer it to my computer. If anyone likes this one I'll share more stories in a later post, and if theres demand for the video (hah) I'll really try to get it up.
Sometimes I make the mouse cursor "dance" for them while I'm waiting for their apps to load. This invariably produces an exclamation of joy and amusement, and makes for a good ice-breaker.
So I'm picturing some man-child in a suit giggling and clapping while the cursor does a figure-eight on the screen. Is that how it went? Why do these people have computers?
Sometimes I make the mouse cursor "dance" for them while I'm waiting for their apps to load. This invariably produces an exclamation of joy and amusement, and makes for a good ice-breaker.
So I'm picturing some man-child in a suit giggling and clapping while the cursor does a figure-eight on the screen. Is that how it went? Why do these people have computers?
Because, supposedly, a retard with a computer is more productive than one with out.
I'm still behind in this thread (Page 25) but i can't read any more without at least saying the folllowing:
Most of you people should be banned from talking about anything that even remotely relates to biology. As someone with a degree in a bio field some of the things said in this thread (particularly about water) have made me die a little inside.
Witchdr on
"Look, all I know is that this cord was plugged into my house and your house was glowing like the freakin' sun. So, I put two and two together there and decided that you're pissing me off." -Carl Brutananadilewski
In regards to the advocates of his former empire: “I was going to have them all executed… the Royal Advocate talked me out of it.” -Shadowthrone (Emperor Kellanved)
Sometimes I make the mouse cursor "dance" for them while I'm waiting for their apps to load. This invariably produces an exclamation of joy and amusement, and makes for a good ice-breaker.
So I'm picturing some man-child in a suit giggling and clapping while the cursor does a figure-eight on the screen. Is that how it went? Why do these people have computers?
Because, supposedly, a retard with a computer is more productive than one with out.
It's been a while since I've had chemistry, but I'm pretty sure that
Sometimes I make the mouse cursor "dance" for them while I'm waiting for their apps to load. This invariably produces an exclamation of joy and amusement, and makes for a good ice-breaker.
So I'm picturing some man-child in a suit giggling and clapping while the cursor does a figure-eight on the screen. Is that how it went? Why do these people have computers?
Because, supposedly, a retard with a computer is more productive than one with out.
It's been a while since I've had chemistry, but I'm pretty sure that
Credit cards: It's money that isn't yours. If you have to pay later then just wait until you have the money and pay then.
Check cards: your bank will give one to you for free, you won't get shivved by the people behind you in line for taking fifteen goddamn minutes to write out a check, and you don't have cash in your wallet in case it gets lost or stolen.
And, funnily enough, to a cashier, they are basically indistinguishable from credit cards.
I'm still behind in this thread (Page 25) but i can't read any more without at least saying the folllowing:
Most of you people should be banned from talking about anything that even remotely relates to biology. As someone with a degree in a bio field some of the things said in this thread (particularly about water) have made me die a little inside.
The best part is the two posts below this one are using reaction equations from chemistry to describe the interaction of retards and computers.
Credit cards: It's money that isn't yours. If you have to pay later then just wait until you have the money and pay then.
Check cards: your bank will give one to you for free, you won't get shivved by the people behind you in line for taking fifteen goddamn minutes to write out a check, and you don't have cash in your wallet in case it gets lost or stolen.
And, funnily enough, to a cashier, they are basically indistinguishable from credit cards.
And I have one of those.
Willeth on
@vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming! @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I'm still behind in this thread (Page 25) but i can't read any more without at least saying the folllowing:
Most of you people should be banned from talking about anything that even remotely relates to biology. As someone with a degree in a bio field some of the things said in this thread (particularly about water) have made me die a little inside.
Part of you died a little inside? Sounds like you've been drinking too much distilled water.
I'm still behind in this thread (Page 25) but i can't read any more without at least saying the folllowing:
Most of you people should be banned from talking about anything that even remotely relates to biology. As someone with a degree in a bio field some of the things said in this thread (particularly about water) have made me die a little inside.
