Why do people hand me their credit card upside down?

I work the register at a coffee shop near downtown Portland and at least 3 times a shift someone hands me their card with the chip facing away from the reader. It adds 10 seconds per transaction while I flip it around or explain the right way. Have you noticed this getting worse lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

norathomas11d ago

And @nancy524 actually has a point about bad design, but people have been handing cards upside down since long before chips existed. It's not getting worse, you're just noticing it more now because every second feels slow when you're busy.

ray18911d ago

Settle down, it's really not that big of a deal. People hold their cards however feels natural in the moment, maybe they're distracted or in a hurry. I've seen plenty of people hand me a card sideways or even upside down with the chip pointing up, and it takes maybe two seconds to flip it around. If ten seconds per transaction is ruining your shift that bad, maybe coffee isn't the right job for you. The world isn't ending just because someone doesn't memorize the exact orientation of a chip reader.

nancy52411d ago

Maybe the real issue is that chip readers are designed by people who never have to actually use them.