A snapshot of lost patience (mine) and lost business (a major local retailer):

Two of us are making a variety of purchases today for a newspaper promotion. We're using my company credit card for ease of billing. We've run up a fair amount of charges by the time we get to one of our stops, at which we select a $200 item.

My card runs through the machine and the clerk says it has not been approved.

"Can't be," I said. "Try it again."

He does. Same result.

Maybe I exceeded the limit, I thought. So my colleague tries his credit card - same carrier. It, too, was disapproved.

"Have you used the card here before?," the clerk asked. "Sometimes this happens and we have to call."

"No thanks," I said, not able to hide my exasperation.

So we departed the store having not made the $200 purchase.

On to the next store we went. We found the same item. My card cleared with no problem and we completed our purchase.

I wonder how many other sales the one store is losing due to what appears to be a credit card system that's both inefficient and inaccurate?