Part of you died a little inside? Sounds like you've been drinking too much distilled water.
You know that shit lacks ionized protonized minerals.
I don't see what's shameful in having your card denied. Shit happens all the time.
Well, the one time it happened to me, a couple of people gave me that look. It was not a pleasant experience.
One time I took my wife (then girlfriend) shopping in Glasgow for her birthday. All day, running up a balance on my Amex in girls clothes shops in a city I hardly ever visit and they don't bat an eyelid. Come back home to Edinburgh and go out to an Italian for dinner and now my card gets security checked. The manager was very discreet about the situation, comes up to the table, asking me if I wouldn't mind following him to the telephone in a voice barely above a whisper all trying not to offend or embarrass me, proper old school.
And that's how it should work. Instead, you get some random kid who seems to announce it in the loudest possible voice that your card's been denied.
Essentially, it's an indirect accusation that you're bad with money and can't take care of yourself, or that you're trying to scam the store. Of course, it'll piss people off. I imagine that if the person saying, "hey, your card's not working," in as discreet a fashion as possible, then perhaps the result wouldn't be getting yelled at by the customer.
It's tough to whisper to a customer in line from behind the counter, and even tougher to be indiscrete with a line behind them.
Usually I'll just furrow my brow, tell them that the card seems to be having trouble going through, and ask if they want me to try it again, or if they want to go ahead and pay a different way.
Most people get the hint.
Whenever it happened to me on the register, I tried to say it quietly and discretely, but fuck if customers didn't just blurt it out incredulously or act like I was trying to scam them. Anytime they got the look or other customers noticed it was because the customer had announced it and began to act like a giant cockmonger.
I've never scanned a card multiple times and had it go through, but I didn't mind doing because at least I'm showing the customer it's not me, but the machine. But I did have this one foreign guy who was just absolutely insane about it (I wondered at the time and still do if he wasn't part of the Russian mob; probably not, but it'd be more interesting if he was). He went through literally six cards, none would be read by the standard machine that sucks the card in nor when I swiped them on the register. He had me swipe each one 7 or 8 times. The very last card he gave me did get read, but only so far as to tell me to call the potential fraud hotline. He left, angrily, and said he'd be back later with cash. I don't know if he did come back later that day, but I'm glad I wasn't there if he did.
Posts
When it happens to a customer, I'm always thinking that they will react similarly, or perhaps angrily. Neither is good, and so I find it very awkward.
It can also mean that the system f'ed up. When I got my card denied, I had the money in my account.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
No idea why.
Really annoying actually.
...
Why wouldn't we?
It's credit, so you can buy now, pay later (ideally by the end of the month, but if you need to make a big purchase, you can pay it off over a couple of months and eat the interest).
Amex basically pays me to use their card, with points for every £ I spend that they then convert into money that gets credited back onto my card at the end of the year.
It lets me purchase products outside of the UK (although a VISA or Mastercard debit card would also do this, my bank doesn't issue debit cards from either of them).
When I go on holiday abroad, the same benefit as above applies, plus I can spread costs over different cards so I don't need to worry about running short when I'm on holiday (Stick the hotel on Amex, run general expenditure on VISA, eg.).
Credit cards give you another branch of personal finance management as well as additional freedom.
I've had shop assistants 'retry' my card before. Sometimes it goes through the second time, I guess they just fucked up something the first time or their computer didn't connect to the network properly or something (does anybody even drop packets anymore these days?). Demanding that they retry, especially three or more times, is just obnoxious though. I don't think I've ever had to ask for them to retry it, they always just offer to do it themselves, but if it doesn't work the first or second time, it's very unlikely to work the third or eighth time.
I have to say as well, people who believe their card shouldn't have been declined etc. aren't inherently ass-holes. I tend to keep a decent mental note when spending on credit or debit and if I believe there's still money or credit left there probably is. If you know the money is there, it's probably an auto-lock based on spending habits or something which can be resolved with a security check. However, getting angry or irate when your card is declined is just being an ignorant asshole and is likely to only lead to you further embarrassing yourself.
