I don’t want to have to say this but alas, I have to say it. We are aware of some recent Parks theft that spans both members and leadership. There are cameras that can see when people don’t pay or when people pretend to pay.
This serves as a reminder that any theft from Parks will be handled the same as any other theft and may result in people being suspended or banned from DMS.
I’ll fess up to having gotten a drink wed. 10/2 and forgetting to pay while talking to Tim. But I realized it a few minutes later and went back with the bottle and paid.
Is DMS pursuing the instances you mention as theft? I ask because you say your post is a reminder, and that such actions will be considered theft, and handled as such. If it is not being pursued as theft, why not?
Also worth noting the card reader has recently changed from swipe to chip. I caught myself not paying a week ago as I normally hear the beep and assume I am good. The error/declined beep is the same as past paid beep fwiw.
I helped another member who thought it wasn’t taking their card for the same reasons, and they had no idea it had switched to chip.
PCI (Payment Card Industry, an influential trade group) standards are gradually forcing merchants towards chip payments for reasons of liability. Chip cards aren’t as durable as magnetic stripes, thus near the end of their lives the chip often doesn’t work consistently (or at all). Pretty much every EMV (chip) reader I’ve come across will accept a mag swipe after the third read failure on the chip.
I kinda had that issue but just used a different card. Then I later figured out it was looking for the chip.
Due to the card reader issue, we are not pursuing it, but will going forward.
I had to do it a couple of times to get the chip to work and there was not an obvious indication of the time it didn’t. not until I had inserted the chip did it tell me the swipe had failed. I can see why someone mite innocently fail to pay.
Shouldn’t this thread be visible by the general public?
Does the general public use our Parks system without being escorted by a member?
My observation is that once they are inside, they have the run of the front of the building.
It is not practical to escort all of the non-member visitors…
So far we have only seen members do it. I dont think non members are afforded any warnings regarding theft. They are just tossed and banned from ever coming back. It is fine to put this in public.
Thanks for clarifying.
There was at least once where I swiped my card and heard the beep, but I was talking to someone/not paying attention and the card approved message disappeared before I could see it. I re-scanned my soda and swiped again to make sure my card worked and just grabbed 2 sodas. This was like a month ago.
I had the red lights of death flash at me when I pressed cancel because it wouldnt accept my swipe. Didnt dawn on me it was due to the chip. I turned to the camera and did my best mime job to lead the path back to the fridge to show I was putting it away. Then I begrudgingly got myself some fountain water instead.
Not directed at you specifically @Edenblue, but a general comment. While we don’t want to tolerate theft, it shouldn’t be the default assumption that an attempt to pay was intentionally a deception. The burden should be on the vendor to ensure their equipment works.
No one has mentioned it but the LAST thing the system does is prompt you if you want a receipt. EVERY TIME. So don’t play coy. If it didn’t prompt you, you didn’t pay.
We have seen people pantomime paying as well. It’s not just an assumption of the intention
In those cases, I completely agree with you.