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She was talking about the coin operated washing machine though, not toll booths, and she can't fit quarters in her wallet, so that doesn't make sense to be 'maximizing your quarters' when you don't have anywhere to put them!
Everyone who does not organize their day around their extra small wallet that will only fit "a single paper bill" and doesn't have one of those coin operated machines on their mind, is not an idiot...
Ever think people just like to complain, to make themselves feel superior?
I can't remember the last time a cashier counted my change back.
When I've counted out loud-to double check the money shoved into my hand-- the cashier? Mystified..
I've had one cashier, on two occasions when I went to the store, not count the change she put her drawer, throw it all in there, and then claim I gave her the wrong amount. How would she know since she didn't count it? I would have paid with a debit or credit card, but this store doesn't take them. Which is even more irritating, since they apparently can't handle cash correctly.
I've had one cashier, on two occasions when I went to the store, not count the change she put her drawer, throw it all in there, and then claim I gave her the wrong amount. How would she know since she didn't count it? I would have paid with a debit or credit card, but this store doesn't take them. Which is even more irritating, since they apparently can't handle cash correctly.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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I pay with cash for most things, including groceries. The cashiers I deal with can not count the money I give them, even when it is exact change. It is actually scary.
If I give the cashier a mix of bills, it will completely confuse him/her. They forget what they're counting, they separate the bills into piles (that don't make sense, btw), they shuffle and recount--it is mind-boggling.
If I use $50 dollar bills, the world comes to a complete stop. For example, if my bill is $150 and I give them 1 $50 + 4 $20s + 2 $10s, there is utter confusion. I tried to match a $50 to a $10 so that it is an even $60 so they can begin counting with an even number; however, they will take the $10 out and rearrange the bills and confuse themselves. I have taken to counting the money directly into their hand, but that only helps part of the time.
I think OP is expecting a bit much from a cashier. Cashiers aren't bank tellers.
You probably just got her off guard. People don't think well when they're put on the spot. It might of been her first time that a customer was picky with his/her change. On top of doing the simple math, they're also asking "why does she want to do it this way?". As well as "why does she just want 5 back? Aren't there supposed to be cents involved?" All the while there is usually a line behind the first person, and she feels pressured, so she defaulted to her usual way of business. She probably had a long day at a job she hates, and may not be the smartest person in the world. And smart people have brain fog all the time.
It's happened to me, and I attribute it to brain fog. Cashiers are supposed to check you out, not do math for you so you can get the TYPE of change YOU want. Might not be a big deal for somebody one time with a fresh brain, but after 7 hours you have to forgive people for not being calculators.
She was talking about the coin operated washing machine though, not toll booths, and she can't fit quarters in her wallet, so that doesn't make sense to be 'maximizing your quarters' when you don't have anywhere to put them!
Everyone who does not organize their day around their extra small wallet that will only fit "a single paper bill" and doesn't have one of those coin operated machines on their mind, is not an idiot...
Ever think people just like to complain, to make themselves feel superior?
I wasn't trying to imply anyone was an idiot, only that where the practice makes sense and is common, cashiers do typically know how to round up when making change. With the ubiquitousness of credit card readers, though, very few people use cash any longer, which limits opportunities to make change, which is simply a skill. People who do things routinely are typically faster and more accurate than those who do them rarely. It's not an indication that anyone is dumb, simple that they're not well-practiced.
You do realize that doing this kind of math is pretty much obsolete, that it's not a skill set that gets used very often any more?
I doubt very much this is taught in school beyond perhaps a quick unit in elementary school that no kid today remembers or uses. My kids were allowed to use calculators in math classes starting in middle school and that's been a good fifteen years ago at least.
Right or wrong that's just how it is and it's silly to me to blame kids for not being proficient in a skill they have no need to use.
I know what you are saying but we still do use cash in our society. One day maybe not but for now we do. Do you mean that the kids today do not know how to count the money in their wallets because they don't have a calculator handy Do they just randomly hand a cashier all the bills in their wallet and say take what you need because they can't count See we still do need to know the basics...for now.
Just teasing you. I know they are not taught like we were and very few can count "back" change....but they still need to know how to count.
Huh? I worked my way through college as a cashier (eons ago), and people rounded up to the nearest quarter all the time. Back in the stone age, when vending machines did not take credit cards, quarters were very convenient. Today, I imagine anyone living near a cash toll road would also find it handy to have a few quarters and probably does the same thing. I also imagine cashiers in the vicinity of toll roads are familiar with the practice and can do it easily.
Wow, you worked as a cashier eons ago. Well, I didn't work as a cashier "eons ago" but I worked in retail. And I'm telling you that the practice of customers giving extra change was to minimize the amount of change on transactions in which they'd be getting well over 80, 90 cents of change back. It was never, ever created for the other reasons that some of these people are thinking, of methodically calculating what type of change they get back. I don't know how it is elsewhere in the country but in NYC, if customers pull out a $5 or $10 bill to pay something that cost something like, $5.03 cents, the cashiers will instantly ask them, "Do you have five cents? Do you have ten cents?"
Not saying that this is anyone's intent, but if I saw a customer coming into a store constantly pulling this thing of, "Let me pay you an extra dollar on a purchase so I can get back 4 $1 bills and change instead of 3 $1 bills in change," I would think they were being passive aggressive or having fun at the cashier's expense or something.
Last edited by EastFlatbush; 01-07-2018 at 12:10 PM..
I stopped doing this.... too many people were confused. I used to do it all the time. I have also handed people pennies when things were $1.79 (and I paid $2.04). They usually try to give me the pennies back. Like I gave them too much money.
I guess kids no longer have those cash register toys. And they don't play the bank game. Or even have piggy banks. I guess they have an allowance app or something.
What do those have to do with counting back change? My preschoolers had a cash register toy. They never learned how to make change with it, at the age of 3.
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Do they just randomly hand a cashier all the bills in their wallet and say take what you need because they can't count
