Hooray for PayPass, I Think...

One of the things I loved about Starbucks when I first made the switch from Tim Hortons, besides the great coffee, was the fact that they took credit cards! No more having to worry if I had enough money with me to buy a coffee, or having to fumble around trying to get the right change out of my pocket. Just hand over the card, get it swiped, and get it back. At first I had to sign the receipt, but then they even did away with that. It was great! In fact, I would often say to the baristas, "I love the fact that you take credit cards! It's my second main reason for coming to Starbucks instead of going to Tim Hortons." But I had to laugh at the response I sometimes got: "So what's your first reason?" Ha! If they had to ask that question, maybe they were in the wrong job!

However, I'm not above going to a Tims when there's no Starbucks available. I was delighted when they began taking credit cards too. I was even more delighted when I saw that they had PayPass machines! I learned to love these little things at Zehrs where all you had to do was pull out your card, tap it on the machine, and presto! The transaction was done! No more handing over the card and standing there waiting for ages to get it back while the transaction was approved by the powers on high. Now it was quick and easy.

So it was with great anticipation that I went into Tim Hortons a few weeks ago. There was a line-up so it was several minutes before I could place my order. Once that was done, I prepared to pay for it the quick and easy way with PayPass, sure that the people waiting in line behind me would be impressed with such speed and efficiency, allowing them to move along a little faster than someone fumbling for change or waiting for credit card approval.

The young lady behind the counter just looked at me. "You want to do what? PayPass? Um, I don't think I know how to do that... Hang on a minute, I'll have to find someone..." I stood there, waiting... and waiting... and waiting... afraid to turn around and look at the people behind me for fear that they were thinking, "Who's this jerk making life complicated and holding up the whole darn line?!!!" Finally the young lady came back with another employee, and slowly, they went through the correct procedure that allowed me to access the PayPass machine. This little device was supposed to speed things up! But because the employees didn't know how to use it, it actually slowed things down significantly. Oh well, I thought, I helped the young lady learn it for the next guy that comes along.

A few days ago, I went into the same Tim Hortons and placed my order. The young lady behind the counter gave me the total, and I said "PayPass, please." She just looked at me. Sigh....