California Redemption Yahoo

It just took me about 20 minutes to check out at the supermarket. I had gone just to pick up a few things. Nothing special. Bread, water, soda. That type of stuff.

I had forgotten that it's the night before Labor Day, one of those days traditionally set aside for barbecuing. So every single person in Los Angeles was in Albertson's buying hot dog buns. Every single person. I used to think LA was a health-conscious kind of city, but judging from the amount of hot dog buns being purchased at Albertson's tonight, Angelinos regularly consume more nitrates than tailgaters on Opening Day at Lambeau Field.

So, the guy in front of me in line, this tall, lanky, Indian guy, he's buying hot dogs, hot dog buns, sodas, beer and some kind of fruity body wash. I figured, clearly, he's having a BBQ tomorrow, and either wants to smell very nice or is running a girlfriend-related errand. Whatever.

Unfortunately, this is a man who has never before in his life been introduced to the concept of CRV. For those of you not from the Golden State, C.R.V. stands for California Redemption Value. Basically, in California, you can redeem recyclable cans for 5 cents per can. The state gets that money directly from the companies that manufacture the sodas - they pay 5 cents or so for every can they produce to the state to compensate recyclers.

What this means is, when you buy sodas, a small charge is added on to reflect the amount the retailer had to pay for CRV. If you buy a 12-pack, you pay a little CRV for every can inside.

Anyway, this douchebag doens't know about CRV, obviously. He was upset because a sign announced Coca-Cola at 2 packs for $6, and he was being charged a bit more. A very little bit. On 6 12-packs, it added up to around $6. And there was a long line forming behind him.

He continued to insist that he should only have to pay the stated amount on the sign, and that this sign should always incorporate any extra charges. Never mind the fact that supermarket price signs always do feature the words (plus tax and CRV). I have no idea why, but this man wanted to throw a hissy fit and hold everyone up.

And the clerk, being a very patient soul, kept indulging him.

"Well, sir, you see, CRV, or California Redemption Value, it's a system that..."

"I don't care what it's for! The sign says 2 for $6!"

"But, sir, that's without sales tax and CRV."

"What is this CRV you keep saying?"

"CRV, or California Redemption Value...It's a system that..."

"I don't care what it does! The sign says 2 for $6!"

And it just went on like that. Plus, he insisted he was being overcharged for the body wash.

So it was about 20 minutes until the very reasonable and patient Albertson's employees were able to calm the man down and drill the idea of CRV into his head forcefully. I would have used an actual drill, but they seemed content to just repeat themselves several times.

I wonder if that's something supermarket checkers go through all the time - guys who don't understand CRV charges. Maybe it's a regular thing, and that checker will go into the break room later and start to tell his co-workers the story, and they'll tune him out because they've heard that one a dozen times already.