This was sent to us as an, “oh, this is gross and bad customer service,” but I actually think it’s a good tip for something to try if your credit or debit card won’t swipe, and there’s no plastic bags around.

Today, at the Costco in Rancho Cordova, California, a Costco employee licked my ATM card. When I tried to scan my card, the usual happened. It wouldn’t scan. I tried several times, to no avail. The cashier, “Victoria A.”, then took my card from me. I thought she was going to scan it at her register, but I was wrong! Instead, she licked her index finger, rubbed it on the magnetic strip on my ATM card, then ran it through the scanner. To be fair, the scanner DID read the card once the card had been licked. I think Costco should have a policy about employee licking. What do you think?

Rubbing the card through a plastic bag to build up static electricity also works well. Just based on my own personal experience, there’s usually a large reservoir of plastic bags available in the general vicinity of the checkout area.

Costco employees should not lick ATM cards [Splash’s Training Day]
(Photo: Ninha Morandini)

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