Most of the time, getting angry or irate about anything is indicative of being an ignorant asshole.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
My experience in retail is that on an older card (as in one they have had for a while which is about to be replaced with a new one) the magnetic strip does not read as well. Sometime is you re-run the card wrapped in a plastic shopping bag it will work - something to do with the static electricity I assume.
Also, yes, credit cards get rejecting for a number of reasons - often times having nothing to do with being maxed. I have a Platinum card that routinely shits out on me, it will flag "unusual purchase" on just about anything and lock it (I can only assume since I don't use it that much that pretty much every purchase is "unusual"). For reference, I have about a 15k limit on the damn thing and no ongoing balance.
Still makes me feel poor when it is rejected though.
BNet: StandrdError#1826
This isn't a big deal to me, because I rarely spend within $100 of my limit.
Assuming you keep up with your payments and keep track of your current spending limit, problems with credit cards are few and far between. It beats having to have cash on you all the time. Yeah, I know debit cards offer that same benefit, but responsible use of credit cards can improve your credit score, which is a plus if you ever plan on taking out a loan later in life.
By and large I agree with this and tend to operate in that fashion. However, there are situations where it isn't possible or undesirable. Also, there can be advantages to spending money you do have, only with a credit card.
For example, I get cashback every time I spend with my Amex, so if I use it to do my weekly shopping using it, I earn huge amounts of credit over the course of a year and get loads of cashback. But I still have the money I spent in my bank account, so I can always clear the balance when I get home, well before getting charged interest.
Or if I go on holiday abroad, I could buy enough spending money to pay for hotels and travel and food and general expenses, but that could mean carrying around in excess of £3000 in foreign currency. Frankly, fuck that. I'll take a couple of credit cards and pay off the balance when I get home.
Also, as you get older, you start to have responsibilities. Maybe you need a washing machine this month, but you won't be able to afford it until next. So what do you do? Not wash any clothes for a month? Why, when you know you'll have the money next month so can safely buy the machine on credit this month?
There's nothing wrong with spending credit so long as you are responsible enough to handle it maturely.
One time I took my wife (then girlfriend) shopping in Glasgow for her birthday. All day, running up a balance on my Amex in girls clothes shops in a city I hardly ever visit and they don't bat an eyelid. Come back home to Edinburgh and go out to an Italian for dinner and now my card gets security checked. The manager was very discreet about the situation, comes up to the table, asking me if I wouldn't mind following him to the telephone in a voice barely above a whisper all trying not to offend or embarrass me, proper old school.
I've had that issue as well. I went to Vancouver and when I came back I couldn't use my card for anything back in Houston.
I had the same happen to me at a restaurant because I was retarded and gave the guy an un-activated Visa (I had just received it the day before as a replacement). He came over and said it will be just one moment and could I follow him so I did, found out what I did, apologized and got it activated and paid with a healthy tip. Being discreet about it is really polite. How many people go to a restaurant and honestly have no money to pay for the meal?
And that's how it should work. Instead, you get some random kid who seems to announce it in the loudest possible voice that your card's been denied.
Essentially, it's an indirect accusation that you're bad with money and can't take care of yourself, or that you're trying to scam the store. Of course, it'll piss people off. I imagine that if the person saying, "hey, your card's not working," in as discreet a fashion as possible, then perhaps the result wouldn't be getting yelled at by the customer.
It's tough to whisper to a customer in line from behind the counter, and even tougher to be indiscrete with a line behind them.
Usually I'll just furrow my brow, tell them that the card seems to be having trouble going through, and ask if they want me to try it again, or if they want to go ahead and pay a different way.
Most people get the hint.
And knock over a trolley, run for the door, clutching their tin of baked beans and king size Mars, yelling 'I WIN! I WIN!'
Your card gets denied. Big whoop. You know you have the money? Then something fucked up. It's computers. They fuck up. The people in line will assume that. And if they don't, and instead assume you're broke, then they're idiots and screw them.
