Target no longer accepting checks as of July 15th, 2024

Started by ZLoth, July 07, 2024, 02:41:06 PM

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ClassicHasClass

I refuse to use debit cards for exactly that reason because there's no good recourse if you get ripped off (the money's already gone). I actually prefer cash, but I'll use a credit card for large purchases or where it's more convenient.

I'll write a couple checks a month for things like the gardener, but I can't ever remember having written one in a store.


hbelkins

Quote from: Rothman on July 09, 2024, 11:43:27 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 09, 2024, 04:29:07 PM
Quote from: formulanone on July 09, 2024, 04:21:28 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 09, 2024, 02:29:46 PMHot caffeine

Wait, so the workaround has been cold caffeinated beverages all this time?

From what I understand, all caffeine used to be advised against prior to 2012. Now, it's just hot beverages (i.e. tea or coffee) per the Word of Wisdom. That said, some LDS stick to the "spirit of the rule" and don't do things like iced coffee either.

Your friendly resident Mormon here reporting in.

Word of Wisdom has always discouraged "hot drinks": Coffee and tea, whether iced or not.  Alcohol and smoking also discouraged, of course.

What happened is culturally, some Mormons said, "A ha!  Coffee and tea have caffeine!  That must be the rationale behind the Word of Wisdom!"  I grew up in such a household and still mostly stay away from caffeinated drinks.  Of course, the big exception always was hot chocolate...Still, there has never been a doctrinal broad ban on caffeine.  It was all cultural.

Anyway, coffee, tea, alcohol, smoking and "harmful drugs" are the doctrinal no-nos.  And, with any religon, you'll find a spectrum of adherence across the membership.

I worked with a Mormon 40 years ago, and she got around the ban on caffeine by drinking root beer as her carbonated soft drink of choice.

So the restriction on hot drinks expands to all hot beverages, not just coffee and tea? How about decaf coffee? Hot milk, that legendary tonic for getting a child to sleep? Warm cider?

Again, I don't pretend to understand or comprehend the rules of some faiths. I'm open to understanding more about them.
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Jim

I remember the days of paying for groceries by check and writing it for whatever amount they'd let you write above the total (maybe $25) to get some cash without paying ATM fees or visiting a bank teller.  But it's been decades since I used a check at a grocery store, department store, or restaurant.

This all makes me think of people stopping by the K-mart to write a weekly check at the layaway department to pay toward little Billy's new record player, hopefully paying it off in time to get it home for his birthday.

Personally, I write some checks or use cash at some small businesses that I know are hurt by the credit card fees.  I also typically write checks for in-person charitable donations.  I use my debit card attached to my checking account at the ATM but almost never for purchases.  Almost everything else goes on the credit card for the reasons people have mentioned: convenience, points (which I always take as cash back), fraud protection, a convenient monthly summary of where our money's going and how much we spent.
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JayhawkCO

Quote from: Jim on July 10, 2024, 03:37:52 PMI remember the days of paying for groceries by check and writing it for whatever amount they'd let you write above the total (maybe $25) to get some cash without paying ATM fees or visiting a bank teller.  But it's been decades since I used a check at a grocery store, department store, or restaurant.

Similarly, back in the day when I was still waiting tables at restaurants with valet, people would tip me extra and I'd give them cash back to tip the valet. I didn't take a cut, alas.

Road Hog

Just my opinion, but a doctrinal ban on HFCS-enhanced drinks in general might be a religion I'd subscribe to. I'll ride my black coffee handbasket to hell gladly.

citrus

#80
Quote from: Road Hog on July 10, 2024, 04:10:15 PMJust my opinion, but a doctrinal ban on HFCS-enhanced drinks in general might be a religion I'd subscribe to. I'll ride my black coffee handbasket to hell gladly.

I have found this to be pretty easy to achieve, given that I am in control of what drinks I choose to drink!

GaryV

Quote from: LilianaUwU on July 10, 2024, 04:49:44 PMIf you let your religion say what you can and can't do, then you have a problem.

Isn't that pretty much the point of most religions? To extol their members to change their behavior, hopefully for the betterment of the human race?

So now it's just a matter of degree. Is the Ten Commandments enough? Or better yet just Two, love God and love your neighbor?

