That’s… Not How Card Readers Work

There have been storms coming through the area which evidently have affected Internet connections. I’m waiting in line to check out at the grocery store, and the line is taking forever because credit cards are struggling to run. The cashier calls out an apology to those of us waiting, and the man in front of me in line harrumphs and turns to me.

Man: “I don’t know why they are making excuses.”

Me: “Excuses? For the storm?”

Man: “For people being irresponsible!”

I stare at him, confused, and he explains with a sigh.

Man: “It takes longer to run a card the less money is in your account. People don’t balance their checkbooks and it takes forever to run their cards.”

Me: “No, I think it’s just the storm slowing down the Internet.”

Man: “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. It’s just that those people are irresponsible.”

It felt so good to stand behind him as the transaction repeatedly timed out when they tried to run his card a few minutes later.