The other day, The Civee and I stopped at a CVS on our way back home from a few hours at the park with Hope. We had a drive ahead of us and wanted some drinks. I stepped up to the register with four items- two drinks and two candy bars. I answered in the negative to the standard CVS checkout question of whether or not I had the loyalty/friend/reward card/number/whatever. But as I handed the clerk my debit card to pay, the following exchange happened:
Cashier (surprisingly animated for a question of this nature): Would you like to also purchase some hand sanitizer?
Me: Um…what? Why would you ask that?
Cashier (as surprised by my response as I was by his question): Um…we’re supposed to ask…?
Me: Well, it’s a stupid question. And no.
I was a bit surprised by the question. All I wanted was to buy my drinks and candy bars and get out of there. It’s bad enough to have to deal with the loyalty card question, but now they all but accuse me of being a dirty, unsanitary person simply because I don’t want to buy a tube filled with scented alcohol.
Are there any stores left where you can just walk up to a register, pay and leave?
And as if CVS wasn’t wasting enough of my time, it seems like they also like to waste paper. Keep in mind, I had four items. This was my receipt (I’ve enlisted some of Hope’s toys to give you an idea of the scale):
That receipt is more than a foot long. I’m not sure whether to throw it out or to give it to a high school marching band so the drum majorettes have something to march behind for their homecoming parade.
The Civee says I should have been nicer to the clerk. I say spontaneous, honest feedback is the best option in a situation like this. After all, I was the one who went in the store to get the drinks.
You’ll should join the loyalty program. Usually they are free and provide freebees, discounted prices and/or cash back. Did you call the 1-800 number to take the survey and possibly win $1000.00?
[…] On August 15, 2011, I posted my frustrations about a lengthy receipt from a quick trip to CVS: […]