jimswside wrote:If a clerk wants to see my Drivers Licenese when I use a credit card I have no problem with that & I wish more did. I think it is a good thing, I would hate to lose my wallet & have someone be able to use my cards without ID before I got a chance to cancel them.

Oh, and I haven't written a check in a few years, especially at a store.

I don't even carry my drivers license on me when shopping. Just a small case with my PDA and 2 credit cards. I'd be more worried about losing my wallet and having someone have my credit cards, AND license, AND know where I live.

Someone else using my card? That's the card company's problem, not mine.

And of course I NEVER carry anything with me with my SSN for any reason whatsoever. The card is locked in my fire safe, and stays there.

Checks? I've written less than a dozen in the past YEAR. Government (IRS, IDR, property taxes, etc) and charities.

I only write two checks a month for my mortgage and HELOC payment. I pass right by the bank on my way to work so I save the stamp money. For all of my other bills I use the Bill Pay service that is provided by the financial institution that I work for. The great part is, if I have the service send a paper check, they pay the postage.

Yesterday at Target I was behind a woman who wrote a check and then, when asked to produce a driver's license, went through what had to be literally 200 cards in her purse without finding one. This was a problem on so many levels. 1) You'd think that if she wrote a check, she might expect to be asked for her driver's license, and would have a clue where it was. 2) A couple hundred credit cards is probably a few more than anyone ought to have. 3) What is she doing driving a car when she doesn't know where her driver's license is? Of course, after going through all 200 cards without finding the right one, she didn't say, "Oh, I'll just pay with cash or one of these 200 credit cards." She started to go through all 200 of them again. Eventually she did give up and paid with cash. I was surprisingly unirritated (I don't mean I wasn't irritated, I just mean I wasn't consumed with fury), probably because I realized this lady had problems that made my being inconvenienced seem like a day at the beach.

I'd wonder if she was trying to pass a bad check, and if any of those cards were actually hers.

It amazes me how many people writing checks act surprised when asked to show ID. I was behind one lady who did that and then wouldn't give her phone number. The cashier had to call the manager who declined to accept the check without a phone number. This lady kept explaining that she didn't like to give her number out. She finally relented, but how many times has she been through this routine?

That's just too easy. If they ask for my phone number, I just politely say no. If they insist (like the droids at Radio Shaft), I give them 328-7448. [Extra bonus points to any one that can identify the number without looking it up]

I think Sears still has my address listed as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Asses Thwarted

As of 6/1/09, Whole Foods, at least the Sauganash location, no longer accepts personal checks. The reason given on the posted signs? Checkwriters take too long and hold up the line. At long last, vindication for the ass haters!

stevez wrote:Asses Thwarted

As of 6/1/09, Whole Foods, at least the Schaumburg location, no longer accepts personal checks. The reason given on the posted signs? Checkwriters take too long and hold up the line. At long last, vindication for the ass haters!

*pops open a bottle of champagne*

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

stevez wrote:Asses Thwarted

As of 6/1/09, Whole Foods, at least the Schaumburg location, no longer accepts personal checks. The reason given on the posted signs? Checkwriters take too long and hold up the line. At long last, vindication for the ass haters!

*pops open a bottle of champagne*

=R=

Now if Garden Fresh in Northbrook would do the same, I'd be a happy camper. Somehow I manage to get in line behind a check writer at least 50% of my visits.

For some reason, I typed Schaumburg in my post above when I meant Sauganash. I have corrected it in my original post.

Just caught this story on-line:

Jerry Hirsch at Chicago Tribune wrote:Long before banks started locating branches inside supermarkets, grocery stores acted as informal financial establishments, cashing payroll checks and personal checks to provide ready cash for their customers. That's starting to change.

Whole Foods Market Inc. is considering banning the use of personal checks at its stores and this month stopped accepting checks at two stores in Los Angeles County and one in Arizona as a test.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, the California division of British retailing giant Tesco, won't take personal checks at any of the 70 stores it operates in California.

"Supermarkets used to be a repository of checking, cashing payroll and personal checks, but in an age of direct deposit and debit cards, that's not something that is relevant to their customers anymore," said Mac Brand, a Chicago food industry consultant.

Grocery stores taking check use off shoppers' lists

Gotta say, I really hope this catches on.

=R=

R, you beat me to the punch. I was just about to post the same article.

I'm still cursed when I shop at Garden Fresh in Northbrook. Even in the Express Lane, someone inevitably in line in front of me decides to write a check.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Gotta say, I really hope this catches on.

=R=

As I posted just above, WF at Peterson & Cicero stopped taking checks a while ago.

This is all a step in the right direction, that direction being the elimination of all cash transactions.

The possibilities for vexatious public behavior are endless, pal. Nature abhors a vacuum. With their check-writing opportunities thwarted, surely these pea pickers will find another outlet for their knavery. For example, they can be the ones needing a price check on dried beans; or arguing over the charge for toothpicks versus the sale price marked on the shelf ... and they'll do it all right in front of you, and me, and other right-thinking folks. It is, simply, inevitable.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:The possibilities for vexatious public behavior are endless, pal. Nature abhors a vacuum. With their check-writing opportunities thwarted, surely these pea pickers will find another outlet for their knavery. For example, they can be the ones needing a price check on dried beans; or arguing over the charge for toothpicks versus the sale price marked on the shelf ... and they'll do it all right in front of you, and me, and other right-thinking folks. It is, simply, inevitable.

Yes, it's hard being who we are, and yet, the world is such a better place for us being in it, that the endless sacrifices, the perpetual affronts to our correct nature, seem slight.