Derailed train

Naval Academy Junction
Photo courtesy of the Odenton Heritage Society

A while back in downtown Odenton, a locomotive and several cars were diverted to the railroad tracks next to Walgreens (Piney Orchard Parkway). Seeing a train sitting on the tracks in that part of Odenton reminded me of the history of those tracks and that Odenton was born from the railroad. That spur of track from the MARC station to Academy Junction is the last existing and active rail of the Annapolis & Elkridge Railroad (A&ERR). The A&ERR ran from Annapolis Junction (Howard County) through Odenton on its way to Annapolis. While you can still see remnants of the A&ERR right of way in the form of paths and utility lines, the rails that run next to Walgreen and Academy Unction plaza are the last remaining usable rails. 

The A&ERR opened in 1840 as a way to connect passengers from the Baltimore and Ohio railroad to Annapolis. In 1868 the Baltimore and Potomac railroad opened crossing the A&ERR lines in Odenton. The Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis electric line also crossed the A&ERR at Naval Academy Junction (Now a shopping Center), which became the major transfer point for passengers traveling to and from Annapolis. The title picture shows Naval Academy Junction looking south down Piney Orchard Parkway. You can see the passenger pavilion and the crossing of the different rail lines. The A&ERR would have run horizontally in front of the pictured train between the station house and the passenger pavilion. The station building and tracks in this area are still there and although the pavilion is gone there is a grassy area and benches where the pavilion once stood. The train in the picture is from the WB&A electric railroad. Midshipman coming from Washington switched here from the WB&A to the A&ERR to continue east to the Naval Academy.

You have to take Route 50 out of your mind when thinking about Maryland transportation in the 19^thand early 20^thcenturies. To travel from Washington to Annapolis, a passenger would take the B&PRR to Odenton and transfer to the A&ERR. Academy Junction taking its name as the transfer point to reach the Naval Academy. President Lincoln passed through Odenton in 1865 on his way to Annapolis to board a ferry to Hampton, VA. I’ve scoured books and newspapers for any picture or hint of President Lincoln stepping off the train in Odenton. It seems that even in 1865 presidents were afforded special treatment as he had a private train that ran directly from Washington to Annapolis.

            

In your travels around the area, you can see evidence of the A&ERR right of ways and influence. The utility lines that follow Route 32 past the National Security Agency and also Route 178 through Crownsville to the Annapolis Mall and a hiker/biker trail along Poplar Avenue in Annapolis, all are built on the A&ERR right of way. The A&ERR ran from Academy Junction to what is now Route 175/Annapolis Road and along Route 175 through Gambrills along Maple and Holladay Roads. Sappington Station Road is named such because it was a stop along the A&ERR. There were also stops in Gambrills at Maple/Gambrills Roads and Holladay Street/Holladay Park Road.

            

Site of A&ERR bridge crossing Waterbury Road (2017)

On Waterbury Road in Millersville what looks like a hill on either side of the road is actually the remnants of an A&ERR bridge. At the beginning of the Civil War, Union soldiers were dispatched to repair the tracks at this bridge after Southern sympathizers destroyed the rails. After repairs, the Union soldiers guarded the rails of this railroad, as it was a major link between the North and the nation’s capital. Rail traffic through Baltimore had been disrupted as well as supplies, mail, and soldiers flowed through west Anne Arundel County and Annapolis on the A&ERR on the way to Washington. 

Since the above picture was taken the area has been re-graded to allow for the new South Shore hiker/biker trail and improve driving visibility. The South Shore trail will run along the A&ERR rail bed from Odenton to Annapolis. After construction of the South Shore Trail, the area now appears as pictured below. The cement overlook area is where the original bridge once crossed.

 South Shore Trail at Waterbury Road (Dec 2018)

South Shore Trail at Waterbury Road (Dec 2018)

Just a little bit of history that is right in front of you or under your feet every day. Please visit the Odenton Heritage Society website, http://www.odentonheritage.org, and the museum located at 1367 Odenton Road Odenton, MD.

