Time Portals From 1968
I used to work in a smoke shop. We were cash only, but we had an ATM. A customer is about to pay and produces a credit card.
Me: *Pointing to the sign.* “Cash only, please.”
Customer: “I have cash in my account.”
Me: “You can use the ATM there to withdraw.”
Customer: “The what?”
Me: *Pointing to the ATM.* “The ATM.”
Customer: “What’s an… ateeyem?”
Me: “A, T, M. It stands for an automatic teller machine.”
Customer: “What’s that got to do with me getting my smokes?”
Me: “You can use it to withdraw cash.”
The confused look on her face meant I had to explain the basic concept of an ATM to this grown woman.
Me: “It would be better if you had a debit card instead of a credit card.”
Customer: “A what?”
She didn’t know what a debit card was, so I had to explain that one, too. She opens her wallet and dumps a scary number of cards on to the counter.
Me: “That one looks like a debit card.”
Customer: “This one? I never used it before.”
She hands it to me.
Me: “Uh, you need to use that in the ATM.”
She walks over to the ATM and just stares at it. I explain how to put in her card.
Customer: “Now what?”
Me: “You put in your PIN.”
Customer: “What’s that?”
Me: “You can’t remember your PIN?”
Customer: “What is a PIN?”
Me: “Your number you enter into the ATM to get your cash out.”
Customer: “What’s my number?”
Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but are you being serious?”
Customer: “Are you being serious?! I just want my smokes!”
Me: “What you need is an education on how bank accounts work.”
Customer: “If you’re going to insist on customers using cash, then you should be trained on how to do all this…” *Points at the ATM.* “…computer stuff for them! Figure it out!”
She storms out. I Googled it. The first ATM was introduced in the US in 1969, so she’s had almost sixty years to figure it out.
