A small step for a more polite society

I had occasion to got to Kohls department store today, to pick up some dress shirts for work.  I am mentioning the store not because they are unique to this practice, only because it just happened there.  I know Target does it too.

There were three registers open and six to eight people in each line.  The lines were not moving quickly.  Then the cashier rung up the woman about four customers in front of me.  A big notice on the display at the check stand told the woman that she could receive an additional twenty percent off if she applied for a Kohls credit card.  The cashier reinforced that idea with her own pitch.  The woman said yes.

For the next ten minutes, that line did not move.  I moved to another line, and was finished with my purchases while that woman (and of course the people behind her) was still waiting for approval of her card.  When my cashier told me I could receive an additional twenty percent off if I applied for a Kohls credit card this was my reply.

"I cannot imagine being so rude as to make the people behind me wait in line while I apply for a credit card, and I find it offensive that you as a store would encourage such rude, antisocial behavior."

So next time you are offered a discount if you will inconvenience the people waiting behind you, tell them the same thing.  If enough people say that, perhaps the customer behind you will think twice before being so rude, and maybe, just maybe, the stores will find a less offensive way of drumming up credit card business.