A scourge has come to Hillmomba. A plethora of scourges, according to the clerk at the local Casey's, where Farmer H buys gas for SilverRedO, and Mrs. HM buys her scratchers. Farmer H had been warning me for a month, but I would not listen. Surely I would not be affected...
"At the end of January, I'll have to pre-pay for gas. That, or use my card."
"I don't want you using the debit! It's hard enough to keep up with stuff you don't give me receipts for. You get your weekly allowance. That includes gas money."
"I know. I'll go inside and pre-pay. I was just telling you, so you know. They have signs on the pumps, and on the window."
"I've seen the signs, but I don't buy my gas there. I get it over at the Sis-Town Casey's."
"I bet they do it there, too! It's a chain, HM."
"Well. I'll worry about that if it happens, and when I run out of gas."
I asked the Casey's clerk last Saturday.
"Is that pre-pay thing for ALL the Casey's?"
"Yes. We're trying to warn people. We have SO MANY drive-offs! And they're the SAME PEOPLE! They do it over and over again! They won't dare set foot inside the store, because then they'll be on camera. We had to stop it some way. Now...what's your birthdate?"
"Heh, heh! Management must really be cracking down. Nobody's asked my age for scratchers in a long time."
"Yeah. The manager got tired of us putting in fake birthdays, if we knew the people were old enough."
"How would she know if they were fake?"
"We used the same one all the time. She knew there weren't that many people with the same birthdate."
Good to know. I wasn't too worried about the gas policy. I still had a week to go, you know... Before T-Hoe needed gas.
We have the same prepay policy here, for the same reason. I've never heard of people checking birthdates for scratchers. If you look under 18 they will ask for ID though.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
ReplyDeleteThis clerk said they're supposed to ask to see ID for scratchers if the person looks under 40(!), and to punch in the asked-for birthdate of anyone who looks over 40. Makes me wonder if they do the same for alcohol (21 age limit), and tobacco products (now 21 nationwide, used to be 18 in Missouri). Since I don't buy tobacco or alcohol, I don't know their procedure!
Using the same birthdate for everybody? That's like saying your phone number is 867-5309 (I think I got that right.) which lots of people do, to avoid giving their real number.
ReplyDeleteSioux,
ReplyDeleteI guess there are a lot of people named JENNY!
It always confuses me when they ask for my bd when buying cold medicine. I feel like saying I'm a middle aged kindergarten teacher. Do I look like I'm a meth head?
ReplyDeleteAngie,
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, my mom had to pick up my niece's allergy medicine at the pharmacy window. She stewed over it for hours. "I'm afraid they'll think I'm making THE METH!"
I wonder if they're trying to find out how many people of whatever ages are buying the tickets in any given area? Marketing strategy for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
ReplyDeleteI though about that. That the lottery commission was behind it. But no other store besides Casey's asks for a birthdate.
Since I am special and rarely have to fill my own gas tank, I am not familiar with certain procedures! When HeWho was in the hospital, I had to fill my tank twice! I was so happy when my son got here, he took over for me. I buy a lot of spray paint for signs at the campground and they always ask my age. I wonder if they think I am sniffing it?
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteFor future reference, if you ever have to put air in a tire, DO NOT HANG OUT IN FRONT OF THE AIR HOSE! As for the paint, I guess you could huff at any age. So I don't know what they gain by asking your age. If they were making sure you're old enough, they'd look at your ID!