An excellent website that provides a photo tour of the Annapolis & Elkridge Railroad can be found at http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/wasaer1.htm

For Anne Arundel County trail maps and proposed trails can be found at  https://www.aacounty.org/departments/recreation-parks/parks/forms-and-publications/MAP_AACoParksTrails.pdf   

It’s Cyber Monday, Y'all!

Cyber Monday credit card security

It’s Cyber Monday, Y'all! Do you know where your credit card is? Of course, you do. It’s in your wallet, or purse, or poised on your keyboard, ready to be put into service. I should have asked do you know where your credit card number is? 

In 2017, according to the National Retail Federation, 81 million people in the U.S. shopped online on Cyber Monday.  About 15 million more than on Black Friday. The only way to snatch up on those cyber deals is to pay with a credit card. And pay we did. Business Insider reported that we spent six and a half billion dollars in 2017. Over $1.5 billion than on Black Friday that same year.

We’ve become trained to look for https or the little padlock to indicate we are dealing with a secure site. And that is true for the transaction. E-commerce is mostly protected by encrypted communications. The security issue here is saving your personal and financial data on the company’s website. Creditcards.com posted a story in 2017 in which they conducted a poll of credit card users. The poll found that 94 million Americans store their card information online

There may be encryption for the transaction but when you store your data you’re giving the site all the information a cyber thief needs. That data sits in a database on the company’s servers for who knows how long. See a previous post on this blog about Cleaning Up Your Online Presence. 

Storing your card information makes it much easier to check out but also exposes your data to hacking. Think about all the stories in the news this year alone about companies getting hacked. And if not directly then through third party vendors. It’s so common that we almost stop paying attention to the reports. If we do feel we’ve been affected, we change our password and move on. It’s become so a part of our lives we’ve become complacent about e-commerce and our privacy.

Tips

·     You have to use plastic to shop online. When you do use credit instead of debit. 

·     Best not to store your information, especially if it’s a little used site or one-time purchase. Type your card in each time. Don’t create accounts. Check out as a guest.

·     Research with whom you’re shopping. The bigger the company the better, to some extent. As opposed to smaller businesses that have less traffic and do not have the resources to support update to date and effective security. 

·     Considering having a card you use specifically for online shopping with a low limit

·     Monitor your accounts. Especially after a shopping spree or big shopping day like Cyber Monday.

Not trying to be Chicken Little. Just trying to remind people to take a beat and check their online shopping practices. Coming back from identity theft or online fraud is not an easy path.

Even though it’s not credit card related here’s another tip that could help protect your card. If you‘re shopping Amazon or looking at reviews on Yelp or TripAdvisor, run the link to the product through a review analytics site like Fakespot. 

The results will give you an idea about how reliable the seller is and if it a reliable company. If using Fakespot, after you find a product on Amazon copy the link from the search bar and past into Fakespot. The results will be a grade regarding the site and advisement on whether you should proceed or not.

Please feel free to share. Visit the blog archive for more posts about Privacy. https://mazzellainvestigations.blogspot.com/search/label/privacy

How AI affects finding a job

AI hiring is making finding a job difficult

When my children were looking for jobs I so wanted to tell them to print a bunch of resumes and go door to door. That was five plus years ago and the old ways of applying for jobs had already changed. October 2018 had the news that Amazon was abandoning its use of AI (artificial intelligence) recruiting software. 

Watching my kids search I realized how hard it was to get yourself in front of a real person in order to sell yourself. Being at the end of a long career and not having had to look for a job in a long time, I felt for them in this new world. A majority of companies have online applications. Which saves a lot of time and effort as applicants can sit at home and get their resume to as many businesses and recruiting companies as they can. The problem then and now is knowing how to write your resume and complete the applications. Not that’s its any great discovery, but I long suspected that companies used algorithms to filter the resumes. If your application doesn’t hit the right marks it may never make it to a hiring manager.

