So I've been hearing on Facebook and from many CVS-goers that many of the CVS cashiers have been pressing a button to skip the option to donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and ALS Therapy Alliance. After seeing it for myself the other day when they skipped the option for my Mom to donate, it has been running through my head what I would have said if it were me. Then, to the misfortune of that particular CVS cashier, it did happen to me.
I had run into CVS to get myself a giant gatorade since I was wicked dehydrated from my run that morning. I went to pay with my card and I was excited that the first thing to come up was a prompt to donate $1.00 or $2.00 (or "No Thanks") for ALS/CFF. As I picked up the pen to select $1.00, the screen disappeared. Knowing full well that the cashier had skipped it, I played innocent (although my little fantasy saw myself as a lot more angry...). I said, "Hey! Where did the screen go to donate?" The cashier appeared flustered and said "Oh... Uh..." to which I helped her out by saying "Did you skip past it?"
She then muttered "Well yeah, because a lot of people get frustrated and don't want to donate." I then smiled at her and said "Awwww. You shouldn't skip past it. I have cystic fibrosis.... and they actually need all the money they can get right now. It's a good cause." She quickly realized that this transaction was going to be one of the most awkward she's had and continued making excuses for the entire time it took for me to pay. After punching in the donation, she went on and on about how people get so angry that it prompts you to donate and that they are constantly making excuses not to. While this seems reasonable, it was NOT an excuse for her to skip past the option.... because there IS the option to say NO.... let the person decide, because maybe, just maybe, they will select the option TO donate. I smiled and said "Well, I think the money this raises is worth that little bit of frustration."
It was very disheartening knowing that these cashiers are skipping that option in at least two of the stores in my area. If only a quarter of the people who walked into those CVS stores donated a dollar, it would really add up along with donations from stores across the country. But no one is getting the chance to unless they speak up... and even if they do the cashier has to go back and put the donation in after the fact. Its also disheartening that SO many people are getting fed up with this donation prompt that it is forcing them to skip past it. What is so hard about pressing one little button on a screen before paying for your purchase... even if that button is simply "No thanks" because you've already donated or because you don't have the money to donate.
I'm the type of person who gladly hands over a dollar whenever I'm asked. Whether its for Make-a-Wish, an animal shelter, Ronald McDonald House, American Cancer Society, etc. IT'S ONLY A DOLLAR, and as long as I know its a cause that is legitimate and needs the money, then the dollar is justified. And sure, those dollars add up if you donate every time, but so does the coffee you buy every morning, the pack of gum you throw in with your purchase, and the soda or beer you get with your meal. That dollar is going to something worthwhile, and if so many people are willing to throw their money into something that will be gone in a half hour or a week.... then why aren't people willing to throw their money into something that has the potential to change lives.... to SAVE lives? Now I'm not saying that everyone reading this blog should donate each and every time they are asked, because I understand that not everyone has the means to. But if you do... then I ask you to look inside yourself and ask what's stopping you?
The main reason I wrote this blog though, is to get the word out about what CVS cashiers are some how getting away with. PLEASE share this blog post on your facebook, twitter, e-mail, etc. If you care at all about ALS research or CF Research, then speak up... please. If enough people get cashiers to give EVERYONE the option to donate... there will be the possibility of SO much more money. Let them know that assuming no one wants to donate isn't okay. Let them know that CF and ALS are illnesses that need money for research. And if you aren't the type of person to tell random cashiers what to do (like me)... then at the very least, ask them if you can donate. Every little bit helps.
