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Why should cashiers have math skills on demand? Cashiers are not human calculators, they operate cash registers and barcode scanners to facilitate monetary transactions. It is the cash register itself that is saddled with the duty of making mathematical calculations.
And the reason the automatic cash register (a device well over 100 years old, thousands of years of you consider the abacus) was invented was for the very purpose of removing human error in making mathematical calculations.
(Note, I am just playing devil's advocate here. I think everyone in any occupation should be able to make change, but as someone else pointed out, the cashier was probably simply off guard. Doing mental math calculations is not the normal duty of a modern cashier.)
Last edited by ABQConvict; 01-11-2018 at 02:31 PM..
My pet peeve (it was mentioned earlier) is when I get bills first then change on top. Really? What numbskull trains people to do this? Every time this happens to me I explain to them why they should give coins first. Some actually seem to listen. A lesser number seem to comprehend what I'm telling them.
I always put the coins on top. My thinking is the weight keeps the bills from falling. What is the rationale of your way? Maybe the coins don't slide off? Either way, I don't think either way makes someone a numbskull. Give me a break.
True story. Today one of our cashiers ( all of our cashiers are between 50& 65 where I work) came to me regarding the purchase of a leather chair she was interested in. The chair was priced at $69.99, and we offered 20% off furniture today. The cashier could not figure out how much she would have to pay, and I was honestly aghast. I asked her what 10% of 70 was, and it took her a couple of minutes to figure it out. But she did, so I told her to double it and subtract what she got from $69.99. Obviously, math issues did not start with the current generation.
Obviously, math issues did not start with the current generation.
Certainly not, our schools have been doing a bad job for a long time now. And as embarrassing as the general person's math skills are in this country, nothing compares to their insanely poor knowledge of general geography
Cashiers have more to worry about than counting back change correctly or finding x and never asking y it is necessary. They are concerned about their drawer balancing out at the end of their shift. In my day, if you came up short you made up the difference. Most jobs do not have that worry. As I said, everyone ought to work as a cashier or server OR at least dealing with the public day in and day out. Cashiers and servers have no power in their jobs. Between customers and managers they are in between two "bricks". Now, a counter clerk at a motor vehicle office or drivers license office have great power. I worked at a MVD office and you would be interested in the payback potential for a rude customer. Things can go into a black hole of bureaucracy easily. But then an irritated serve can spit in your food too.
True story. Today one of our cashiers ( all of our cashiers are between 50& 65 where I work) came to me regarding the purchase of a leather chair she was interested in. The chair was priced at $69.99, and we offered 20% off furniture today. The cashier could not figure out how much she would have to pay, and I was honestly aghast. I asked her what 10% of 70 was, and it took her a couple of minutes to figure it out. But she did, so I told her to double it and subtract what she got from $69.99. Obviously, math issues did not start with the current generation.
Which brings me back to my first post about my experience with the 10% off coupon with the grocery store cashier...
The trick is counting the number of zero's in the discount if it is a factor of 10, then moving the decimal the corresponding number, either left or right, according to the calculation performed. To the left for percent off.
If the discount is a factor of 5, just take 1/2 of the 10% amount, and either subtract or add that amount to or from the 10% discount amount to get the final discount price.
This should cover most discounts, which are either factors of 5 or 10. (When was the last time you saw a discount for 18% off an item?)
Example using the situation above:
For a discount of 15% off the retail price of $69.99:
1. Move the decimal one place to the left in $69.99 for 10% discount = $6.99
2. Take 1/2 of $6.99 = $3.50 (rounding up)
3. Add $6.99 (10% off) + $3.50 (5% off) = $10.50 for total of 15% off $69.99
4. Final price: $69.99 - $10.50 = $59.50 (rounded)
For a discount of 5%:
1. Move the decimal one place to the left in $69.99 for 10% off = $6.99
2. Take 1/2 of $6.99 = approx. $3.50
3. Subtract $3.50 (5% off) from $6.99 (10% off) = $3.50 for total of 5% off $69.99
4. Final price: $69.99 - $3.50 = $66.50 (rounded)
I do this all the time mentally, as part of routine retail shopping, as did many folks of my generation and older who did not have access to smartphones, internet, and such. I think it gave many of us a better instinctive feel for simple math, due to a frequent need to apply it mentally to everyday activities. I imagine if I grew up with instant calculator access via a smartphone, my metal calculation skills would be much weaker.
What's funny is that many countries, such as England, display the discount number as the final price you will be paying, NOT the price you will be deducting off your item. So, a 70% sign is the final amount you will pay for the item, and not 70% off the original price. Found that to be an interesting retail cultural quirk.
Here sales tax is about 10% so my kids can already add about 10% to almost any price. They end up off by a few pennies on large purchases. It's all part of the "will my allowance cover it?" game.
This does not reflect, however, on their math scores. The 10% is a party trick. The reality is, critical thinking is as rare as ever, and if I ask the little one to do 12%, she will be flummoxed. Maybe she could figure it out? But it would take some prodding.
I learned to call up license numbers. I could glance at a car and then "reconstruct" the plate number in my head.
You might want to try a different approach to the algebra. I was so fortunate that when I was in community college, I had a teacher who could explain the math different ways. He would make the standard explanation and everyone but me would understand it. Then he'd see my expression and explain it a different way and I'd be "I can understand that!" and the rest of the class would sit there totally confused.
Math is a very linear subject. If you're not a linear person, it's going to be difficult. If someone gives you directions and you find it easier to look at a map instead of reading directions, you're not linear. I put dollhouses together strictly by the pictures and what I see in front of me - I also have great spatial perception. But don't even think of asking me to read written instructions and understand those. Not in my genes.
A little more off topic, if you really want to get into algebra, I recommend the text book Beginning Algebra by Lial and Miller. My version is copyrighted from 1980, so I don't know if it's changed in the newer versions. But the book has lots of easy to understand examples, large print, colored type, and answers to half the problems in the back. In other words, a kiddie book and right up my alley.
The other thing is you have to use your algebra every day and I do use it, when comparing prices per pound when shopping and some of the COL/minimum wage situations I've posted here. Do that often enough and it'll stick.
Thanks. I might look up that book.
You will be amused to know that I will be 60 later this year. I made a career for myself despite my lack of a college degree, retired with a sufficient public pension, and have been working part-time for the past two years. But it has always bugged me that I was unable to master algebra, and it's something I have in the back of my mind to accomplish in retirement.
Why should cashiers have math skills on demand? Cashiers are not human calculators, they operate cash registers and barcode scanners to facilitate monetary transactions. It is the cash register itself that is saddled with the duty of making mathematical calculations.
And the reason the automatic cash register (a device well over 100 years old, thousands of years of you consider the abacus) was invented was for the very purpose of removing human error in making mathematical calculations.
(Note, I am just playing devil's advocate here. I think everyone in any occupation should be able to make change, but as someone else pointed out, the cashier was probably simply off guard. Doing mental math calculations is not the normal duty of a modern cashier.)
I don't even know if it's math skills as much as knowledge of currency.
But at any rate, the OP's original frustration was over the cashier not comprehending that instead of taking the 15 cent change, the OP was asking for a quarter by providing a dime to add to the 15 cents.
I still think that's something that should not be a problem for someone with a basic understanding of arithmetic and US currency.
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