AI Recruiting

In November 2018, Amazon admitted to having a secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias towards women. Reuters reported that Amazon had been developing software since 2014 that would review applications. The hiring tool would assign candidates scores of 1-5. Developers realized that the program “learned” by reviewing resume patterns over the last ten years. During that period a high number of resumes came from men. The models developed skewed towards assigning men higher scores. The system taught itself to rank lower the word “women” and downgrading women colleges.

Amazon tried to program in gender-neutral terms but eventually abandoned the project in 2017. Amazon officials told Reuters the program was an experiment to find a way to aid in recruitment of the best candidates. The AI program was never used in actual hiring. Reuters reported, however, that Amazon did not deny that recruiters reviewed the recommendations made by the program. 

The Reuters article cited a 2017 CareerBuilder survey of U.S. human resources managers finding that 55% would be using AI over the next five years.

Application tracking

Until AI is further developed, hiring managers will continue to use Application Tracking Software (ATS). Very simply, ATS reviews applications by word according to parameters set by the company. Back to my rather obvious suspicion online applications are filtered. If your resume doesn’t hit the right notes, your application goes nowhere. It’s also the reason applicants rarely hear back from companies after submitting a resume. It never reached a person who could reply with a polite, “Thank you, but no”.

A JobScan blog posted in 2016, The History of Applicant Tracking Systems credits the first ATS to Canadian Martin Ouellett who created an early form in 1996. Since that time ATS has been refined and developed. As of 2016, over 300 ATS are being used by 90% of companies.

You can definitely feel for people looking for jobs today. The market is tight and getting your resume in front of a real person is difficult. Knowing the playing field and learning the rules of job hunting is a job within itself. If not an education.

Please feel free to share this and any post. See the blog archive for more posts about Hiring.

I’m in your way (Customer Service)

Nothing seemed to go with the topic...So why not a chicken.

A simple choice of words can make a big difference in customer service.  Not how the customer is spoken to, but the choice of words used by the employee and how the customer hears those words. Here are a few examples.

Over the last couple of months, I had the opportunity to place orders with a box hardware store to be picked up at the store. The first experience I was in the area and although before the scheduled pick up date thought I’d stop in and see if the item was ready. Being a pop in I didn’t have the order number but figured the order could be found through a search of the name, phone number, etc. I approached the in-store pickup desk and was greeted by the employee-friendly enough. I explained I wanted to check if an order had come in. The employee asked for the order number. When I said I didn’t have it I was told that the order could not be found without the order number. Not receiving a “Your order is ready for pick up” email, I decided it wasn’t worth the effort at this time. I returned at the proper time, with the order number, and received the product. I related this because of the second in-store pickup experience.

This time I waited until the order was ready for pick up notification. I arrived at the store, order number in hand, was greeted at the pickup desk and explained I had an order for pick up. The employee responded, “Let me see what I can find”. Which implied that my order could be searched in a variety of fashions. I explained my earlier experience and complimented the employee. Just a simple choice of words within a greeting provided options to customers.  How something is communicated can make a huge difference in a customer’s experience. 

Noticing more ants than I wished to notice roaming about I called the pest company with whom we have a service contract. Meaning they are supposed to respond pretty quickly to pest issues. I’m met with the standard directory tree of press ones, twos, and threes. Finally reaching my destination I am greeted with, “All customer service representatives are busy at the moment, your call is important to us, please listen to some catchy music while you wait”.  As I begin to get the rhythm of whatever 90’s classic has been turned instrumental, a pleasant voice interrupts my musical interlude. She explains that all the operators are busy and maybe for some time. I may leave a call back number and they will return my call within 24 to 48 hours. 48 hours!! I have ants now! I wanted to say but didn’t. 

Just as I begin to work up a response, she adds, “OR you could call back in a few minutes, there should be someone available”. Now I’m sure the “leave a message” bit was what was supposed to be told to the customer. But this operator, in one sentence and unbeknownst to her, defused my ire. Taking the effort and time to spend two more seconds on the phone made for a content customer. She didn’t have to give me the added tip but she went out of her way to do so.  I made sure to point this out and compliment her for her customer service skills.

