I am sure most Americans hate being asked if they would like to save an additional x percent by opening a enter über retail chain here credit card account. I know that when I worked retail, offering credit cards and service protection plans were the bane of my existence and a large part of why I am never rude to someone offering them to me.
Today, at our local Target, an elderly couple purchased $80 or so worth of children's clothes for a grandchild or great grandchild. Then, just as the screen prompted him, the cashier asked if they would like to open a credit card account. Now, I do not know exactly what was going through their mind, but they said yes. A whole eight dollars (10 percent off the total) was worth it to them to go ahead with it. They were slightly confused when it turned out that they had to fill out a form and complete the verification process through the pin-pad card reader.
Never mind by this point the four open lanes were backed up six deep from the post-church crowd. So we spent an extra 10 minutes standing in line, waiting for the "amazing" card reader to tell them of their credit card fate. I am still not completely sure if they realized that they signed up for a credit card or if they thought the young cashier was offering them a real money-saving value. Either way, I had a hockey game to go watch on television and a less than usual amount of patience.
And people wonder why we are a nation riddled with debt.