Convenience Store Hold Up

So if I ever decide to get into the convenience store business I know exactly which type of gas station I'm opening-an AM/PM. They have got the business down to a science-of screwing people over for a little extra profit.

Let me set the scene for you: I walk in to get a nice fountain drink after a long day at work. . . of course the first tiff is that the fountain drinks here in Washington are about 30 cents more than Utah prices. For a cheap-o like me even that is enought to get me feeling violated. I go up to the register to pay and the woman who can't speak any English (NOTE: this is a key to the robbery) points at the total, about $1.60. As I go to slide my card I notice a little note on the credit card machine that basically says "Notice: We screw you over for an extra $0.45 for each debit card transaction." Obviously I reach for the credit card instead to avoid the $0.45 charge. Magically, the one sentence of English the lady does know is, "No credit, only debit." Curses!

I curse myself as I know I only have $1 in my wallet and not the required $2. So now I'm stuck paying $1.95 for what truly should be a $0.99 soda. In the movie theatre and at the stadium I'm prepared for a $5 Coke, but not at the gas station. They are basically saying, "We're charging you an extra $0.45 just for coming in to our store, and we've strategically placed a non-English speaking person at our register so you really can't argue with it."

I finally gave in, but decided I would get $20 cash back and think of it as only a $0.45 ATM fee instead of the usual $2+ (boy I sure get desparate about rationalizing these things, don't I?). Too bad she couldn't figure out how to adjust the transaction so she kept having me rerun my card. For all I know I left there charging like 50 $1.95 drinks plus $20 cash back to my card. Good times.

So that's it folks. You want to make money? Open an AM/PM and charge all the customers an extra $0.45 just for coming in. It all adds up in the end!