You Can Fail a Job Application?

I needed a job. I had been a stay-at-home mom and operated a child-care business in my home for 14 years, but that came to a halt one day in the fall of 2000.
I was a single mother left with sort of an empty nest, no income and three children to support.
I decided to go to the local shopping mall to look for a job. After all, the mall is the place where all the hip, cool people work and hang out. I went from store to store, choosing the ones where I thought it would be fun to work.
One place I chose to apply, a major department store (we wont' mention any names, JCP), requires you to fill out your application on a computer. This application asks dozens of questions, such as: “If you have a problem with a customer, what would you do?” The multiple-choice offerings went something like this: A) Call your supervisor. B) Call a co-worker. C) Call your mother. D) Tell them too bad and to go home. (Well, I might be exaggerating a little.)
I went to the receptionist to let her know I was finished. She punched her keyboard and brought up my results. Job applications have results?
Apparently they do these days. And apparently they’re pass/fail. She told me I’d failed the application.
Had I known about this application/examination, maybe I could’ve studied, prepared for it. I was shocked, thinking, “How can you fail a job application?” What happened
to the old-fashioned, “We’ll review your application get back to you” or “We don’t have any openings at this time” or “Don’t call us, we’ll call you”?
I think the woman behind the counter could see the surprised look on my face and told me I could reapply in 30 days, or she could give me the handwritten version right then. I told her I’d come back another time.
I thought about it a while and wasn’t sure how to react. It’s tough for people who have been homemakers for years to get back into the job market, but I was sure these things could be taught.
Every employer has its own way of running things, and those things must be taught on the job, not asked on a questionnaire — excuse me — job application. This method probably gave a failing grade to many potentially good employees, discouraging them. I would do my best for them, but I guess they want ‘correct’ responses even though there were no absolute answers.
Not to worry. I proceeded down the mall and stopped at a few small shops to fill out more applications. I ended that day before noon at another major department store, where I filled out one last application. It was a real sheet of paper with an ink pen. I turned it in, ran an errand or two, and was home in time for lunch.
I went into the kitchen to check my answering machine as soon as I walked in the door. It was blinking. It was the last store I’d visited asking me to call to set up an interview.
Within days, they offered me a full-time position. (Apparently, I passed this application). I made the Top 10 in sales several times in the short time I worked there before moving on to work in the newspaper business. I guess the old saying is true, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
It’s still beyond me how someone can fail a job application, but this time, it was their loss.