Here's One For 'Ya

[Im A Little Petunia]

(Honest - This is the truth and really did happen to me today!)

I stopped at Home Depot today (11 Nov. 2008) to pick up a few things (the store is not in the town where I live). I went to the checkout aisle to checkout. The clerk (Associate) started to check me out, got as far as the total amount and stopped to help someone having trouble on the Self-Checkout lane, leaving me standing. I went ahead and wrote a check while she was doing this and when I finished the check she still was helping the other people. I stood saying nothing, but beginning to do a slow burn! When she did come back to take my check she stood looking at it and says, “You have to put the date on it”! I said, “I did put the date on it”, showing her where I had written “11 Nov. 2008”. She again told me I had to put the date on it. I again told her the date WAS on the check, beginning to get more irritated. She said, “No, you have to write it 11/11/08”. I said “Why - I already have the date on it and I have never had a check refused in here because of the way I write the date!” She says, “They’re supposed to have checked it and didn’t”. The dingbat literally would not take my check until I wrote the date 11/11/08 above what I had already written. I am now in the process of trying to call the store manager to let him know what I encountered at his store and ask him how he proposes to take care of it so not one else has this problem there again! Guess what though – I have been trying for almost 45 minutes to get through – the phone has been busy that long!! Sigh……….. She certainly DID NOT make my day!! And I WILL think twice before I go into a Home Depot again! I did not think there were people that were really that dumb working in a store - especially at a cash register!

Lynn

[Ed62]

I think Lowe's must have sent her over there, and somehow she masqueraded as a Home Depot employee.

Ed

[LinuxRandal]

First, remember she is probably of the generation that gets confused when they ask you what time it is, and you point to an analog clock (let's not even get to the ones with Roman numerals on it).
Not to mention the fact, that I can't tell you how many people can't even fill out a check (she probably fits in) and will argue with you that it is correct. We recently had this at work, while a lot of people don't want to fill in the pay to (don't you have a stamp?), others can't even fill them out (here you do it, or I don't have my glasses (the things required to drive there)). Others can't figure out how to make the box and payment line match, and the most recent I am refering to, argued that $16.17 was correctly "written" on the write out line as 16/17.
But then I could/would get on the point of how it was/is a SELF checkout, that is supposed to decrease the costs to the customer, by decreasing the costs to the business, yet requires a human to assist, allows more fraud (which must be passed on), and causes backups at MULTIPLE lines (not just one).

Can you tell I have a hatred for those things, and I ask for the employee discount for doing their job.

[Im A Little Petunia]

UPDATE (Here's One For 'Ya)

UPDATE: After about 2-1/2 hours of trying to get through (busy…busy…busy) I finally got to talk with the assistant manager. I ended up punching the number for another department and asked if they could transfer my call to Customer Service because I was not getting anything except a busy signal! Wonders!! – The call went right through. I asked for the Store Manager, waited about 5 minutes and someone answered the phone with "This is Ian, may I help you”? I said, “Are you the manager?”. He said, “the manager is not here today”, which I then said, “You mean your store does not have a manager?” He said, “Yes, we have a manager, he just isn’t here today”. Me, “You mean you don’t have anyone here to take care of things then?” Him, “Well, I can”. Me, “Well, who are you”. Him, “I am the assistant manager”. Well, now, we have finally established the fact that there IS someone at the store, - just doesn’t like to say he’s the assistant manager - :-) I told him what happened and he “promised” to take care of it. I gave him my name, telephone number and the number on my check. I also told him if the register were still open he probably would find the check still there and could see how there was a date written above the first date and to please tell the woman the way I wrote the date on the date line WAS a valid way to write a date!! Also told him that I was thinking twice about coming in his store again. Longer story short – he said “If you do ever come in the store again and have a problem be sure to let me know”. The “if ever” part was funny – duh! Ended up telling him I didn’t want the woman to lose her job, just be informed that a valid date can be written with the date leading the month followed by the year – hey, you know, Military Date format!! T-t-thhaats all Folks!!

