Dollar General

I come here whenever I stop at La Scarpetta next door, since the only thing that gets garlicky pizza out of the mouth is gum, and they have gum.
Dollar General is, first and foremost, NOT a «dollar store». If you’ve never been here or somehow never heard of the place, DG is a chain of «discount stores» that sells household goods, soft drinks, snacks, and everything in between. Some of the prices are actually pretty good, others are so-​so. If you’re a weirdo like me and enjoy shaving with an old fashioned double-​edged safety razor, they sell 5 packs of blades here for a buck — pretty good if you need some in a hurry.
The bad news is that this location could use a little help. First off, while not really «dingy», the joint COULD use a fresh coat of paint and maybe some new flooring, it’s a little on the dirty side. Also, either they’re continuously restocking shelves or I go during the worst times, because without fail there will *always* be a stocking cart full of merchandise in at least 1 isle, with nobody unloading it. On top of that, the POS system here must be a real p.o.s. alright, because without fail I’ll be stuck in a «line» of 3 – 4 people that somehow manages to take several minutes to go through. People who are buying 5 items, tops, and it always somehow becomes an ordeal with a manger running over to clear the register out or fix a price, etc.
All this could be forgiven if not for my latest discovery. A dreaded $ 1 «Convenience fee» for requesting cash back on my debit card purchase. I didn’t buy a ton of merchandise this trip, I’ll admit — about $ 5.50 worth, and that was only because I felt bad when I realized I had an empty wallet with which to buy a $ 1 pack of gum. Still, debit transactions cost far less to a retailer than credit, and it’s a real slap in the face to get banged for a dollar just for getting cash back. It’s made even worse by the fact that my bank reimburses me for all ATM fees, so I could have just walked next door and used the ATM for free. I think I’ll be buying my gum from 7 – 11 from now on, or possibly eating something with less garlic. No, definately the first thing.