Their Mind Is Blank (Cheque)

(I work at an internal call centre. One of our Ireland stores calls about a customer and a cheque.)

Store: “Hi. A customer has paid by cheque and the transaction on the till has gone through twice.”

Me: “Okay. Your till is now over, so you’ll need to refund one of those transactions to balance the till once the customer has left.”

Store: “So, I do a cash refund and give it to the customer?”

Me: “No, don’t give it to the customer. He’s only written one cheque. You’re making the refund on your duplicate transaction on the till.”

Store: “Yes, but he’ll be charged twice.”

Me: “No. He’s only written you one cheque.”

Store: “Yes, but the cheque authorisation has gone through twice.”

Me: “Yes, but the authorisation doesn’t mean he’ll be charged twice. It’s only authorisation by the bank. The customer has only written you one cheque. That cheque won’t be processed until it’s banked.”

Store: “But the transaction has gone through twice.”

Me: “Yes, but only on your till. Your till is now over by the duplicate amount, so you need to balance it by making a refund.”

Store: “So I give the cash back to the customer?”

Me: “No! Don’t give anything to the customer other than the receipt and the product he’s just purchased.”

Store: “I don’t understand.”

Me: *explains again* “…and when you hit the refund button, the till drawer will open. Just close it!”

Store: “Oh, I understand. I thought cheques were like cards and he’d be charged twice.”

Me: “No.” *slowly bangs head on desk*