Beyond that, it's up to you if you obey all the laws of any religion.


thspfc

Quote from: Road Hog on July 10, 2024, 04:10:15 PMJust my opinion, but a doctrinal ban on HFCS-enhanced drinks in general might be a religion I'd subscribe to. I'll ride my black coffee handbasket to hell gladly.
As if they won't just find another sweetener, and probably increase the price of all sweet drinks due to increased production costs. Grass isn't greener.

Bobby5280

If I drink a soft drink it's almost always in the "diet" variety. One of my friends asked, "aren't you worried about risks of consuming artificial sweeteners?" In response I asked, "do you really think high fructose corn syrup is a natural sweetener?" All sorts of weird chemicals are used in the process of making HFCS. Plus there's all the calories and the stress it puts on the pancreas to metabolize it. I'd pay extra to buy a Coke™ sweetened with real cane sugar, but I can't find any around here.

kkt

Quote from: LilianaUwU on July 07, 2024, 07:56:05 PM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 07, 2024, 07:52:05 PM
Quote from: LilianaUwU on July 07, 2024, 07:49:28 PM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 07, 2024, 07:48:04 PMI had to write a check just today for a one-time medical payment.
wtf is a "medical payment"

LOL. Pretty sure you are not being serious, but payment for a medical procedure not covered by insurance.
Is this some joke I'm too Canadian to understand?

Yes, and the joke's on Americans.
:-|

jb_va23

I will admit that I still use checks on occasion. I probably write 3 or 4 per month. However, I honestly can't say I have used on in a store in many years. Besides, at Target I am using my RedCard for my 5% discount  :biggrin:

kkt

Quote from: webny99 on July 08, 2024, 08:36:28 AM
Quote from: SP Cook on July 07, 2024, 05:02:24 PMWriting a check is time consuming and opens the merchant to fraud.

Perhaps more importantly, it opens up the customer to fraud since it puts their bank information out there for the whole world to see. Considering that the majority of check fraud originates from physical checks, I'll never understand the idea that it's somehow more secure than other payment methods.


But if a fraudulent check is cashed, the victim can get the image of the front and back of the check showing where it was deposited, and get the payment reversed.

Rothman

Quote from: hbelkins on July 10, 2024, 02:54:11 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 09, 2024, 11:43:27 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 09, 2024, 04:29:07 PM
Quote from: formulanone on July 09, 2024, 04:21:28 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 09, 2024, 02:29:46 PMHot caffeine

Wait, so the workaround has been cold caffeinated beverages all this time?

From what I understand, all caffeine used to be advised against prior to 2012. Now, it's just hot beverages (i.e. tea or coffee) per the Word of Wisdom. That said, some LDS stick to the "spirit of the rule" and don't do things like iced coffee either.

Your friendly resident Mormon here reporting in.

Word of Wisdom has always discouraged "hot drinks": Coffee and tea, whether iced or not.  Alcohol and smoking also discouraged, of course.

What happened is culturally, some Mormons said, "A ha!  Coffee and tea have caffeine!  That must be the rationale behind the Word of Wisdom!"  I grew up in such a household and still mostly stay away from caffeinated drinks.  Of course, the big exception always was hot chocolate...Still, there has never been a doctrinal broad ban on caffeine.  It was all cultural.

Anyway, coffee, tea, alcohol, smoking and "harmful drugs" are the doctrinal no-nos.  And, with any religon, you'll find a spectrum of adherence across the membership.

I worked with a Mormon 40 years ago, and she got around the ban on caffeine by drinking root beer as her carbonated soft drink of choice.

So the restriction on hot drinks expands to all hot beverages, not just coffee and tea? How about decaf coffee? Hot milk, that legendary tonic for getting a child to sleep? Warm cider?

Again, I don't pretend to understand or comprehend the rules of some faiths. I'm open to understanding more about them.

Not all root beer has caffeine.  In fact, most doesn't (Barq's does).

"Hot drinks" is just an old 19th Century term used in the scripture.  Like I said, alcohol, tea, coffee, smoking and harmful drugs are the no-nos.

That said, there's dietary advice in the scripture that tends to be overlooked: eating grains and fruits, especially in season and don't pig out on meat every day...
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Scott5114

Quote from: 7/8 on July 10, 2024, 09:37:39 AMPaying by cash takes longer than tap and leaves you with coins to carry around.

