Workday Cheer

Now the fun part of this is that it's fucking terrible on all accounts. I've literally had people referred to me from other outlets asking for me specifically because I knew how to deal with the system. A new person recently trained would have a lot of issues dealing with this. And that's just part A. Seriously though, first time it happened, and it happened a few times, I couldn't believe another outlet basically said "yeah we can't do it go here the guy knows how". Fuck me.

***

So, the system is bad. Terribad. Like pawn it off on someone else bad. (Apparently.) But we're onto part two of why it's bad now. The stress. You are dealing with thousands of dollars in cash in an open retail setting, likely with a long lineup. It's not cool. You have to count it accurately, you have to make sure it's right. It's probably a bunch of 20's too. And here's the kicker. You're dealing with international money-laundering laws that can land you yourself either unemployed or even in jail if you fuck it up enough.

So. There is stress. This is part of why they'd send em my way. I get it. I actually screwed up hundreds worth once, only got out of it with my winning personality (kek) and what basically amounts to white privilege/gentleman's agreement. They had ample cause for dismissal on the spot but I'm the trustworthy type. (kek)

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Part three. The people you're dealing with. A large amount of time they are... not well, or just flat out criminal in some way. Not all, but many. Some are not well mentally and dealing with that amount of money in that way is rough. Mentally taxing both sides.

And there are scams. You're sending hundreds up to thousands and once it's sent that's it. The Nigerian prince has it. There are many ways to complain and not a single way to get it back.

***

Decade and a half ago, little old lady comes in, fairly frantic.

She tells me she needs *looks at notes* "MONEY GRAM".

Okay, that's the wire transfer service, sure.


All of this doesn't add up. Backpacking granddaughter in jail and needs bail, in Europe? Mmm... kay. Not implausible but. Really...

After a barrage of polite questions I told her it was a bad idea and to phone her granddaughter and make sure...

...sure enough, she comes back the very next day. Her granddaughter is fine. She most certainly is not in prison. Whoever the grandmother was talking to wasn't her granddaughter. Crazy shit. Little Old Lady told me her granddaughter sounded muffled on the phone but to even know enough to attempt that? Crazy shit. Regardless, I got a heartfelt "thank you" out of it.

So this Workday Cheer, is how I saved a little old lady from sending $4000CAD to scammers by just getting her to call her granddaughter once more.

***

As an aside, I've had an immigrant mother in tears begging me to let her send money to scammers so the "CRA" (The tax men, IRS to the 'muricans) wouldn't boot her out of the country. I had to actually refuse her service because she wouldn't believe it was a scam. I only finally got through to her by telling her to wait for her husband to get back from work and make the call, which is not a route I'd wanted to take on principle but I still remember having to go there.

Not that it was all terrible. One woman sent her family money every month to help their family farm in Kenya get off the ground. Also sent enough for her nephew to go to college, or so she hoped that's where it was going. (Nephew had some fun apparently.) Either way, it was a neat story month to month. Had a few like those, sending money back to families and seeing it all grow.