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There are no Radio Shacks in the U.K. The nearest thing now that I’m living in England over here is Maplin.

So since I’ve been living in the U.K. I’ve never had a problem using my U.S. credit card that does not have a chip and pin number associated with it. It’s just your run of the mill swipe credit card. The kind that is accepted everywhere, except at the new high tech retail store designed by the electronics people, Maplin.

So imagine my surprise as I stood at the register and the clerk gave me the grand total and I handed her my card.

“Oh she said, I’m afraid we don’t accept swipe cards anymore.”

“Really, why?”, I said.

“I’m afraid that when they designed this new store they did not give us any way to swipe a credit card, only a pin card reader.”

“So what do you say to people who want to buy stuff from your store and don’t have a pin card? I’m sure I’m not the only one that has ever handed you a swipe card.”

“Oh no, it happens all the time. What I can do is offer to put all your items back that you were going to purchase.”

As an entrepreneur, episodes like that just make me cringe. Evidently there is no direct route for front line employees to tell suitable management that they are turning away sales because they don’t have a proper card reader. If there was, management would have a card reader in that store the next day.

Now I went back in the store a few weeks latter, right before Christmas, and they still didn’t have a swipe card reader and they were still turning sales away.

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Steve

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