Lynn

[Uncle Cracker]

If the bank would take it, then HD should take it. Nothing more need be said. I'd get somebody at your bank to write a note stating that the format is acceptable, then give it in person to the store manager, with the understanding that he correct the problem or risk that you will go higher with your complaint.

[TB Roye]

A number of years ago I was in my bank doing some kind of business. The teller started counting on her fingers. I stood there dumb founded and when she finished I closed out my accounts and took the money to my current bank. I figured if the bank hired some one who counts like first grader they can't be a very good bank. The went belly up a few years later. You should have told her you would come back at 1330 hours to talk to her boss, neither one would have known when you were coming back.

Tom

[milanuk]

Sadly, I have also had an argument w/ a cashier about the date format on a check. I can't recall if it was Home Depot or Lowes... but the point is, I think *someone* at some level probably told them that. Whether its supposed to be some official policy, or just an in-house joke they run on the less bright cashiers... I dunno.

[BobSch]

This sounds a lot like the fast food (Taco Bell?) clerk who wouldn't accept a $2 bill becouse everyone knows there's no such thing. Even the manager was confused by the "counterfeit" money.

[dbhost]

This sounds a lot like the fast food (Taco Bell?) clerk who wouldn't accept a $2 bill becouse everyone known there's no such thing. Even the manager was confused by the "counterfeit" money.

That goes right along with the McDonalds "cashiers" that have phictures of the items on the buttons instead of text. We are a society based on information. In this day and age illiteracy is a guarantee that McDonalds is the best job you'll get...

AS to the dunder headed chica at the Home Depot, no surprises there. Our "Education" system teaches these skulls full of mush that the date format is mm/dd/yy, or mm/dd/yyyy and not dd/mm/yyyy, or even alpha variations instead of numeric.

And it's an American thing. I know when I was in British Columbia they wrote the date in what U.S. citizens would call Military notation. For example, today would be 12, November, 2008 and not 11/12/2008 that mental midget wanted.

I personally think you dropped the ball of opportunity if she was insisting on that date format. If it were me, and just take this as my own method, do as you will, but I would have asked for the manager at that time. I don't exactly blame the girl, but rather the "teachers" that let her down all these years.

[Alex Franke]

What is this “11 Nov. 2008” phrase you speak of? I just don't understand what that means -- it's like Greek to me. Is this some elitist method you ejikated folk use to encode the date so that it confuses people like me?

I would have been tempted to scratch it out and write in "12 baktun 19 k'atun 15 tun, 14 winal, 19 k'ins" -- that would be the Mayan calendar equivalent.

[DUD]

This wouldn't be the store by that name in My little town would it? Bill

[jziegler]

Crazy. I always date my checks like you do (that way it's unambiguous). Never had a problem with it. But then, I don't use checks in stores anymore. But how does someone not recognize that as a date?

[dbhost]

What is this “11 Nov. 2008” phrase you speak of? I just don't understand what that means -- it's like Greek to me. Is this some elitist method you ejikated folk use to encode the date so that it confuses people like me?

I would have been tempted to scratch it out and write in "12 baktun 19 k'atun 15 tun, 14 winal, 19 k'ins" -- that would be the Mayan calendar equivalent.

Gee thanks. Now I have to clean coffee out of my keyboard again!

[BobSch]

Gee thanks. Now I have to clean coffee out of my keyboard again!

I'm just trying to figure out how he knew that. Or are we being snowed?

[SawDog]

This sounds a lot like the fast food (Taco Bell?) clerk who wouldn't accept a $2 bill becouse everyone knows there's no such thing. Even the manager was confused by the "counterfeit" money.

Must be a Taco Bell thing - I tried to pay (admittedly, this was a while ago) with a "Susan B. Anthony" dollar...And was told (by the employee at the register, AND the manager), that "We don't take these...."

Not too long ago, I was at Macy's..And tried to pay with cash. (fwiw, this was in NY, and I was trying to pay with typical US currency - $20 bills)...And the employee had to find a supervisor who could explain how to ring up a cash sale.

Apparently, that's not common at department stores anymore...

Hal