I hung up. Waited a few minutes. Called back and got right through, making my appointment for the next day.

On a recent trip to a Disney resort, we had an encounter with an employee that really hit the nail for what Disney customer service is all about. The employee, or cast member as they’re called, was cleaning around a trashcan near stairs. It was difficult to get to the stairs without intruding on the workspace. We excused ourselves and apologized for being in the way. The cast member quickly said that it was not a problem and it was he that was in our way. 

A little comment that could quickly be forgotten. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that that attitude is what makes visiting a Disney resort so great, The cast members are there to make sure you have the greatest experience possible. Everyone is quick with a smile, hello, and what can they do for you.

Building on the “I’m in your way” comment, I was recently in a small mom and pop type store. One of the employees was moving some merchandise with a hand truck and had to pass by. I apologized for being in the way and stepped aside. He said, “Don’t apologize. You’re the one with the money”.

Whether it is a friendly smile or an upbeat verbal greeting, how employees interact with customers is a significant reflection on your business. Cordial greetings could help put an irate customer at ease. Empathy with the customer’s needs and reassurance can diffuse bad experiences. Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World Resort, says the customer isn’t always right, but they are the customer.

Refer to our blog archive for more posts on Customer Service. Please share.

Privacy access

Responding to privacy concerns and the EU’s restrictive privacy legislation, Apple launched a new portal on October 17, 2018, that allows users to see what kind of data Apple is collecting and storing. The portal has been available in Europe since May 2018. The portal provides users with a report on tracked data such as App store purchases, support history, calendars, photos, documents, and browser bookmarks.

To access the portal follow these steps.

Go to  https://privacy.apple.com/

Sign in with your Apple ID. You may be asked to authenticate the sign in.

You will then be presented with this page

Under the heading, Get a copy of your data, Click on Get Started

You can then select which data you wish to download or you can select all. Keeping in mind that the more or less you select will affect file size and download time.

Google also has an option to download your data. Access by signing in to your Google account.

After signing in, in the top right, click on the checkerboard symbol and receive this drop down

Click on Account. Under the section Personal info & privacy, click Manage your Google activity

Scroll down to Control Your Content and click on CREATE ARCHIVE under Download your Data. 

The next page, select the data you wish to download.

Refer to the blog archive for more articles on privacy and security.

Seasonal hires

Hiring seasonal workers may be more difficult this season. With wages increasing and applicants looking for better benefits and long-term employment, you may have to change your tactics.

CNBC reported that while job openings are on pace with last year, lower unemployment rates mean that there are fewer people to fill those openings. There appear to be twice as many openings as applicants. Leaving many retailers shorthanded as a booming economy sends shoppers out in full force this holiday season. 

You will be fighting for the same applicants as the mall retailers and bigger corporations. Some of the big names like Kohl’s, Target, and Macy’s began seasonal hiring campaigns as early June. They are also raising wages and offering bonuses similar to those afforded permanent employees. You may need to do more than put a sign in the window.

Think about what makes your business unique over your competition, including those vying for the same applicants. Don’t be so prideful as not to negotiate. These are different hiring times and a new generation of workers. Just because it’s seasonal and may not be permanent doesn’t mean you will have to put in an effort. Applicants looking for seasonal work have too many options and may use that against you in negotiating a position and benefits. 

Monster suggests these five tips for seasonal hiring.

Hire your customers- They already love your brand, why not offer them a job

Start hiring efforts before the competition

Write specific job descriptions-The company, the skills, attitude, schedule, incentives

Ask existing employees for referrals

Attract retirees

As a job seeker, you should take in all that is offered and draw comparisons between employers. Don’t jump at the first offer. Employers need to be aware of their competition and find ways to be more attractive to a smaller pool of applicants. 

Good luck and Happy hunting!

Caller ID and smoke alarms and guns...Oh my! New Maryland laws

Maryland laws passed in the 2018 session are set to go into effect October 1, 2018. Most notably gun control laws and an expansion of the Move Over law. 

Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Employers who enforce or attempt to enforce a policy that restricts disclosing sexual harassment shall be liable for the employee’s attorneys fees. Also, on it before July 1, 2020, employers with fifty or more employees must submit a Sexual  Harassment Survey to the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. 

Caller ID Spoofing Ban
The law prohibits masking caller identification information when contacting an individual in Maryland with the intent to defraud, harass, cause harm to, or wrongfully obtain something of value from another. 

Smoke Alarms

All residences in the state were required to switch over from battery-operated smoke alarms to tamper-resistant detectors. Starting Oct. 1, 2018, the state will begin enforcing the law.

Move Over

The Move Over law expands from emergency vehicles to include transportation, service, and utility vehicles, as well as waste and recycling trucks, with yellow or amber flashing lights or signal devices activated.

Gun

Red flag law enables families and law enforcement to ask courts for an order to temporarily restrict firearms from people found to be a risk to themselves or others.

Bump stocks are banned in the state. The devices increase a semi-automatic rifle's firing rate to a facsimile of automatic fire. 

Convicted domestic abusers are required to surrender guns to law enforcement or a firearms dealer.

Check's in the mail

Checking utility payments it was noticed that a certain utility had not received the last payment. The payment had been paid by check and mailed. Partly being old school, partly because online payments incur a “convenience “ fee, and partly because the only way to set up a recurring payment is to allow the utility access directly to your checking account (Not happening),

When I called to check (sorry had to) the problem, of course, I could hear the cliché of you know what being in the mail. Just as I’m sure the customer service rep could as well. But mine really was. Never missed a payment. Never had an issue, until now. All I could be told was that they didn’t receive the payment. Which is what I expected after checking the online account. What I wanted to know?  What was the problem on their end? I was told that there couldn’t be an inquiry unless the payment had been received and not applied to the account. There was no interest in recording a complaint, passing on a note to management, nothing.

I abandoned this tact and focused on the issue at hand, how to correct the missing payment. Once taken care of I thought of how this should have been handled and here we are.

If a decade's old customer called your business complaining of a lost payment, wouldn’t you want to know if there were a problem or potential problem in your accounting? Maybe not theft or misappropriation but just a systemic breakdown that could be easily fixed.

A simple record check would reveal that there has never been an issue with this client in the past. Now while there are a multitude of reasons why someone could miss a payment, someone with a sterling payment record should be given the benefit of the doubt. Depending on the size of the business it would not take long to review the procedures for handling invoices and payments.

After a thorough review, the customer should be re-contacted and informed of the findings. If no issues were found at least the assurance that the matter was taken seriously would be conveyed. The customer could then go about settling the payment.

The basis of the utilities’ investigation consisted of the customer service rep asking me what address I mailed the payment. Which was not a bad question, I guess, except that the answer was the address that is printed on the provided envelope. I was then told to check with the post office. That suggestion wasn’t even met with a reply.

I am sure lots of people try to put one over on utility companies. Rich or poor, whether you can pay or not, everyone needs power and water. Utilities have the option of turning off services for non-payment. Other businesses have usually already provided a product or service and would have to sue for remittance.  If there is a problem with the payment system the problem should not have to be solved by the customer. Even if customers have a history of non-payment complaints of accounting issues should be considered valid and investigated. Why wait until there is an embezzling problem to discover it? 

Regular reviews of systems and procedures should be conducted. Even for small businesses. Most small business operation offices are staffed with only a few people. Some employees wear more than one hat; most are trusted and well known. But therein lies the problem, sometimes. I’ve seen employees clean out smaller companies because they know the systems and where the weaknesses lie. No reviews or inspections are completed until it’s too late.

By the way, the utility apparently found the first payment and cashed it over a month after being mailed. Now I have a credit. WooHoo!

Whose problem?

One of my pet peeves is poor customer service. Not in the sense that the customer is always right, I demand satisfaction. But from a business operation standpoint of how a business handles customer service. 

