This past week I had to go purchase $2,000.00 worth of gift cards for work at the local Target. Two weeks before I planned my purchase, I called to let them know that I would be coming up so they could have the cards ready to go. The day came and off I went. When I got there I went directly over to the Customer Service desk, told them who I was and that I was here to pick up my cards. Of course, the girl at the desk knew nothing about it. After she frantically looked around, she got on her walkie talkie and contacted 3 other employees who also knew nothing about it. Right then I knew I was in trouble. About 2 minutes later, two more employees came over and apologized for the SNAFU. They said that they could get them together in about 5 minutes and could I wait. Sure, why not. As they quickly scanned in the cards, I made chit chat with them and they proved to be very nice people. Finally, after the last pack of cards was scanned the girl behind the counter hit total. BAM! $2,000.00. I handed them a check and I thought I was in the clear. She ran the check through the register and then I got the deer in the headlights look. "Oh", she said. It says the check could not be processed. I thought, ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME! I asked why and she said this happens when they try to process a large corporate check and all she had to do was call headquarters. I thought OK, no problem. Oh was I wrong.
Within the next 3 minutes, there was a guy behind the desk with the phone in his hand and the same deer in the headlights look. He then walked over to me with the phone and said that the person on the other end wanted to speak to me. I took the phone and on the other end was what sounded like a guy with an Indian accent. I thought again, ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME! The first words I heard were I am sorry but we cannot process your check. I asked him why and he said, "The amount of the check is too high". At this point, I could feel the pressure building directly under my skull cap. I said to him, "This is the most insane thing I have ever heard". He said that my company had no history of check cashing and this check is too large. I then asked him how large of a check would suffice and he said $100.00. At that point, I started to grind my teeth as the employees behind the counter braced themselves for the explosion. At that point I loudly spoke into the phone and said, "Are you telling me that your company is going to turn down a one time $2,000.00 purchase. His answer, :"Yes".
At this point I had had enough. I asked for his supervisor and he was happy to connect me. Next came the supervisor. You could tell he was in charge because of his cold and callous attitude that he exhibited right from the start. I explained my problem and he assured me that they could not cash the check. Again I mentioned that this was a $2,000.00 purchase and that I worked for a national media company. Do you think he gave a rats ass, NO! I then asked him how many people come into the Wilkes-Barre store to buy this many gift cards in one shot. Of course he didn't know but I did. NONE! After about 5 grueling minutes of trying to understand why these idiots were not allowing this transaction I told him that he just most likely blew at least another $6000.00 worth of future gift card purchases. Of course, he didn't care. Totally frustrated, I tried to hang up the cordless phone but could not find the button to do so. I handed it to the guy behind the counter and said, "Here, I can't deal with this!" After several seconds of trying to gain my composure, the people behind the counter told me that they thought this was crazy and that they were sorry. I though to myself, you are correct. This may have been the most insane thing I hve ever encountered. In today's sagging economy, how can a retail business turn down a $2000.00 one time purchase? Even as I write this GRIPE, I can feel the pressure building in my brain. I just can't get a grip on why? WHY? WHY?
At this point I had had enough. I asked for his supervisor and he was happy to connect me. Next came the supervisor. You could tell he was in charge because of his cold and callous attitude that he exhibited right from the start. I explained my problem and he assured me that they could not cash the check. Again I mentioned that this was a $2,000.00 purchase and that I worked for a national media company. Do you think he gave a rats ass, NO! I then asked him how many people come into the Wilkes-Barre store to buy this many gift cards in one shot. Of course he didn't know but I did. NONE! After about 5 grueling minutes of trying to understand why these idiots were not allowing this transaction I told him that he just most likely blew at least another $6000.00 worth of future gift card purchases. Of course, he didn't care. Totally frustrated, I tried to hang up the cordless phone but could not find the button to do so. I handed it to the guy behind the counter and said, "Here, I can't deal with this!" After several seconds of trying to gain my composure, the people behind the counter told me that they thought this was crazy and that they were sorry. I though to myself, you are correct. This may have been the most insane thing I hve ever encountered. In today's sagging economy, how can a retail business turn down a $2000.00 one time purchase? Even as I write this GRIPE, I can feel the pressure building in my brain. I just can't get a grip on why? WHY? WHY?
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