When I was a cashier I could dispense change faster than the tap machine could process a credit card. So it is possible, though I acknowledge most cashiers weren't as fast as me.

Complaining about carrying around coins is a first-world problem. If you end up with more than a few ounces worth of coins in your pocket you're doing something terribly wrong.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Max Rockatansky

I still carry cash given there is a ton of small businesses around me that still charge a credit/debit fee.  I do have a drink holder full of quarters but they get reused at air compressors and older vending machines.

1995hoo

Quote from: Scott5114 on July 11, 2024, 03:30:59 AM.... If you end up with more than a few ounces worth of coins in your pocket you're doing something terribly wrong.

I think this is true in the US but not necessarily as true in other countries that have gone exclusively to coins to replace smaller-denomination bills (such as Canada using $1 and $2 coins). If you're using cash, it's not too hard to wind up with a fairly large number of coins. Now, of course, depending on what you're doing at any given time you might be doing something wrong if you don't offload those coins regularly, although that may not always be an easy option.

I know you could argue that the person spending the cash should then use the $1 and $2 coins received in change for future purchases to avoid further change (say, a purchase costs $6 and you don't have a $5 bill, so you give the cashier a $10 and a $1 coin to get $5 in change). My experience over the years with doing that sort of thing in the US for smaller amounts, however, makes me believe there are a fair number of cashiers out there who don't know how to deal with that. I remember once when I was a kid something cost 56¢ and I gave the cashier $1.06 so that I could get 50¢ back. The cashier objected to the extra 6¢ even when I explained what the point was (you'd think he'd appreciate that it was easier for him to pull out either a half-dollar or two quarters than to count out 44¢). I tend to suspect that if that happened in the 1980s, it's that much more likely to happen today.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
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commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

wanderer2575

Quote from: 1995hoo on July 11, 2024, 08:33:30 AMI know you could argue that the person spending the cash should then use the $1 and $2 coins received in change for future purchases to avoid further change (say, a purchase costs $6 and you don't have a $5 bill, so you give the cashier a $10 and a $1 coin to get $5 in change). My experience over the years with doing that sort of thing in the US for smaller amounts, however, makes me believe there are a fair number of cashiers out there who don't know how to deal with that. I remember once when I was a kid something cost 56¢ and I gave the cashier $1.06 so that I could get 50¢ back. The cashier objected to the extra 6¢ even when I explained what the point was (you'd think he'd appreciate that it was easier for him to pull out either a half-dollar or two quarters than to count out 44¢). I tend to suspect that if that happened in the 1980s, it's that much more likely to happen today.

I do that quite a bit at my fast food stops on roadtrips (piling up all my guilty pleasures).  I've no doubt more cashiers today don't know how to make change on their own, but with point-of-sale systems they don't have to.  I give the half-attentive cashier $1.06 for my 56¢ purchase, the machine tells him/her to give me 50¢, and they probably don't give it a second thought.

hotdogPi

I've had a few confused cashiers when I do it at grocery stores.
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Scott5114

Quote from: 1995hoo on July 11, 2024, 08:33:30 AMyou'd think he'd appreciate that it was easier for him to pull out either a half-dollar or two quarters than to count out 44¢

I could, without fail, get 44¢ out of the drawer before the customer could figure out how much to give me to get whatever fetid array of denominations they were imagining. (Unless they had it ready to go before their turn in line and it was actually correct).  So no, this didn't really make anything easier on anyone.

That part about it being actually correct is kinda the sticking point. Most customers are even worse at that than cashiers are at understanding it. For every customer with a 56¢ transaction that paid $1.06, I would get two or three that would give me something like $1.19, and then I'm standing there trying to figure out what it is they're actually trying to accomplish. That wastes a bunch of time and is liable to end up with my drawer being off because I now have five numbers I'm juggling in my head (the total, what they gave me, what that would give them back, what it is they're trying to get back, what they would need to give me to actually achieve that).

When I pay cash I shut up and take the change I'm given and save it for a later deposit into my savings account.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

hotdogPi

Quote from: Scott5114 on July 11, 2024, 09:39:08 AMI could, without fail, get 44¢ out of the drawer before the customer could figure out how much to give me to get whatever fetid array of denominations they were imagining. (Unless they had it ready to go before their turn in line and it was actually correct).  So no, this didn't really make anything easier on anyone.

