Albert Young just wanted to buy a video cable when he and his wife went to Best Buy a few months ago but they left empty-handed after two cashiers refused to take their cash.

Young was shocked that his attempt to pay cash got rejected. The Honolulu resident had been a regular Best Buy shopper, spending about $6,000 there over the past three years. He doesn't think he'll go back.

He said he stood in line for 10 minutes before a cashier told him that he couldn't accept cash and would need to go back in line. When he reached the next cashier, the same thing happened and he was told to get back in line. When he said he had already waited in line, the clerk responded: "So have the other people." And that's when Young left the item on the counter without buying anything.

We checked with Best Buy at Iwilei and found that Young likely got stuck in a practice that retail stores use to try to shorten lines by having back-up cashiers — who don't have access to cash — help ring up purchases when the store gets busy.

That's the explanation from Best Buy general manager Shawn Troup, who runs the Nimitz location and apologized for the treatment.

But Young found the situation — which happened at the 'Aiea store — both baffling and frustrating.

Troup said that what happened was the result of a practice meant to speed up the lines. He said his company — as well as his former employer, The Home Depot — and other retailers are using more back-up cashiers to help expedite lines.

Young, who is 76, said "I am totally confused that making a cash purchase is not acceptable."

Young said he sent an e-mail to try to find out what the Best Buy policy is and never got a reply.

He admits that he may be old-fashioned in his approach but prefers to shop where employees are friendly and helpful.

Best Buy's Troup was sorry to hear what happened and he said that Young shouldn't have been shuttled around that store. He said the back-up or temporary cashiers usually aren't given a cash drawer because they may only serve as cashiers for a few minutes each day while the regular cashiers all have cash and can make change accordingly.

"Cash will always be king," Troup said.

But that's not what Young found.

When Troup learned of the incident, he said he would like to apologize, offer Young an explanation and likely a small discount on a purchase. Troup said the practice is designed to help, not hinder people in line.

But he said Young should have been referred only once from the back-up cashier and directed to someone who could take cash.

Supermarkets and drugstores have been dealing with similar issues for years and usually mark the lines that have payment restrictions to avoid such confusion. That's why we see "cash only" lines or "credit and debit only" lines.

Troup said his company strives to help people and grow the business with good service. "We're here for the long haul," he said.

If something like this happened to him as a customer, Troup said he would ask to speak to a manager or supervisor and explain what happened.

Young doesn't plan to return to any Best Buy in the future. In the past three years, he felt he'd been a good customer for the store, buying a 50-inch TV for $3,500 two years ago, a camcorder and a monitor last year in California that cost more than $1,000; and a computer and monitor this year for nearly $1,500.

Since the incident earlier this year, he has gone to other stores instead — spending $840 for a laptop for one grandson at an Office Max and $2,000 at the Apple store for another laptop for an older grandson.

"This is not to brag but to emphasize to these big box retailers that they should give more thought to procedures that would have a negative effect on their customers," Young said.