"Customer Dis-service"

Yesterday I was back at the dreaded grocery store, the monopoly in my area. You know for years now, I've come to prefer the so called self check out aisles. Well, in theory i prefer them. Most of the time they don't work and it takes some 3 or 4 employees to help you.

I can't use the self check outs most of the time because I have a food stamp card that doesn't work at the self check outs. My "Independence" card doesn't scan in any of the scanners, and the state won't send me a new one.

So, this drama that happened last night has happened a few times before. I try a clerk I've never used before as I haven't yet had any bad experiences with her. She scans my card (i have 28 in groceries)

clerk-"Maam, there's no money on this card"

me-"Oh yes there is, I just got paid"

well, I'll try again. tries again. "there is definitely no money on this card"

me-"Well you better figure something out cuz I'm not leaving without these groceries"

she pulls out some kind of large pink paper and runs it thru a "fax" machine

Unfortunately she goes and gets the manager who I can't stand

"There isn't any money on this card" he says

There is money on the card I say, I just got paid (god x#$% it)

He goes to another register doesn't even help me drag all my groceries over there.

I fully expect him to take all my groceries out of the bag to rescan. I can't believe how rude it is of them to not help me carry my bags.

He tries to ring me up on the other machine and says

"O.K. you're free to go, it worked"

me-"Well, aren't you gonna get that machine repaired so others don't have to go thru the same thing i went thru?"

His answer sounds something like a grunt. This all is very stressful and I consider boycotting the store altogether. Out of all the bad options of places to shop, I guess the best of the bad would be Whole Foods. Problem is I have food cards for the other store not Whole Foods.

All of this is exhausting. I'll bet many poor people would have felt humiliated at being told over and over that there is no money on their food stamps card! It doesn't humiliate me it just pisses me off!