What would bring me back in to that store? $14 multimeters, for one thing. I still shop at Sears, although a LOT less than I used to. Their prices on appliances can be very low. Their service sucks. To save a few hundred dollars of after tax money I am willing to spend a few hours more than a smoother more expensive transaction somewhere else.
As to the warranties, I think in a similar situation I would have let him ring it up and then feigned shock and anger when I saw my bill and demanded he call a supervisor over to the register. Once screwed like that my equilibrium is shattered and my entertainment value comes from screwing these people back. A public display of outrage at unasked for charges will probably moderate how both this cashier and her supervisor behave in the future. In any case, it will be a satisfying display for me, especially if there are other customers listening.
Most cashiers I deal with offer the warranty sheepishly as if they are required to by the store but think it is stupid. That i find to be a bonding experience with the cashier.
Once screwed like that my equilibrium is shattered and my entertainment value comes from screwing these people back.
An interesting take. Again, I wasn’t sure he was trying to “screw me,” but perhaps some of the comments above indicate that I’m irrationally hesitant about that judgment. Other stores are usually pretty different. It’s pretty clear when they pull out the bright colored thingy and say, “Would you like to save 25% today and sign up for an X card?” Super easy to reject.
This wasn’t like that at all, which is why I was so surprised by what happened and my un-awareness of what was actually going on.
Well he was employing a technique to take your money away from you, some of which would go in to his pocket. He was not selling you the warranty altruistically and he was not at all interested or concerned that you be conscious of what you were doing.
Whether he would consciously think of this as trying to screw you is an interesting question but I don’t think the most important one. In the same sense we say a peacock is trying to get laid by parading in front of peahens with his tail up, we can say he was trying to screw you. The peacock likely doesn’t consciously know he’s trying to get laid, he’s just doing what comes naturally. Similarly this salesman is lining his pockets with your money, no matter what he thinks he’s doing.
If there is an interesting interpretation of what is going on that is NOT the salesman trying to screw you, please let me know. I tend to be a bit negative about some things, and maybe this is one of them.
It’s probably just the connotation of the phrase that caused me to be hesitant. Perhaps selling a warranty isn’t equivalent with the class of deed I’d call “screwing.” I get your point though—action X and action X committed with awareness of action X don’t necessitate separate names.
I’ll have to think more about why I’m hesitant to attribute that word to what happened. Perhaps (and I guess I’ve already said this more or less) I’m just not able to think he was acting with malice. But maybe that’s not a requirement of “screwing.”
Interesting. My threshold for screwing is not malice at all, but self-serving disregard. It seems clear he is willing to take your money against your informed will. Whether he is consciuosly aware of that and whether he enjoys anticipating the harm to you that comes from that may be interesting and even important questions, but I think very secondary and very separable from any consideration about effective ways to react.
If we can attribute motivations to unliving objects, water seeks its own level, that kind of thing, then we can attribute motivation to people taking our money, and have it be meaningfully valuable regardless of what those people are feeling.
On the other hand, I probably do assume the guy is malicious because of the way I think/talk about these transactions, and your posts make me wonder if that is usually the case.
What would bring me back in to that store? $14 multimeters, for one thing. I still shop at Sears, although a LOT less than I used to. Their prices on appliances can be very low. Their service sucks. To save a few hundred dollars of after tax money I am willing to spend a few hours more than a smoother more expensive transaction somewhere else.
As to the warranties, I think in a similar situation I would have let him ring it up and then feigned shock and anger when I saw my bill and demanded he call a supervisor over to the register. Once screwed like that my equilibrium is shattered and my entertainment value comes from screwing these people back. A public display of outrage at unasked for charges will probably moderate how both this cashier and her supervisor behave in the future. In any case, it will be a satisfying display for me, especially if there are other customers listening.
Most cashiers I deal with offer the warranty sheepishly as if they are required to by the store but think it is stupid. That i find to be a bonding experience with the cashier.
An interesting take. Again, I wasn’t sure he was trying to “screw me,” but perhaps some of the comments above indicate that I’m irrationally hesitant about that judgment. Other stores are usually pretty different. It’s pretty clear when they pull out the bright colored thingy and say, “Would you like to save 25% today and sign up for an X card?” Super easy to reject.
This wasn’t like that at all, which is why I was so surprised by what happened and my un-awareness of what was actually going on.
Well he was employing a technique to take your money away from you, some of which would go in to his pocket. He was not selling you the warranty altruistically and he was not at all interested or concerned that you be conscious of what you were doing.
Whether he would consciously think of this as trying to screw you is an interesting question but I don’t think the most important one. In the same sense we say a peacock is trying to get laid by parading in front of peahens with his tail up, we can say he was trying to screw you. The peacock likely doesn’t consciously know he’s trying to get laid, he’s just doing what comes naturally. Similarly this salesman is lining his pockets with your money, no matter what he thinks he’s doing.
If there is an interesting interpretation of what is going on that is NOT the salesman trying to screw you, please let me know. I tend to be a bit negative about some things, and maybe this is one of them.
It’s probably just the connotation of the phrase that caused me to be hesitant. Perhaps selling a warranty isn’t equivalent with the class of deed I’d call “screwing.” I get your point though—action X and action X committed with awareness of action X don’t necessitate separate names.
I’ll have to think more about why I’m hesitant to attribute that word to what happened. Perhaps (and I guess I’ve already said this more or less) I’m just not able to think he was acting with malice. But maybe that’s not a requirement of “screwing.”
Interesting. My threshold for screwing is not malice at all, but self-serving disregard. It seems clear he is willing to take your money against your informed will. Whether he is consciuosly aware of that and whether he enjoys anticipating the harm to you that comes from that may be interesting and even important questions, but I think very secondary and very separable from any consideration about effective ways to react.
If we can attribute motivations to unliving objects, water seeks its own level, that kind of thing, then we can attribute motivation to people taking our money, and have it be meaningfully valuable regardless of what those people are feeling.
On the other hand, I probably do assume the guy is malicious because of the way I think/talk about these transactions, and your posts make me wonder if that is usually the case.