A Whole Backpack Load Of Annoying

My mom and I are shopping at [Membership Warehouse Store]. I need a new backpack, and Mom is willing to make it an early Christmas present for me, seeing as I never have any clue what I want besides money for food and such. (Poor college girl presents, yay!)

We pick out a good backpack and shop around a little more, getting a few other things. We then head up to the cash register. For those that don’t know about [Membership Warehouse Store], in order to buy their stuff, you have to have a card. There are multiple tiers of membership, and they can be Personal, Business, Corporate, etc. It’s also not uncommon to have a parent come in with kids. The oldest kid may push a cart for family purchases on the parent’s Personal account, while the parent pushes a cart to be purchased on the Business card. As long as the name is the same on both cards (i.e., not using someone else’s account), the company has never had problems with this.

We get up to the cashier, and Mom wants to put my backpack on a separate bill. She has two membership cards: one shared between her and Dad for the everyday family stuff and one that’s just hers for fun stuff, Christmas gifts, etc. They’re the same tier, but both have her name.

The cashier doesn’t want to let us do that. This immediately puts my mom on high alert, because this is something she always does.

Mom: “I always do this. Why can’t I do this now?”

Cashier: “You can’t let other people use your card, ma’am. “

Mom: “I’m not. I’m buying it for her; she’s not buying it.”

Cashier: “We can do a subtotal…”

Mom: “Both accounts I’m using are mine. I’m even using the same debit card. I’m not using her money; I’m using mine.”

Cashier: “Well, I heard you asking if that backpack was okay.”

Mom: “She’s my daughter. I can’t get a Christmas present for my daughter on my account?”

Cashier: *Snotty tone* “Well, I don’t know that she’s your daughter.”

Mom: “It shouldn’t matter. Both accounts have my name and my photo on them, and I’m paying with my own debit card. We’re not breaking any rules.”

The cashier then speaks in a tone that suggests she’s now just being spiteful.

Cashier: “Well, you still can’t do that. You can get a subtotal and pay for it on one account, or you can show me her—” *pointing rudely at me with a jabbing finger* “—membership card.”

I was just getting annoyed with the cashier because really, it wasn’t any of her business. Either the cashier should have backed off when Mom explained or she should’ve gotten her manager.

Instead, the cashier kept pushing, saying she needed to put it on a subtotal, which was not what Mom wanted. Mom finally demanded to see a manager and explained what was going on while the cashier was still arguing and getting catty.

The manager looked really confused at why there was even an issue as my mom explained. She showed him both membership cards and her debit card. He gave them all a cursory look, confirmed that all three had the exact same name on them, and then gave the cashier an exasperated look. He stepped in, rang our purchases as my mom asked, handed over the receipts, and apologized for the trouble.