Cutting it a little close

It's 7:55 and my break is in 15 minutes. Lady with really loaded shopping cart and two boys in tow pulls up to my register. Almost immediately, my CSM comes over and shuts off my light. "Go to break after this guest."

It will be a while -- she's price-matching almost everything. After taking off a few bags and loading them into shopping cart, two boys head for Family Fun Center. More like "Give Kids Loads of Quarters and Don't Bug Me While Shopping" Center, but I digress. Mom looks vaguely familiar, but we keep talking. I keep hoping something she says will refresh my memory about where I've met her.

This is a really large order, but Mom is on the cell phone. Not talking, but repeatedly dialing. Kind of weird. As the belt starts to get emptier, she explains. Every other week, she gets a check that's deposited into her bank account at 8:00. It's 8:05, still no check. Keep scanning, she says. It will come. It ALWAYS does.

OK, my checks are direct deposited, but they come in the middle of the night, sometime. (I try to be asleep when that happens, but I doubt it's at the same moment every two weeks.) It's not at 8:00 a.m., and certainly not 8:00 P.M. There's a fair share of frozen food here. Keep scanning? Really?

The cart is getting full, the belt's now half empty, and still no check. Son #1 comes back and starts rummaging in the candy near the checkout. He comes up with a couple of sugar-laden items. Mom says he can pay for those as soon as she finishes. Few more items to go, still no check. Order finished, still no check. She tries to run the card, just to see if it went in and hasn't registered, card declined. We're looking at each other, she starts to be hesitant -- it's ALWAYS come at 8:00 before. Hmm, wonder if it might be safer to start shopping the DAY AFTER the check is supposed to come, or at least checking out closer to 9:00. I ask her if it would be OK to suspend the transaction so I can check out her son (and anyone else who happens by). My break time has come, and Mom realizes it -- "Sorry, I'm keeping you from your break."

"That's OK," I say. What I'm thinking is "This is way too much fun to turn over. I want to know how it's going to come out."

Son #2 comes back for more quarters. Mom starts digging in purse for cash. My CSM comes over and wants to know why I haven't gone to break yet, and suspends transaction. I ring up her son's candy, and she says it has to be in. I put suspended transaction back in, and card is declined once again.

Once a transaction is suspended and re-scanned, a cashier can't re-suspend it. If I abort it, I'll have to re-scan everything (or more likely, some other hapless cashier will. I'll be on break.)

Mom checks with son #1. He has a $20 bill. She's got some money, and a little more money in the car, and she says she's going to run to the car and get it.

More than half the time, when people "go to the car" after a wallet, checkbook or cash, it's not really there. It's an excuse to escape, and we're going to have a lot of groceries to put back. Kids have now gone back to the game room, so maybe she is coming back. Kids come back to register to find out where Mom went, and head out the door. I see those chances slipping away.

But there she comes. Not looking very excited. There wasn't very much money in the car. She gets back on the phone, more frantic dialing to her bank. And finally, 8:40, check is deposited. We finish the transaction, and I head to break. She promises not to cut it so close next time, but you know she will. I just will try not to be the cashier that rings her up.