receipts

I have a buddy who is both an occasional reader of TOR and very infrequent contributor to his own blog but can be credited with one of the best rants of all time has to do with the obsession this country has with receipts. He rallies against the insanity of getting a receipt with every purchase like when he buys a soup or a fruit shake since he is obviously not going to return it.


In a world where we are justifiably asked to recycle everything it is crazy to think that we get a print out for items as small as a pack of gum or a soda. I understand the thought of needing a receipt for a return but in an almost completely automated and computerized world can't we get rid of these things already?

Of course there is still some fear of identity fraud and the endless loop of receipts leaves a perfect paper-trail of somebody's entire existence but this is not really a concern anymore as most receipts don't even have printed CC numbers on the anymore. What is a concern is that every single day when I get back from work and empty my pockets it looks like a bird’s nest.

I have noticed one thing about receipts though, especially credit-card receipts. They are really only good for about a week, before they start to fade to the point you wonder if people use invisible ink to print these things. I have a theory that the companies providing the merchant services have purposely developed the equivalent of the etch-a-sketch for receipts not only to battle identity fraud but maybe more importantly so that their clients (the stores) can avoid having to take returns. If you have an illegible receipt you may as well show up with a roll of toilet paper because it is completely worthless.



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