I went to the grocery store today to pick up a few things for dinner. I was quite happy to find a cashier who was waiting for something to do as it meant not waiting in line. I unloaded my shopping cart, she scanned my items, pretty uneventful.
Until an older woman approached us.
She came from outside the store and walked right up the cashier who was checking out my groceries. The older woman said to the cashier:
“Can I get a cash back?”
If you’re unfamiliar with this term, it has to do with your debit card. In Canada, we can pay for items at the cash register using the very same debit card for an ATM. The money is withdrawn directly from your bank account.
On top of that, you can “withdraw” additional money from your bank account in addition to the cost of items on your bill at the point of sale.
More on What a Cashier at a Local Grocery Store Taught Me About Sticking to My Values
Last year, Apple came out with the iPhone in the United States. I enviously watched my colleagues at the New Media Expo last September using their cool iPhones. I’m in the market for a new cellphone and I want to purchase the iPhone.
Then, Oprah mentions the Flip Camera on her show. And Patsi Krakoff, one half of The Blog Squad, demos how simple it is to use the Flip Camera. So, instead of getting a webcam, I now want to buy this device.
Yet, despite the fact that I want to purchase both the iPhone and the Flip Camera, would you believe that neither of them are available for sale in this country?
Worst yet, both Apple and Pure Digital (the company who manufactures the Flip Camera) are not legally allowed to ship either device internationally. It would appear that Pure Digital is aiming to provide the Flip Camera for sale in Canada for the holiday season later this year. Apple? Who knows. The story of why the iPhone isn’t in Canada changes depending on who is reporting it.
Canada sucks. Or, maybe it’s Apple and Pure Digital that suck. It doesn’t really matter who. What matters is that I’m just one of many who really want to buy these products, yet I’m being penalized based on my country of residence.
And it doesn’t appear that either company is in a hurry to satisfy the demand here in Canada. That’s lousy customer service. Or, brilliant marketing tactics.