When you have a problem and make contact with a company representative you don’t want to be punted down the line. The quicker resolution can be made the better for the customer and the company.

I use to believe that the person on the front lines, those dealing with the public either in person or over the phone are the face of the company. They should be able to resolve issues or know the limitations of systems. They should be trained in the issues facing the business. They are put out there by the company they should be empowered to acknowledge the problems, explain what the problems are, and be able to offer some resolution or compensation to the customer to immediately bring a conclusion. Still feel this way to a certain extent but a recent experience softened me to that point of view.

Calling a physician’s office patients are greeted with an automated system that offers several specific choices. There is no talk to a representative option. Pushing zero only causes the system to repeat itself. So, the caller is stuck with choosing one of the options. Having a non-emergency question, I chose that option. Being after closing hours I was greeted by a voicemail box instructing me how to leave a message and that someone will return my call. A message was left. Over 24 hours later no call. I call back and end up in the same voice mail. I decide to defeat the system by choosing an option that is not related to my topic but should land me with a real person. It does. Rightfully so, my issue is not their purview so I am transferred. Eventually, someone picks up.

They apologize for saying they didn’t get my original message. Wanting to make my point about their system, I explain that a message was left and after a little back and forth, I finally realize that I am speaking to a nurse that is trying to help me with my question. She has no idea how the phone system works or who even manages the system. We both apologize. Me for my gruff behavior, her for the system that she didn’t care for either.

This person is on the “front lines” in the sense that she answered the phone. But she had nothing to do with the phone system. This was an office manager’s issue. Sometimes employees are victims of the system. They have no control over it. They are put on the front lines without managerial support.

I’ve learned that empathizing with the front line employee about the issue seems to have a better effect. Engage them in a friendly manner, identify the issue and what a problem it must be for them. I usually find that they are just as frustrated with the situation as the customers. Bringing the issue to light in this manner tends to make the employee more inclined to pass on the customer’s comments to management.

While you may have issues with a sale, billing, or how you were treated you have to realize that the customer service representative is trying to help. Some may be better than others but they are trying to resolve your issue. Sometimes it is hard getting to the right person or a person for that matter. Know with whom you are speaking. Only relate the issue at hand and deal with that. You’ll probably have a much better experience than trying to force the rep to fix the system. 

Refer to the blog archive for other posts about Customer Service.

Family meal night

For this post, I'm taking a break from business topics and back to food. As in past musings about food, it’s more about the experience than the recipe.

We have always made a point to eat as a family for dinner. Breakfasts and lunches are trickier, doing our best when we can. Call us old-fashioned, but it was something that we tried to instill in our children. Having meals together is one of the best times to really talk to each other. Find out what’s happening in each other’s lives. Getting all the schedules to align wasn’t and isn’t always easy. Sometimes meals are early or late to accommodate a family member. Rather than skip or exclude we have tried to make it work.

Most days the conversation is nothing more than the usual “How was your day?” banter. But it is still conversation and usually evolves into something more serious, and sometimes not so serious. It may be only for the duration of the meal, but it allows everyone to take a breath, catch up, and recharge.

The focus on dining together has morphed into special meals and “days”. Sundays have now become family breakfast days. And although some have moved out on their own, they occasionally return for the Sunday specialties. While we each will try a unique breakfast, Sundays have become my wife’s chance to show off and make some special meals.

Pizza night

Friday’s have turned into Pizza night. Having a hankering for cast iron deep-dish pizza I set out making one. It was a hit so the next week I tried a different version of a pizza by making my own dough. The sensation caught on and now we have homemade pizza every Friday we’re home. Each of us takes a different week and comes up with our own creations, from traditional versions to exotic.

Deconstructed meals

The “bowl” options at many fast-casual restaurants have inspired us to make our own bowls at home. Mediterranean, Mexican, Japanese, even Italian, we have deconstructed just about any dish normally served in a wrap or other type of containment. It has become a happy challenge for me and anticipation for the family to see what we can break down. To add to the enjoyment the ingredients are set up in a build your own, assembly line, fashion along the kitchen counter. This allows everyone to get even more creative and adjust the meal to his or her taste.

