Visa got it all wrong

Perhaps you've seen this commercial.



It's dead wrong.

Yesterday afternoon, my wonderful wife asked if I could stop by the store on the way home. We were in need of supplies. Certainly, I replied.

I desperately needed gas anyway, plus I was looking for this video game, which sounded pretty damn cool. Except the price was $50, so I walked out empty-handed.

Just up the walkway was a Shoppers, a regional chain that has one store outside of the immediate Baltimore-DC area.

After literally walking around the entire store to find ice cream, I finally arrived in the right aisle. I found some Breyers, picked it out and walked toward the express checkout line.

Had I guessed correctly on where the ice cream was, I'd have arrived at the checkout when both express lines were open. But by the time I actually got there, the second of the two was checking out its last customer.

So I settled in line behind two younger females in the only remaining line. Both were together, apparently, but were making separate purchases.

The first made it to the front of the line. She fumbled through her gear to produce ID to walk out with her wine coolers, but otherwise uneventful.

The second girl? Oy.

She had a debit card, but had no clue how to use it. She slid her card through the reader and then accidentally cancelled her transaction. That happens from time to time to me, so I understand that.

One would think the second time would go more smoothly. It did not.

It got to the point that the cashier was simply pushing the buttons for her.

"Do you want cash back?" the cashier said. No, came the reply. A split second later, the cashier hit the corresponding button. Finally, it was over. The two left.

The cashier rang up my ice cream, I handed her a $5, she handed me change and thanked me. All in under 20 seconds.

Apparently everyone in Visa's commercial knows how to correctly use their card.

Unlike the real world.