Has ID, No Idea, Part 4

I used to work at a bank as a teller. Back then, we gave the customer an ID card that they had to sign on the back. If the card was signed, we could use it for ID in the future without asking the customer for additional ID. Some customers did not want to sign the card, fearing that someone would be able to use it to copy their signature. They would write “See ID” on the back, and we would ask for additional ID. Then, there was this guy.

The customer handed me his bank card, which had no signature and was blank on the back.

Me: “Sir, you will want to sign this card, or someone can use it who isn’t you.”

Customer: “I don’t want anyone copying my signature.”

Me: “Then you will want to write ‘See ID’ on the back in permanent ink.”

Customer: “I don’t want to have to show additional ID.”

Me: “Right now, if anyone finds your card, they can sign your name any way they want, and we will use it as ID. They won’t even have to make the effort to copy your signature. You will want to either sign it yourself or put ‘See ID’ on the back.”

Customer: “Are you stupid? I don’t want to show additional ID, and I don’t want to sign it so that someone else can copy my signature.”

Me: “Sir, right now, they don’t even have to try to copy your signature! They can simply sign your name in their own handwriting. This is for your protection.”

I never did get it across to the man. The next time he came in, I didn’t ask for ID because I remembered him. (The level of stupid was so high that I would never forget his face.) He, however, had forgotten me, and he spent a good portion of his time telling me about the last teller (me) he had worked with and how she had dared to ask him for ID or to sign his card.

Sigh. 

Related:
Has ID, No Idea, Part 3
Has ID, No Idea, Part 2
Has ID, No Idea