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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

To think if your debit card is rejected/not autherised whilst doing a fairly big shop

54 replies

b584 · 11/09/2013 19:10

That you do not tell the person serving you to please wait 2 minutes whilst you get money/another card from your car outside and then just piss off.

I had this twice today, £40 to £50 pounds worth of shopping, Once it has gone through my till I cannot serve anyone else unless I have a supervisor or manager come and void the whole transaction, I am stood there with people waiting to be served, Obviously had to call for another staff member to open another till.

The second one did come back 15 minutes later and was pissed off that they had to queue up again and that I had to scan all the shopping again,

Why do people do this?

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 11/09/2013 19:12

Embarrassment

I would have a little compassion

LaurieFairyCake · 11/09/2013 19:13

If that happened to me it's likely I would say that.

It's never happened yet though. I take cash when I'm close to the bottom of my bank account.

ChocHobNob · 11/09/2013 19:18

What else would you have them do? Pack all of the shopping away, find someone to look after it, go to car, come back and go through paying for it again? Could you not have just explained to the other customers what had happened and let them use another till if they wanted. I think YABU.

I forgot my card today although fortunately was at a self service till so not holding anyone up. I spoke to a member of staff and went and got my bank card from the car. It was fine. There were plenty of other tills for people to use.

Mistyshore · 11/09/2013 19:18

My card didn't work once and the man at the till told me very loudly that my card had been 'rejected'. I told him to try again as I had money in my account and I took the card out of the machine and put it back in again. It worked!

I felt so ashamed in the 30 seconds it took to try again so I can understand someone not wanting to come back.

ChocHobNob · 11/09/2013 19:21

Was this a shop with only one till serving? That makes sense to have to make them scan it all again after getting the card. If they went and got the new card or not, you would have had to waited, either for them or for the member of staff to come and void the transaction. I imagine they were embarrassed their card was declined as it was.

Original poster
b584 · 11/09/2013 19:22

I can understand that they may feel embarrassed but why not just say "sorry I have a problem with my card" instead of pretending that they are going to come back in a few minutes.

And those that do come back 10/15 minutes later get the hump because you havn't stopped doing anything else waiting for them,

I usually give them 5 minutes, look outside and if they are nowhere in site have to get the transaction voided as other people are waiting to be seved and giving you evils cos you are standing there doing nothing.

OP posts:
FredFredGeorge · 11/09/2013 19:27

Nicked / cloned card that they're milking until it fails - they want to get out of there as quickly as possible when it does, and the story just delays you in checking 'em out so they're well away?

ChocHobNob · 11/09/2013 19:27

If your AIBU had been "AIBU to think it is out of order to have your debit card rejected in a shop, say you're grabbing another card from the car and a) not ever come back or b) disappear for 15 mins while I have customers waiting?" then I would have said YANBU

Original poster
b584 · 11/09/2013 19:28

It is a smallish shop, we only had 2 tills up untill about 6 months ago but now have 3 but don't use them all unless we need to, Mainly one person on one till and call other staff members as needed.

It's not a supermarket, Sometimes have only 2 or 3 staff members on shift at any one time especially in the evening,

OP posts:
Whogivesashit · 11/09/2013 19:29

Your checkout supervisor should be able to save the transaction on the till, then you can serve other customers.

PeerMon · 11/09/2013 19:30

What Laurie said.

Original poster
b584 · 11/09/2013 19:33

On our tills we cannot save the transaction, it has to be voided, the receipt signed by the manager/supervisor and then put in the till drawer,

Whilst I am waiting I do explain to people waiting why I cannot serve them but it is still annoying and frustrating.

OP posts:
fishandmonkey · 11/09/2013 19:41

wow chill out! if that's the worst thing about your day then you're doing ok. those people may have just realised that they didn't get paid on time and now have no money to buy food for their family so have more on their mind than the slight inconvenience caused to someone on a till.

AmberLeaf · 11/09/2013 19:47

I can't believe you really need to ask.

I think the trouble it causes you in your working day pales into insignificance compared to the poor sod who can't afford to pay for their shopping and how they must feel.

Original poster
b584 · 11/09/2013 19:47

It's the other customers waiting to be served that are inconvenienced not me, They have to wait longer,

I understand that fuck ups can happen with cards, it's just the saying you will be back when you know that you won't or getting the hump cos you have to queue again that pisses me off,

I have no problem standing there doing nothing but the other customers do have a problem with that.

OP posts:
AmberLeaf · 11/09/2013 20:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AmberLeaf · 11/09/2013 20:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AmberLeaf · 11/09/2013 20:02

If that happened to someone in front of me, Id feel sorry for them.

I could cope with waiting a bit longer, because that is much less shit than not having money to buy food and the embarrassment of that happening.

AmberLeaf · 11/09/2013 20:03

Sorry for multiple posts!

MNHQ what is going on?!

marriedinwhiteisback · 11/09/2013 20:20

That happened to me once. I knew there should have been nmoney there. The lady on the till called a manager and he took me to the staff area and I called my bank. My account had been hacked and was £5k down they made me a cup of tea and arranged for me to pay on my credit card. The shop and member of staff were fantastic. I went in the next day with chocolates and a card and wrote to head office to say how absolutely brilliant and unstintingly kind they were. Funny enough they nearly always open a till for me or put me through customer services if I'm in a queue and it must have been 4/5 years ago now. Yay Waitrose.

MNHQ
OliviaMMumsnet · 11/09/2013 20:20

@AmberLeaf

Sorry for multiple posts!

MNHQ what is going on?!

Sorry yy, we areare having probs with this not just chaos's phone Wink

  • are you using Internet Explorer ? Or if not, how are you accessing MN?
KirjavaTheCat · 11/09/2013 20:23

It's happened to me a few times, once when I picked up the wrong card, once when I'd forgotten to transfer money and the other day in the post office when my card had finally given up the ghost and stopped working. I had to walk to the bank to order a new one and withdraw money at the same time. Massive faff.

I've never been annoyed at till staff Confused, always very apologetic for causing a fuss.

These things happen.

musicismylife · 11/09/2013 20:31

Life.

kali110 · 11/09/2013 20:33

Yanbu. My place only had two tills and one of them was forever breaking. People would queue up for 30 mins were not impressed when this happened.
I had to void the whole transaction aswell.
If there are a lot of tills it still means that one person has been taken off the job they were doing to go on another till.

MissStrawberry · 11/09/2013 20:36

Why do you have to cancel and rescan? Surely you just do suspend and then input the code when they return with the money?