Burrito bowls have been commercially prepared for years. Nothing new here, just a fun meal in a bowl at home. Shawarma isn’t really “deconstructed” but it is one of our favorites and still fun to build and eat with warm naan bread.

One of our all-time favorites is a deconstructed California roll, which is the bowl featured as the post picture. Made with everything you’d find in the roll such as imitation crabmeat, avocado, cucumber strips, carrots, sesame seeds, and seaweed “chips” as a garnish. I used jasmine rice for its aroma and stickiness.

Nothing here is going to end up on Food Network. This isn’t a panacea that fixes all family problems. It is a family tradition that harkens to childhoods and playing outside until called to supper. Or you heard the dinner bell. Funny thing is, my wife and I both grew up in the same state but in different parts. Not so different that both our families did, in fact, have dinner bells. And we ran when we heard them. Because you had meals as a family. That was that. At that moment in time, you know where everyone is. That everyone is safe.

Check the blog archive for other posts relating to food, meals, and recipes.

Omelet station observations July 2018

Recipe for history December 2017

No autographs, please

Beginning April 14, 2018, some of the major credit card companies eliminated the need to sign receipts, for any amount. American Express, Mastercard, Visa, and Discover had a previous signature requirement for any purchase over $50. The major card companies ended the requirement hoping to expedite customer experience at checkout. Since the announcement, it seems as if every store now has a different requirement at checkout. Some checkouts are as simple as tap and go-some still require a signature.

Signing

Signing the keypads was a holdover from the credit receipt days when your signature acknowledged that you were responsible for the charge. This carried over to the electronic signature pads, which really just became an acknowledgment of the purchase. Even if someone did steal your card they could sign any name. Credit card companies and merchants would use the signature to settle sale disputes, but with advancement, in fraud detection technology they say signatures are no longer necessary. Over the years the need for a signature had become a joke to some. People scribble on signature pads, sometimes with their fingers, illegible signatures or actually write, “This is not my card”, to test cashiers. The truth is, cashiers would rarely look at the back of the cards. With the advent of the keypads, the cards rarely exchanged hands so cashiers could not compare the signatures. Some retailers would ask for ID to compare the customer with the name on the card. This is becoming even rarer.

Why sign the back?

Most cards require a signature on the card to “validate” the card. In an attempt at fraud protection, some customers refuse to sign the card or write, “Ask for ID”.  Sometimes this works, but most of the feedback I’ve heard is the cashier refusing to accept the card. If the card is not signed and is stolen then the thief could use his or her own signature. 

Card signatures are probably moot because the card rarely exchanges hands. Except in the restaurant industry. With all of the fraud protection and level of security awareness, we assume we achieve, a restaurant is still one of the very few places we had our cards to strangers and allows them to walk out of our view.

As fraud detection technology advanced the need for signatures has decreased in the last several years. The implementation of the EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa-Which are the companies that developed the technology) chip and contactless readers has eliminated the need for the signature as these advancements have decreased the use of fraudulent cards. Unlike the magnetic strips, chips protect against hacking as the chips produce a one-time password or token to exchange the card data. Hackers may be able to obtain the information through breaches but it is unlikely they would be able to use the data or it would be too costly to decipher. This is the same technology used when using a Smartphone to pay at a contactless reader.  

Speed speed speed

In reading all the news releases regarding the removal of the signature requirement, the constant theme was speed at the checkout. Banks and merchants want to get customers through the checkout as quickly as possible. This also removes the cashier’s interaction with the customer’s card. The onus is on the “system”, not the cashier to verify the card. What it doesn’t do is verify the identity of the possessor.

