A rather remarkable thing happened to me yesterday

[underpants]

I went to the grocery store to get the $2 deposit back on the milk bottle

and

I really still can't believe it

there wasn't someone in front of me wiring money.

I didn't know how to react. I asked the customer service person what I should do, I was just not used to NOT having to wait 10 minutes to get my $2 back.
She said it was okay, that it happens from time to time.

It's a strange new world out there to me.

[no name no slogan]

1. I thought you were going to say you crawled out of a hole and saw your shadow

And I know what you mean about not waiting forever at the service desk at the grocery store. Whenever I go there to get a bus pass or a stamp, I always get stuck behind the guy who wants to argue about a couple cents increase in the price of cigs, or how he can't pay for groceries with a giant can of pennies.

[underpants]

2. It used to be a great time saver

if you don't have anything that needs to be weighed you can make your purchase at the customer service desk

I used to zip in and out of there even with long rush hour lines

no longer

Now I have to stand behind someone going through a maze of forms and electronic wire transfers :eyes:

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. Milk bottles? I want to hear about your Fuller Brushes.

[underpants]

5. Homestead Creamery-non hormonal stuff

$2 deposit on the bottle.

http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_xp0yy

http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2008/11/homestead-creamery/

Made in Wirtz VA (near Roanoke)

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. Neat. Good on you for going pure.

[skygazer]

4. We who work at grocery stores HATE having Western Union there

It is such a time-consuming, tedious process, the store makes no money off it (not at our level - of course, at corporate level, they must or they wouldn't do it), and you have to make actual paying customers wait while some idiot fills out the forms taking forever.

Of course, we also hate the bottle returns because we have people who come in at the busiest time of the day with three shopping carts filled with beer bottles wanting their redemption. :banghead:

[kentauros]

6. Why isn't the process of "wiring" money something that could be done

through an ATM or similar machine? Why the need for the paperwork? USPS makes vending machines that will accept all denominations from a penny to a 20-dollar bill (as will all those U-Scan grocery lanes.) You can dump all your loose change into another machine, get a receipt and a bunch of paper bills. You can transfer money from your savings to your checking or vice versa, online at that, and no paperwork is ever needed.

You would think Western Union would realize the major benefits to going ATM-like and make even more of a profit on their fees.