Have you been successful using it anywhere? If not, my next step would be to try to determine whether or not I'm making an NFC connection.
That's two-fold. You must be using a good NFC terminal, and the chip in your phone must be good. I wouldn't trust that just having an NFC terminal means it is turned on. In a large company it might be turned off for all locations without the cashier even knowing it. Ask the cashier if anyone else has been able to use tap and pay or Apple pay. That will help you determine if the store's terminal is functioning correctly. Maybe go to a location that might be more of a sure thing like McDonalds. (I haven't been to one for over a decade, but I would be willing to get something there just to test NFC.)
If the cashier says people have been using it regularly and you still don't connect you might have been stuck with a bad NFC chip in your phone. Good luck!