A Hold Has Been Placed On Your Intelligence

(I am the manager at a gas station. I am smoking a cigarette outside soon after Christmas when a customer walks up to me.)

Customer: “Are you the manager?”

Me: “Um, yes, what can I do for you?”

Customer: “I came here the other night and your cashier said my gift card came back declined but I have the printout saying he charged me!”

(I look at the printout, and it clearly says “pending”.)

Me: “Well, sir, if you look at the statement, it says pending. This means the money you tried to run your card for has been held and will take a few days to clear.”

Customer: “Why did you charge me $25? She said it had been declined! When am I going to get my money back?!”

Me: “You weren’t charged, sir. The money is on hold. It will take a few more days to clear out.”

Customer: “I want my money back! You will give me my money!”

Me: “I’m not giving you your money back because I never took it in the first place. Have you ever tried running a debit card at the pump?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Me: “And you know how the bank puts a hold on your account for a certain amount of money?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Me: “Well, it’s exactly like that, except instead of the bank, it’s the gift card company.”

Customer: “No, it’s not! It says here that I was charged at this location!”

Me: “Sir, if you give it a few days you will get your money back after they release the hold. Trust me, I’ve seen this happen a lot before.”

Customer: “Fine. But if I don’t get my money back, I’m coming back here!”