August 11, 2005
“We do not accept credit”
Please let me preface:
Mister and I have had debit cards since 1994. We very well may have been the first people we know who moved from the ATM to the debit card. It was perfect for us. We were poor, but we liked to keep all of our money in the bank, and our debit card allowed us to know exactally where our meager funds went.
In the past months, I have had to make a number of visits to various doctor offices.
Yesterday, I was at a clininc at Quincy Medical Center, and I had to pay my co-pay. As usual, I pulled out my debit card. The woman, who obviously hates her job anyway, looked at me and said “Oh, we don’t take credit cards.”
Well . . . this is quite irritating to me. Usually, at this point I do one of two things - tell the cashier to cancel my purchase and I will go elsewhere or - int he case of the doctors office where I have no choice - I just let this anger fester. Yesterday, I turned a new leaf: I decided to resond to her and say “well that is too bad, I don’t carry filthy cash.”
Of course this didn’t matter to her - she said she would bill me.
Now, I am not a business person, and I am definately not a billing person, but don’t you think it would be cheaper for the HOSPITAL to get a creidt card machine rather than to maintain a billing department to collect $10 co-pays?
I often wonder if I am a lunitic living in a sane world or a sane person living with loons . . .
Starstream Girl at 10:00 am
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