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Credit Card Check
On my way to work a while back, I stopped at the grocery store across the street from the campus to pick up a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a soda for lunch. Naturally, I was running late, so I rushed through the self-checkout machine and absentmindedly left my credit card behind. I didn’t even realize my mistake until a few hours later when I was actually eating that sandwich, and my phone rang.
Eric, our credit-card company representative identified himself and asked if I had just charged $5,000 on the card at our local, big-box, hardware store.
“No, I did not,” I said nervously, wondering how that could have happened and worrying that I would be responsible.
“Okay, I’ll cancel the card immediately,” Eric said with authority, “so it doesn’t happen again.” Then, he asked, “Do you think the card was stolen?”
By then, of course, I had checked my wallet for the card and realized what had happened. “No,” I sadly admitted. “I think I left it in the machine at the grocery store.”
Long pause. Eric, who sounded like he was fresh out of college, was obviously trying to figure out the best way to gently chastise this sad senior citizen without totally demoralizing him.
“Okay, Mr. LaBate, we’ll get you a new card as soon as possible, and you will not be charged for that amount, but you’ll have…