Receiving change just means I get a whole bunch of pennies, nickels, and dimes that I can't really use for anything. With my current habits (pay to receive a multiple of 25¢ back if I can find them immediately, otherwise only bother with the pennies for a multiple of 5¢, otherwise nothing; also sometimes putting pennies and a nickel or dime into the "take one/leave one" bin), I receive and use about the same number of pennies, nickels, and dimes (quarters are significantly more used than received even though I often try to get them back, partly because of how I do restaurant tips when I'm by myself).

Giving them more coins also means they won't need to unroll as much.

That said, one time I was bagging (so not involved) and a customer overheard a cashier say they needed pennies, so the customer gave 46 pennies as part of their payment, despite the total coming out to a multiple of 5 cents.
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1995hoo

Quote from: Scott5114 on July 11, 2024, 09:39:08 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on July 11, 2024, 08:33:30 AMyou'd think he'd appreciate that it was easier for him to pull out either a half-dollar or two quarters than to count out 44¢

I could, without fail, get 44¢ out of the drawer before the customer could figure out how much to give me to get whatever fetid array of denominations they were imagining. (Unless they had it ready to go before their turn in line and it was actually correct).  So no, this didn't really make anything easier on anyone.

That part about it being actually correct is kinda the sticking point. Most customers are even worse at that than cashiers are at understanding it. For every customer with a 56¢ transaction that paid $1.06, I would get two or three that would give me something like $1.19, and then I'm standing there trying to figure out what it is they're actually trying to accomplish. That wastes a bunch of time and is liable to end up with my drawer being off because I now have five numbers I'm juggling in my head (the total, what they gave me, what that would give them back, what it is they're trying to get back, what they would need to give me to actually achieve that).

When I pay cash I shut up and take the change I'm given and save it for a later deposit into my savings account.

Yeah, for what it's worth, in my 56¢ example mentioned above I knew what the amount was from prior visits to the same place (it was a wave pool at one of the Northern Virginia regional parks and it cost 56¢ to rent a raft, although I also used to do the same thing at 7-11 each month when I went to buy Mad or Cracked), so it was easy for me to have the accurate amount ready to go, and it wasn't a "constant high-volume" sort of a place like the grocery store checkout.

Certainly the stereotypical little old lady who waits until she sees the total to get out her wallet and then starts digging through the coin compartment would slow things down looking for the extra change to get an even amount back.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

kalvado

Quote from: 1995hoo on July 11, 2024, 08:33:30 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 11, 2024, 03:30:59 AM.... If you end up with more than a few ounces worth of coins in your pocket you're doing something terribly wrong.

I think this is true in the US but not necessarily as true in other countries that have gone exclusively to coins to replace smaller-denomination bills (such as Canada using $1 and $2 coins). If you're using cash, it's not too hard to wind up with a fairly large number of coins. Now, of course, depending on what you're doing at any given time you might be doing something wrong if you don't offload those coins regularly, although that may not always be an easy option.

I know you could argue that the person spending the cash should then use the $1 and $2 coins received in change for future purchases to avoid further change (say, a purchase costs $6 and you don't have a $5 bill, so you give the cashier a $10 and a $1 coin to get $5 in change). My experience over the years with doing that sort of thing in the US for smaller amounts, however, makes me believe there are a fair number of cashiers out there who don't know how to deal with that. I remember once when I was a kid something cost 56¢ and I gave the cashier $1.06 so that I could get 50¢ back. The cashier objected to the extra 6¢ even when I explained what the point was (you'd think he'd appreciate that it was easier for him to pull out either a half-dollar or two quarters than to count out 44¢). I tend to suspect that if that happened in the 1980s, it's that much more likely to happen today.
Someone made a very good point here, that historically it was mostly coins, with $1 bill being a Large Sum which wasn't usually carried around until for a specific reason.

Scott5114

For what it's worth, I've read Canadians saying that they end up without a lot of change in their pocket at all, because once you're pulling out your coins to find the $1 and $2 coins, you might as well pay exact change since you've got your quarters, dimes, and in nickels in hand too. So they end up spending more of it than Americans do.

