Tell them to screw off or pay it forward

I want to talk about business. Let me preface that I have never claimed to be a business guru and am mostly on the consumer side as far as this goes. I would still like to claim that I know something about how a good business should go.

Today, I use my debit card at Target and type in my pin. It works! Great! This piece of plastic that makes my life easier lets me move on with my day, as it usually does. Later in the day, I attempt to use my debit card at a BP and it asks for my zip code and then promptly declines my card. I have just moved and maybe this is my fault no knowing if I have changed the zip on my card. Next, I go inside to try the card and it declines it again. The clerk asks me to do a check balance and I attempt and denied once again. Now, you are all thinking that I have no money. I was worried for about the time it takes for you to kiss my butt. I call and they say they have reset the card. Great, life is back to normal! DECLINED! I call again.

Now, this is the part of the story where the title comes from. The "Customer Service Rep" (and I emphasize customer service) asks is I know my pin number. Insulting? A little. Not as much as when says that my card will not work for the rest of the day and that I should go borrow money from a friend. REALLY?? She essentially says that I am an idiot and should go inconvenience a friend at work for 15 dollars.

I am wondering, is this how a good business works?

My point is: why is it when a company screws something up, it is called an inconvenience. On the other hand, when the consumer messes up it is called a fee. Shouldn't businesses be as responsible for fees as a much as the consumer is? If I had told the bank to go borrow some money from a friend, they would have told me that there will be either a fee (which would be assessed again in 5 days) or some interest fee depending on how long it would take for me to get the money. Do I get compensated? Uh, I would get a laugh from them.

A Plan: Don't worry about and go back to the bank every time I need money for the exact amount. Keep track of the gas that it costs to go back and forth. Log the time that it takes to go back and forth from the bank and multiply that by my last year's salary per minute and of course round up to the nearest minute and cent. Then, ask the bank for my fee for this and give them 15 days to pay the amount or there will be an extra 15 dollar fee per day after that.

After this, I go to the post office and am short 26 cents and she says don't worry about it. How nice right? Then I go outside to look for the change out of my recently cleaned out car and another lady says "I have the money you need." I instantly felt better about Bank of America.

I guess the point of this is to pay it forward and tell everyone else to screw off.