“The odd thing is that here in Australia the machine automatically prints a transaction record for the store but doesn’t for the me.”<<
Don’t know if it’s the same in Australia, but in the US some credit card systems (usually the older ones that require that you sign a paper receipt) give the clerk the option of printing a customer copy or not. I used one for six years until a few months ago.
In my original post I was complaining that I am not offered a receipt for cash purchases at certain retailers. No choice is given at these stores.
I could rant about this for daaaays. I bring my own bag and announce as much at least once- so when they start shoving my stuff into doubled plastic bags and i say /show my own bag for the third time then the cashier gets all pissy!!
Potentially unique to nyc but still gets under my skin
Move to California. They’re not shoving your things into a bag unless you pay for it now.
Or the UK (or many other European countries). The UK introduced a 5p charge per bag in 2015. Now you almost never see anyone ask for one - apparently usage has dropped by some 85% - as we all bring our reusable bags to the supermarket.
Well, if,they are anything like the bags here, they break easily. No way I’d pay for them!
Siggghh. I actually grew up in CA with the reduce reuse recycle culture and that’s why nyc gets under my skin so badly…!! Plastic bags are actually against the law in the town i grew up in now, it’s either paper or use your own.
My career keeps me here in nyc but i try to do my own part saving plastic bags wherever i can…
Here’s some math on resource use (executive summary at p.5):
All the grocery stories i go to switch to more sturdy plastic bags after the law requires them to start charging.
The ethical dilemma here inside the Blue Bubble is how a conscientious dog walker
is supposed to pick up after Betsy the Poodle and Leo the Golden
Retriever do their business.
A paper lunch sack is not up to the task.
I know folks who head up to the next town or two to raid the plastic bag recycling barrels at their grocery stores.
Yeah. But you don’t have to go outside the California supermarket to wonder. No more carry-out bags allowed, but you can still use unlimited numbers of the smaller plastic bags in the produce section. I don’t pretend to understand why THOSE plastic bags aren’t as bad as the carry-out ones.
I used to use the bags from the produce aisle.
Back to receipts. I bought a bag of dog food today, and asked the owner of the shop why, suddenly, customers were being asked whether they wanted one. It turns out that older point-of-sale devices and software just spit one out. With the switch to the chipped credit/debit cards came new card readers and software, and apparently the default configuration is to have the cashier press an additional button for the printout. Store owners are glad to save 1/2 of their paper budget by not automatically printing out receipts.
Thanks for “righting” the ship a bit on this thread, ernie. And thanks for providing your comments of older POS v. new technology. I’m of that faction that believes: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That sentiment seems to be losing ground in so many aspects of our economy.
So… as I posted above, I worked in a place for the past six years where one system always asked if we wanted to print a customer receipt. Not a chip reader and not new. The other system printed the customer receipt whether they wanted one or not.
I am not sure getting the receipt all the time is “not broken.” I throw out 99.99% of the receipts that are given to me. Not receiving one to save paper is an easy call for me.
The ability to give a receipt to those who want one is a must-have though. Not having that option is not good.
Point taken.
I don’t think that is my issue, Midlife. I am complaining because I’m spending cash–not credit or debit, at stores that don’t even think about running, or offering to run a register tape for my purchase. I don’t think that these stores I frequent even have paper rolls in their register. They do produce a receipt for credit or debit purchases. But those receipts come out of the credit processor–not the register.
So the person in front of me that put a pack of gum and a tin of snuff on their debit card, gets a printed receipt; while I, who buys a fifth of Gin, a fifth of Bourbon, and four Canada Dry mixers, paying in cash, gets a “thank you” and no proof of purchase. That, in essence is my beef.
It will be interesting to see how this evolves. With cash I too simply threw away any receipt I received, but with contactless payment becoming more common I find I want a receipt and get a bit pissed off always need to ask for one.
With cash you know how much you offer and can count your change. With a contactless system you often don’t see how much has been punched into the system. Especially when the card/phone reader is not close by and the staff “wave your card” for you.
I simply want the receipt because I want to know how much I paid. I have been almost cashless now for a couple of years and have already caught a few instances of the wrong numbers getting punched into the system.
Interesting.
I, too, want to ensure I pay the correct price so I watch the screen as the cashier is inputting the codes for the products (usually supermarket). There is probably >99% accuracy. When it is wrong, I take note and ask for the receipt and go to customer service and point it out since in stores you usually receive the product for free.
I stopped shopping in Whole Foods since, even after being fined by NY, there was an “error” on EVERY visit for six straight weeks. Curious the “error” was always at a higher price than on the sign.
What I do not like is the check-out where you cannot see the screen as they ring you up.
