Stoughton

It is?

rgAAFT

I take this as a lame attempt at internet sarcasm?

luggagebin

The first rule of MS is that you don't talk about MS

rgAAFT

That's just it though
If we don't come to a consensus on how to deal with okward situations at POS ,then we will always be wrongfully accused of being thieves or otherwise somehow involved in illegal activities

I remember reading something in the CVS thread about clerks in NYC thinking that repeat business men buying VR were somehow connected to the mob because of the amounts and regularity at which they were buying VR.

It wasn't until those same clerks began to notice that most of the credit cards being used contained some sort of airline insignia, that they began to understand what was really going on...

But now I really don't know what to believe given the recent VR pin scam reports and also given that the guys who stole big money from stolen credit cards using VR came from NJ.

As I said earlier, it sucks that we have to suffer because some A@@ are doing something illegal

sethjvm

Everyone has their own reasons for doing this and there is no one right answer. And if everyone started providing the same "right answer" then that "right answer" would likely be used by people who are doing something sketchy and the "right answer" would become code for something illegal. It would be like saying that your uncle in New Jersey works in "construction or sanitation." There is nothing inherently criminal about either career but "everyone knows" that saying the preceding sentence is code for something else.

I also suspect that you think there are some magic words that you can say that will protect you from scrutiny. There are not. If you can't stand the "pressure" of someone at CVS/Kroger/etc asking you questions about what you are doing, then maybe you should not be doing it. "Doctor, it hurts when I do this...then stop doing it."

rgAAFT

I think you win the prize for most sensible answer to date

jimbaum

That works for me too. Except I get nervous if the clerk at Krogers's decides to look at the receipt - it shows two different debit card numbers (when doing a $1000 MO). Not sure what to tell them then....

rgAAFT

That's easy,
Now that VR are not as easy to get you should have more open space on BB in order to load

Also,
I read that it has been discovered that you can load nearly any VR capable debit card at CVS via swipe (not just serve) I wonder if the same holds true with walmart loads? You could test this out if you have a money center kiosk near you

Stoughton

Not at all. It's honestly wondering why you've suddenly decided that the flyertalk community, if not the miles & points generating world as whole, needs to come to some sort of consensus on why we buy gift cards.

And somewhat curious if you've also worked with the community of store clerks to help them reach consensus on what's acceptable.

rgAAFT

thats not the point of this thread... the point as I see it is for people to have a place to share their stories about uncomfortable situations they've had at POS when buying materials for ms due to the CSR not understanding for example, why we need X amount of gift cards... (or similar) More importantly though how the FTer delt with it.. I have seen notable stories like this spread all over FT in different relevant threads but I wanted to create a consolidated place for this. The way i see it, this could at least add some entertainment value to this forum and at best share some useful information on how to best react when one finds himself/herself in such situations when doing MS

PS,
No, I have never worked in retail sales. I am a wheelchair bound CP college student who thanks to the grace of family can travel some

But, the question/assumption you made of me is open-endeded. Meaning, I could very well ask the same of you. (no need to answer unless so inclined)


"And somewhat curious if you've also worked with the community of store clerks to help them reach consensus on what's acceptable.(?) [/QUOTE]

rgAAFT

I hope you forgive me but reading your post made me think of this

<iframe height="310" width="480" src="http://viewrz.com/embed/finito-brothers-rhetorical-question-max-payne" frameborder="0"></iframe>

http://viewrz.com/video/finito-broth...tion-max-payne

carterb

MSers would have loved me back when I was working at my local grocery store during my summer breaks in HS. Without batting an eye, I would let customers purchase anything. I didn't care if it was thousands in GCs or not or if you're using expired coupons. Give me your competitor, expired, or wrong item coupons or separate your order into 10 transactions. I'll be happy to do it!

I never denied/questioned a customer nor did I ever get reprimanded or called out for it. It's a minimum wage job that I couldn't give a single shiet about since I wouldn't return after I headed off to college.

dcman

I might be in the minority here as I don't do a lot of MS. I only tend to buy $1000 a month, unless I have a new card I need to get spend on. I limit my self to one or two cards a year.

Once I was asked by an assistant manager why I come in once a month to buy gift cards. I told her I use them to get points by paying my rent. She noted how that a lot of people seem to be doing that, as once or twice a day someone comes in to buy large amounts of gift cards, but no one was willing to say why. Now its a joke that every time I go in my rent must be due.

darkeststar

Source?

rgAAFT

I believe it was frequent miler but I may be mistaken or maybe FT
I cant remember exactly