April 20, 2006

Money? Ewwwww!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Jim @ 8:17 pm

Yesterday I wanted to send off an order for some stuff from a mail order house that requires that the order be accompanied by a check or money order.**  If one uses a check, the order is not shipped until the check clears, but using a money order ensures that the items will be shipped on the day following receipt of the order.

Having purchased items from this place in the past, I would normally stop at the local 7-11 on my way to work and pick up a money order.  Money orders at the 7-11 cost one dollar.  However, yesterday morning I forgot to buy the money order at the 7-11, so during my lunch hour, I went to a snooty-looking suburban bank near my office, with an eye toward picking up the money order there and sending my order off in the afternoon.

A very pleasant young lady behind the counter asked, “May I help you, sir?”

“Yes, please,” I replied.  “I’d like to buy a money order for three-hundred and twenty dollars, please.”

“Do you have an ATM card, sir?”

“No,” I replied, wondering what the money order-relevance of the answer to that question might be.

“Do you have an account with us, sir?”

Again, I replied, “No, I do not,” as my bank is in the town where I live.  I reached into my pocket and produced $350 in cash, and said, “I would like to buy the money order with cash.”

The teller looked at me as if I were trying to hand her a turd, and, after an uncomfortable pause, said,  “In that case, the cost will be ten dollars.”

Imagine the nerve of me, actually wanting to buy a money order with … well … MONEY?

I smiled, put the money back in my pocket and left the bank.  I stopped off at the 7-11 on my way home and bought the money order for a buck.

Cash is still good at the 7-11.

**  Note to the dirty-minded among you.  This was a G-rated purchase. 

 

10 Comments

  1. Heaven forbid they actually help you if you aren’t giving them all your income to play with… sheesh. However, I had no idea I could buy a money order from 7-11… the things I don’t know. LOL. OTOH I can’t tell you the last time I bought a money order either.

    Comment by Teresa — April 20, 2006 @ 9:21 pm

  2. I am not even surprised. Reminds me of my experience about a year ago when my car broke down. I needed change for a large bill so I walked to a nearby bank while I awaited a taxi to drive me home from the garage. They would not change my bill because I was no a customer of that bank…unbelievable!

    Comment by wonderingnj — April 20, 2006 @ 9:43 pm

  3. Don’t you know that trying to buy stuff with (ugh!) cash is how dirty, rotten, Pinko, Commie Un-American criminal subversive types operate, so as to try and hide their ill-gotten gains? Why can’t you be a good American and do everything with some kind of plastic, where the Gummit can track it easier, like a GOOD ‘murkin? 🙂
    Actually, I’m kind of partial to cash, myself… means that when I buy something, it’s actually mine, without waiting for a bank to approve the transaction or somebody charging interest on it.

    Comment by DMerriman — April 20, 2006 @ 10:16 pm

  4. Banks are getting a bad rep and if they keep it up people will be burrying their money in a tin can in the back yard like they did after the great depression when so many banks went under. I only use a check to pay the bills and the rest is cash even at the gas pump. Damn a bunch of electroin transmitions that a thief can get hold of and steal everything one has earned.

    Comment by GUYK — April 21, 2006 @ 7:39 am

  5. That is so ridiculous, but not surprising. We just switched our bank because of all of the FOOLISHNESS going on at our old bank. The new one is pretty good, for now. I imagine if, given time, they will adopt some of the foolishness as well…
    Oy.

    Comment by Lisa W. — April 21, 2006 @ 8:34 am

  6. Since it was only $350, of COURSE I assumed it was for something G-Rated. I mean everyone knows a RealDoll will run you more like $6999 🙂

    Comment by Harvey — April 21, 2006 @ 1:32 pm

  7. Mystery solved:

    http://www.jpfo.org/alert20000325.htm

    Comment by Sluggo — April 21, 2006 @ 1:34 pm

  8. While there’s plenty of foolishness in the banks these days, there can be a positive explanation to the cashiers’ behavior: have you been their accountholder, the cost of the money order would’ve likely been considerably less (although still way above the 7-11 price). The cashiers should not really send the bank customers elsewhere to save them from being ripped off, but that’s what might have happened.

    Comment by Max — April 21, 2006 @ 2:00 pm

  9. Things like this and ATM fees really frost my cupcake!

    Comment by MCPO Airdale — April 21, 2006 @ 6:25 pm

  10. I used to wonder about having to enter a debit card PIN # on a sunburned, faded, popped-out, slurpee-stained GAS PUMP keypad, with cameras rolling, employees watching, and a “Sorry receipts unavailable” message on screen at the end. But then I realized I was just being silly. The store itself probably never has my CARD #. It just gets read off my card as I slide it through the funky-ass #6 GAS PUMP, the one that’s been sitting in the hot sun all day flashing weird error messages. Plus, you don’t see bored teens working in convenience/gas stores for minimum wage. So yeah, I feel safe.

    Comment by dogette — April 25, 2006 @ 10:39 am

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Powered by WordPress