Heh.
Honestly, though, I often have my card legitimately have trouble going through, without actually being declined, because there is a crack in it on one side.
If you slide it from the other side, it goes through without issue, but when you start with that side, it usually comes up with an error "decoding".
And even if you don't have the money, does that really make you a bad person?
Well, yes. Yes, I suppose it does. But even bad people deserve a second chance.
However, if it doesn't work after the second time, then you rightly deserve the disdain of all within shouting distance.
Also, I'm not going to leave over a counter to whisper to someone that their card has been declined. In fact, that would probably make them even more uncomfortable.
Citibank is paying me $91 this month for, among other things, using my card to pay my tuition and buy books.
I've made hundreds of dollars over the past few years by using a credit card, why wouldn't I?
"Bill! Johnny! Go grab the extinguishers! We got a problem!"
So of course Bill and I get off our asses and grab the fire extinguishers and fucking bolt outside and see that about 3 bushes (large mind you) are ablaze. So we try and put them out to no avail. When one of the guys putting in the AC unit yells out
"Get a hose! Get a hose!"
Jake, the guy who owns the company walks out and says to us
"You're not putting that shit out with fire extinguishers"
He goes inside and seconds later bursts out a side door with a huge fucking fire hose and tells me and Larry to go turn the hose on, so we run back to where you do, and as soon as Larry turns the wheel to let out the water, and the water comes otu so powerfully the hose flails when its filling up and it knocked a Larry off his feet. So Jake puts the fire out and fire dept. and cops show up and we tell them what happened.
Apparently the guys putting in the AC unit were cutting copper wire with a flame torch and the day before they cut the bushes and the brush caught on fire and lit the place up. Best part is I have the whole thing on video on my phone, but I'm too poor to buy the cord to transfer it to my computer. If anyone likes this one I'll share more stories in a later post, and if theres demand for the video (hah) I'll really try to get it up.
Because, supposedly, a retard with a computer is more productive than one with out.
Most of you people should be banned from talking about anything that even remotely relates to biology. As someone with a degree in a bio field some of the things said in this thread (particularly about water) have made me die a little inside.
In regards to the advocates of his former empire: “I was going to have them all executed… the Royal Advocate talked me out of it.” -Shadowthrone (Emperor Kellanved)
Handles: LoL-Emerging, BF4/Hardline-Whiskeyjack227, Steam-Fragglerock, HOTS/Blizzard-Whiskeyjack#1333, Life-Jason
It's been a while since I've had chemistry, but I'm pretty sure that
Retard + Computer = Broken Computer + Angry Retard
Don't forget the popup catalyst.
Check cards: your bank will give one to you for free, you won't get shivved by the people behind you in line for taking fifteen goddamn minutes to write out a check, and you don't have cash in your wallet in case it gets lost or stolen.
And, funnily enough, to a cashier, they are basically indistinguishable from credit cards.
And I have one of those.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Part of you died a little inside? Sounds like you've been drinking too much distilled water.
You know that shit lacks ionized protonized minerals.
Whenever it happened to me on the register, I tried to say it quietly and discretely, but fuck if customers didn't just blurt it out incredulously or act like I was trying to scam them. Anytime they got the look or other customers noticed it was because the customer had announced it and began to act like a giant cockmonger.
I've never scanned a card multiple times and had it go through, but I didn't mind doing because at least I'm showing the customer it's not me, but the machine. But I did have this one foreign guy who was just absolutely insane about it (I wondered at the time and still do if he wasn't part of the Russian mob; probably not, but it'd be more interesting if he was). He went through literally six cards, none would be read by the standard machine that sucks the card in nor when I swiped them on the register. He had me swipe each one 7 or 8 times. The very last card he gave me did get read, but only so far as to tell me to call the potential fraud hotline. He left, angrily, and said he'd be back later with cash. I don't know if he did come back later that day, but I'm glad I wasn't there if he did.