Receipts

I hate receipts. If I want a ****ing receipt, I'll ask for one. Business expenses and large purchases are times when I want a receipt. I do not want one for every transaction I make. I got a receipt handed to me for a donut the other day. I'm pretty sure there was a Mitch Hedberg bit on exactly that situation. I had a gas station clerk threaten to call the police on me for not taking my receipt for a GATORADE. I am not exaggerating. I politely said "no thanks" and he went nuts, screaming and yelling. (extreme example, the guy might have been insane)

I dread the end of every transaction now because most clerks just hand you the receipt, and you're forced to say no. Not a big deal? It shouldn't be, except for 1) you should ask if I want one, not just hand it to me. That's what I did when I worked in a coffee shop for four years. 2) for some reason a lot of clerks get put off when you decline the stupid ****ing receipt they are shoving at you for your $2 purchase you just made, as if you're insulting them. I always say it politely, but it doesn't matter.

I know this seems childish to rant about this, but I am at the end of my rope on this. This happens to me at least once a day, every day, for years. Half the time I end up taking the damn thing because I don't want to have to refuse it, and then I have to search for a trash can. Also, it's a huge waste of paper. This has been tearing at me for years.

I want it to end, so badly that I'm contemplating wearing a tag that says "No receipts" so I can just point to it. Or actually starting to be impolite. I think from now on I am going to just walk away when some schmuck is waving one in my face for the $1 Arizona can I just bought.

"We do not need to bring ink and paper into this." -Mitch Hedberg

[ame]http://youtu.be/gWx6uA5aCrE[/ame]

Opposite position.

I want my receipts, and I don't want to have to ask for them. I keep track of where I spend my money - it goes slower when you know what you spend and where (at least in my experience).


My daughter saves all her receipts (I discard after recording) - TRUE story - it saved her from a legal hassle. A friend's mom insisted my daughter broke into her house and stole items She had an exact time of the incident, and filled out a warrant. My daughter had a receipt with a time-stamp - she was in the Walmart at the time of the crime. The woman is a head case with paranoid schizophrenia, but that's another issue.

so...receipts can be useful - not to prove you had a doughnut, but where you were.

To me it's like the clerk is saying, here throw this away for me. Rather annoying but I generally throw it away in the trash can behind their counter on my pass by if I can. That or I leave it on the counter.

When making tiny purchases I pretty much always just ask them to throw the recipt away for when they go to hand it to me or even before it finishes printing. I have never once had anyone give me even the slightest attitude about it.

I hate bags. Why the f*ck do cashiers feel the need to bag everything?!?
A greeting card...really? You're right, there's no way I could lug one of those out to my car without a bag for it.

Hang Glider said:

Opposite position.

I want my receipts, and I don't want to have to ask for them. I keep track of where I spend my money - it goes slower when you know what you spend and where (at least in my experience).


My daughter saves all her receipts (I discard after recording) - TRUE story - it saved her from a legal hassle. A friend's mom insisted my daughter broke into her house and stole items She had an exact time of the incident, and filled out a warrant. My daughter had a receipt with a time-stamp - she was in the Walmart at the time of the crime. The woman is a head case with paranoid schizophrenia, but that's another issue.

so...receipts can be useful - not to prove you had a doughnut, but where you were.

Click to expand...

This. It hasn't happened to me, but it could. Or something like it.

I also like to fold and tear paper. I should be good at origami, but I'm not.

Hang Glider said:

Opposite position.

I want my receipts, and I don't want to have to ask for them. I keep track of where I spend my money - it goes slower when you know what you spend and where (at least in my experience).


My daughter saves all her receipts (I discard after recording) - TRUE story - it saved her from a legal hassle. A friend's mom insisted my daughter broke into her house and stole items She had an exact time of the incident, and filled out a warrant. My daughter had a receipt with a time-stamp - she was in the Walmart at the time of the crime. The woman is a head case with paranoid schizophrenia, but that's another issue.

so...receipts can be useful - not to prove you had a doughnut, but where you were.

Click to expand...

Dude...online banking, ever hear of it?

Hang Glider said:

Opposite position.

I want my receipts, and I don't want to have to ask for them. I keep track of where I spend my money - it goes slower when you know what you spend and where (at least in my experience).


My daughter saves all her receipts (I discard after recording) - TRUE story - it saved her from a legal hassle. A friend's mom insisted my daughter broke into her house and stole items She had an exact time of the incident, and filled out a warrant. My daughter had a receipt with a time-stamp - she was in the Walmart at the time of the crime. The woman is a head case with paranoid schizophrenia, but that's another issue.

so...receipts can be useful - not to prove you had a doughnut, but where you were.

Click to expand...

Put everything on a credit card and you don't need a reciept to prove where you were, just a printout of your statement. "Oh, look. I was at Walmart at the time, and stopped for gas at ___ on the way home."

I don't even keep receipts for the big-ticket purchases. Virtually any store now, if you pay by credit card, can look up the purchase history of that card. I've walked into Menards and looked up a receipt for an item I purchased two years ago before. Some of the local gas station clerks and grocery store cashiers don't even ask me anymore. If they do ask, I'll refuse it and just tell them "It's just going to end up on the floor of my truck anyway, you throw it away".

I don't mind receipts per se, but I am annoyed by unnecessarily large receipts. I bought a six pack and some beef jerky- why is this receipt a foot and a half long? With a coupon for fat free yogurt. What about my purchase says I'm interested in fat free yogurt?!

I hear you on the bags too, KayaBrew. I once bought a bucket and a scrub brush. The cashier put them in separate bags. I just bought a bucket. It's designed for the sole purpose of holding and transporting other things. Like scrub brushes. Oh, are you concerned that someone will think I'm shoplifting if my purchase is not in a bag? Well, good thing I have this 4-foot receipt to prove I paid for it!

If they ask I say I don't want it, but if they just hand it to me I'll take it and stick in my back pocket. If nothing else it's something to jot a quick note down on if you don't have any other paper.

I like our local Home Depot. They have a guy in the front who checks your receipt.... not what is on it, but the fact that you are holding a receipt... before you leave. Shrinkage must be insane.

Now I have got to admit, I'm a little anal.

I pay for everything with a credit card, I only have 1. So I know where every $ is spent. I watch everything before I sign it. Sometimes I double check it.

I was blown away when a shop keeper wanted to charge me $2500 for a $250 dollar item. I will never go back there again. Just last month we had a verbal agreement what this thing would cost, I got the receipt and had another $$$ figure on it. TRUST NO ONE!

Now if I were buying a donut for cash............................................