And then a year ago I opened a Macy's charge card (it was a good idea because I was buying some expensive luggage and got a discount by opening the account). I got the bill and paid the entire balance online. Macy's online even said that my checking account would be debited on such and such date… and it was. So far so good. I was impressed that Macy's knew how many days (I think it was 2 days) it would take to hit my account, so I was feeling pretty good about them.

So with my newfound faith in Macy's, a week or ten days later I went to buy some underwear or something. I used my new Macy's card and it was declined. It turned out that my payment to Macy's (which had been debited from my checking account a week earlier by Macy's) had not posted to my Macy's account. They (the store clerk had Macy's credit dept on the phone at that point) claimed it took 14 days for credits to post to customers' accounts. Their solution? For me to pay the entire balance (again) at the cashier's register so I could make another purchase. I just looked at the clerk and calmly told him that I would never set foot in Macy's again, that they had lost a customer. I then walked out of the store. I'm not sure where I found the willpower to keep from telling them to go to hell.

What's amazing is the Macy's is owned by the same people who own Bloomingdales and I've NEVER had a problem with Bloomies.