Chip technology only proves that the card is real. It does not provide security as to the identity of the possessor. Therefore, if your card is stolen it can still be used until canceled. That is why it is extremely important to report your cards as lost or stolen immediately after discovering such. Some banks offer a mobile feature that allows you to remotely freeze your card until it can be found or verified that it has been lost or stolen.

Banks are experimenting with biometric identification methods to further verify the card’s user. Similar to your Smartphone, fingerprint verification would be needed to approve the transaction. Europeans have been using chip-embedded cards, since 1994. The next step in European credit security will be chip and PIN, which will require users to enter a PIN to verify identity. The same as using a debit card. America had been slow to adopt chip-embedded cards due to the millions of magnetic strips already in use. With the push for speed at checkout, Americans will get use to not having a signature pause and may balk at having to add a PIN to the process.

Retailers will have the decision whether or not to require the signature. Some have already become removing the requirement. Some may be restricted by the hardware used to complete the credit transactions. As point of sale equipment is updated even more merchants will not require signatures.

Until then don’t be shocked if the clerk just smiles and hands you the receipt. Or would you like it emailed?

Refer to the blog archive and categories for more posts about identity theft and fraud.

Omelet station observations

Observations of human nature while at the omelet station. 

While having breakfast at a hotel restaurant I was seated at a table facing the omelet station. The station was set up along long tables/s/ that were configured with a curve. Allowing the chef to access both ends with few steps and little reach. There were no signs but it was obvious, to me at least, which end of the table the finished omelets were being dispensed. The starting point had a varied selection of ingredients and the eggs. The middle section had four portable burners. The end had a stack of plates. The chef would greet each guest at the ingredient end and ask how to prepare the omelet. The chef would fill the pan with the guest’s selection and place the pan on the next available burner to coincide with where the guest was in line. The guest, it was assumed, was to follow the pan throughout the process and pick up the finished omelet at the other end.

Throughout my meal I observed the majority of people respond to the process as described above. A very few waited at the end of the line to place their order but were politely pointed in the correct direction by other guests. My observations were not about how efficient the omelet station worked but how people act and react towards others and stimuli in general.

For the most part, everyone was polite to the chef. A few seemed to have problems with the system or were just, simply, rude. The whole process of receiving your omelet took far less than five minutes. Probably a much shorter time than would take someone to create the same meal at home. Yet, people cannot wait that long. They’d place their order and walk off. Some would go to another food station, make some choices and return. Some would wander off and return with nothing else. The problem is that they would reinsert themselves in a line that had passed them by, causing some consternation from those waiting. Additionally, their leaving the area would mess up the chef’s rhythm. He would complete an order and have no one to hand it to. I’m sure he was not supposed to or would rather not have plated an omelet and leave it to set on the table.

For some reason, a choice of cheese was made at the end of the process as the omelet finished. This caused the chef to have questions about the order. If no one were there he would have to make a decision to add or not add cheese. I saw this happen on one occasion causing the guest to complain and the chef to trash the omelet and start over.

One gentleman was on his phone during the ordering phase and then walked away. As his omelet progressed through the line he returned to the area of the station but did not approach, still on his phone. The chef waited for the man to approach, which he did not. Guessing that the chef did not want to call out across the room, he motioned to get the man’s attention and while that did work the man did not approach or pause his call to address the chef. Couldn’t tell if the final decision was cheese or no cheese.  

Some people tend to have an air of superiority when it comes to the service industry. Whether they were raised in privilege or act that way when they are out, they treat food service workers as their personal servants. Few please and thank yous were provided. Personally, I try to be polite to people handling my food. You should expect to be provided with appropriate service, but ticking off the wait staff before you receive your food may not be wise. These situations seem to bring out the rudimentary manners we were all taught or neglected for basic human interaction.

The main observation was the lack of patience society has developed. Granted this was breakfast at what could be described as a business hotel. People aren’t their best in the mornings to start with, let alone while on business travel. There were no sociological breakthroughs. Just curious as I watched people interact with the chef and each other. Some over complicating a simple process. Some just go with the flow. For the most part, it was a congenial process that sent people off with a made to order hot omelet.