The Good Life on a Budget

• Posted by JvW on October 4th, 2007 filed in Tales of a Cashier

This post is part of a series, Tales of a Cashier.

As I mentioned before, I work part-time as a cashier in a large chain home decorating store. At my store, if you can’t find the item you’re looking for, we call a nearby store and order it for you. Last week I did this for one of our customers. Once the other store had located the comforter she was looking for, I handed the customer the phone to relay her information to complete the transaction.

Usually when I do this, I try to turn away so as not to seem sketchy and as if I am secretly memorizing the customer’s home address, phone number and credit card information. I try to keep an eye on them so when they are finished, I can hang up the phone. This particular time, I handed the customer the phone and started to straighten the items on a nearby shelf. When I heard her stating her credit card number, I turned, knowing that the transaction was almost complete. To my shock, I saw that she was reciting the number from memory. She knew her credit card number & expiration date by heart. I’d bet mone she even knew the security code on the back of the card.

I was aghast, trying to think of a reason to memorize the number. I suppose if you had a card for years and years, you might have it ingrained in your mind. But how often do you have to use the card to commit it to memory? I have no idea what my card’s numbers are. I think there’s an 8 in there somewhere. I like it that way. I use my debit card pretty frequently, for gas and groceries and the like, and I don’t even know that number.

It’s pretty prejudiced to assume that because a person memorizes their credit card number, they’re automatically a shopaholic. But that’s just where my brain goes. If you have yours memorized, please explain to me why so I can stop judging people. Unnecessarily, that is.