No good deed goes unpunished. Val knows that. She did NOT need a reminder from the Universe on Thursday.
I went in the Sis-Town Casey's to pre-pay for T-Hoe's gas, and buy some scratchers. I waited my turn in line. Only one checker was working. She's one of my favorites. Always polite and cheery. When it was my turn, I told her how much gas I wanted, on Pump 5, and began to name my scratchers by the number on the case.
Checker was distracted by another worker wandering behind her as she entered in my gas pay. Checker relayed that she had taken the hair clip off the drop slot where they feed their big bills. Apparently it had been jammed with a stuck twenty.
As Checker was tearing off my tickets, Other Worker knelt down beside her, fishing out that mangled twenty, and said, "This will have to be given out."
Dang it! I was supposed to get back $20 in change. That's how I had calculated it, after deciding how much gas I wanted to give Hungry Hungry T-Hoe's 26-gallon tank, and which scratchers I desired. So now I would be getting that torn twenty that's no good for lottery machines or slot machines!
Anyhoo... Checker waved my scratchers in front of their scanner, laying them aside, and then took the $100 bill that I gave her. She held it up to make sure the see-through thread ran through it, and then stuck it in the slot that had previously been jammed. She gave me back the mangled $20 in change, AND ALSO A $5 BILL!
"I don't want to cheat you, but I don't think I'm supposed to get this five back. I should only be getting twenty."
Checker went through the receipt. Thumbed through the tickets. And said that it was right. I disagreed. I counted out the ticket amount, and added the gas. It came to $80. Checker still said no. And got out a pencil, saying "Let's do this the old-fashioned way." She showed me her calculations, and talked me through them. I still disagreed. I showed her my counting with the tickets. She compared them to her pencil list.
Actually, Checker could have solved her problem initially by counting how many tickets she rang up. That's usually what the checkers do if something seems off. I pointed out that she had not counted my $5 crossword ticket.
OH! The lightbulb went on over her head. I'm not faulting her. She was interrupted a couple times by Other Worker, who kept trying to help, which only muddied the waters. And there was a line waiting, which finally Other Worker started to serve.
Checker voided the transaction, but it said NO TRANSACTION FOUND. I don't know how that happened. Anyhoo... she got it all rung up again, and took back the $5 bill. And apologized.
"That's okay. Now is my gas going to pump? Because it's been a while since you put in my pre-pay, and one time I went to the bathroom before going out to pump, and it had expired, and I had to walk all the way back in."
Clearly they can see that Val is not one who is wont to do extra walking! I take my cane to the casino, but not to the convenience store. I can hobble in and out. But I'm not capable of a marathon.
"Oh, yes. I just put it in again. It's fine."
Then I did the walk of shame, past the line I had held up for so long, even though it was no fault of my own. Unless you count NOT TAKING $5 THAT DIDN'T BELONG TO ME.
Back at T-Hoe, the pump was not reset. It would not dispense the gas I had just paid for. So I had to walk back inside. I was glad that Casey's does not sell rotten tomatoes! The line was restless. Other Checker saw me first, and said, "Now what?" Not in a mocking or hateful way, but in kind of a smug way to show Checker that SHE would never have had such a problem.
Before Other Checker could solve my issue, Checker saw me and said, "Now it should work. I just did it again."
Back across the parking lot to T-Hoe waiting patiently by Pump 5. Which DID work this time.
I don't set out to be THAT PERSON who holds up a line. But in case you were born under a rock and have been living in the cabbage patch... lottery is tightly regulated by the government, just like its cousins ALCOHOL and FIREARMS.
At the time, I was only concerned about Checker's register coming up $5 short. It wouldn't have, because she didn't ring up the $5 scratcher. However... the lottery count would have been off. No record of that ticket. It would have been like somebody (possibly an employee!) stole it.
I really was doing her a favor. Not sure she sees it that way, but I won't hesitate to get in her line again. Unsmugly, even. Meanwhile, I've got a mangled $20 bill to pass off to Hick. His people don't mind. A little tape won't hinder it from passing hand-to-hand.
Using the cane is a good idea, and I should use one, too. I have balance problems. People are so intent on getting what THEY want, not wanting to wait. Maybe it is different in your part of America, but young people are the worst.
ReplyDeleteA cane would definitely help me step up and down on the sidewalk curb, but right now I rely on using the handicap ramp area, even if I have to walk extra to get to it.
DeleteI agree that the old people seem more patient. They also pay with cash, which makes the line move faster, rather than the youngsters fiddling with their cards for snack purchases. For all the hubbub about "tapping" the cards, I don't see that happening in my convenience stores.
I'm glad you got it all sorted out and that other-checker FINALLY got to serving the ever-growing line. I hate mangled money too, I don't usually get torn bills, but I do often get bills with a corner folded over, which I then put in between other bills so it straightens out a bit. Our bills are "plasticised" so once a corner is bent it's very hard to straighten out.
ReplyDeleteOur bills are very papery, and get torn and crunched and sometimes turn limp as a dishrag after much wear.
DeleteI had to use a bill to get a bottle of water. The only one Tommy had was wrinkled and all four corners were worn away and wrinkled to boot. It was a miracle it worked. My knee was killing me, so I would have gone back to the car without water. I hate dirty or wet bills, too.
ReplyDeleteMachines are persnickety about taking bills. Sometimes a crisp new one is rejected.
DeleteA couple summers ago, the Woman Owner of the Gas Station Chicken Store put a sign on the counter saying they would NOT accept bills taken out of bras or shoes. The thought of that moist money makes my stomach churn!
I am usually with HeWho and he pays my way! About all he is good for nowadays!
ReplyDeleteHick would have walked out with that extra $5. Not because he would be celebrating making $5 off a cashier, but because he doesn't know the worth of scratchers like I do. He'd assume the Checker was right.
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