I have never used any currency but USD so I have no idea how true this is or not.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

mgk920

Quote from: 1995hoo on July 11, 2024, 08:33:30 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 11, 2024, 03:30:59 AM.... If you end up with more than a few ounces worth of coins in your pocket you're doing something terribly wrong.

I think this is true in the US but not necessarily as true in other countries that have gone exclusively to coins to replace smaller-denomination bills (such as Canada using $1 and $2 coins). If you're using cash, it's not too hard to wind up with a fairly large number of coins. Now, of course, depending on what you're doing at any given time you might be doing something wrong if you don't offload those coins regularly, although that may not always be an easy option.

I know you could argue that the person spending the cash should then use the $1 and $2 coins received in change for future purchases to avoid further change (say, a purchase costs $6 and you don't have a $5 bill, so you give the cashier a $10 and a $1 coin to get $5 in change). My experience over the years with doing that sort of thing in the US for smaller amounts, however, makes me believe there are a fair number of cashiers out there who don't know how to deal with that. I remember once when I was a kid something cost 56¢ and I gave the cashier $1.06 so that I could get 50¢ back. The cashier objected to the extra 6¢ even when I explained what the point was (you'd think he'd appreciate that it was easier for him to pull out either a half-dollar or two quarters than to count out 44¢). I tend to suspect that if that happened in the 1980s, it's that much more likely to happen today.

Agreed, the USA needs regular circulating $1, $2 and even $5 coins and to eliminate the same banknotes, as well as the useless coins of 10¢ and lower.  A nearby coin laundry now accepts 'plastic', in addition to coins, due to that problem.  Their largest washing machine now costs in the $8-9 range to run a load - that's just short of a full roll of quarters.  I'm also 'on the fence' regarding $10.

$2 coins would be a new denomination to the USA, $5 would be a re-introduction.

I can see why Target is dropping checks.

Mike

webny99

Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 11, 2024, 08:53:08 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on July 11, 2024, 08:33:30 AMI know you could argue that the person spending the cash should then use the $1 and $2 coins received in change for future purchases to avoid further change (say, a purchase costs $6 and you don't have a $5 bill, so you give the cashier a $10 and a $1 coin to get $5 in change). My experience over the years with doing that sort of thing in the US for smaller amounts, however, makes me believe there are a fair number of cashiers out there who don't know how to deal with that. I remember once when I was a kid something cost 56¢ and I gave the cashier $1.06 so that I could get 50¢ back. The cashier objected to the extra 6¢ even when I explained what the point was (you'd think he'd appreciate that it was easier for him to pull out either a half-dollar or two quarters than to count out 44¢). I tend to suspect that if that happened in the 1980s, it's that much more likely to happen today.

I do that quite a bit at my fast food stops on roadtrips (piling up all my guilty pleasures).  I've no doubt more cashiers today don't know how to make change on their own, but with point-of-sale systems they don't have to.  I give the half-attentive cashier $1.06 for my 56¢ purchase, the machine tells him/her to give me 50¢, and they probably don't give it a second thought.

I agree with both of you - I sometimes get confused looks when doing this, but also most places these days ring up the total change you're owed so the cashier doesn't have to calculate anything.

One time recently at a fast food drive thru, I paid X.11 for an X.06 total since I didn't have a nickel and figured I could get a nickel back that way instead. The cashier either didn't realize I had given her a dime instead of a nickel, or didn't comprehend what I was doing, because she never gave me the nickel back. At that point I felt too stupid to ask for it, and avoiding a protracted exchange about it was worth more than the nickel to me anyways, so I just let it be and drove away.



Quote from: Scott5114 on July 11, 2024, 09:39:08 AMThat part about it being actually correct is kinda the sticking point. Most customers are even worse at that than cashiers are at understanding it.

I think it's probably a pretty mixed bag. Neither cashier nor customer are usually going to be a math expert, but you might get the occasional one of either that can do quick calculations competently.

Personally I do this quite a bit, but it's very much case by case depending on my current supply of change. I do appreciate that if I'm going to pay an amount to receive a certain denomination of change (usually a round number, like $5 or $1), it's both embarrassing and a waste of time to be inaccurate when doing so. When I do it at drive thrus, I'll sometimes pull out my phone calculator to double check my internal math while waiting in line, though obviously I would never do this while at the window or standing in front of the cashier.



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