Count Your Change! OT

[JerseyHarold]

Four times in the last three weeks gas station and food counter personnel have tried to short-change me. Each time, I calmly pointed out what I owed, the amount I handed them, and the correct amount of change I was supposed to get. Every issue was resolved without a word of protest.

My take is that these situations are on the increase due to the state of the economy today.

Just putting this out there so others don't get fleeced.

Harold

[oldmopar]

I have not had any problem that I know of and chances are you I may be going to the same places. But hard times and the low pay given to people in service type jobs could be the problem or maybe people working 2 jobs to get by.

[steveplym]

I was thinking the same thing as you Shel. I've had problems where the total is say $6.25, I hand the counter person a $10 bill and a $1 bill, with .25 cents. They look at me and go "what?". I explain I want a $5 bill back, not 3 $1 bills and .75 cents. Then they understand, I guess.

Some people are just careless as they get busy.

[PatS....]

In the last 10 years, I have encountered ONE person who can count change properly, ONE.

The rest have no idea what they are doing...if the cash register doesn't TELL them how much change is due, they are bewildered. Even then, they are challenged when required to COUNT the change to be sure it's right.

I was taught the reverse count method where, if the price is $5.50, and I'm given a $20, I say "5.50", give 50 cents, say "$6", give $4, say "$10", then give a $10 and say "and ten makes 20"

These days they simply give you a pile of change precariously balanced on the bills without counting or even saying how much is in the pile...because the really have no clue what they are doing.

You have to watch very closely to prevent being ripped off by stupidity!!

[mackster]

It has happened to me twice in two months. . . I now keep my eye on them counting, then I count it again. . . I even got foreign coins once or twice. just got ripped off by a few cents, but I look for that too now.( maybe Im cheap!)

[BobT-47P15]

I had to learn to count change back in the 1950s when working in the family

clothing store. No electronic cash registers then, even a mechanical adding

machine. The most confusing thing was when someone would put in the

odd few cents so they could get back a dollar bill rather than coins. At first,

before I got the hang of it, the customer would help me

out if I seemed confused. Was in a small town here in MO.

The main place I've noticed that counts your change back is WalMart.

Otherwise, they just depend on the register to tell them what change to

give. A few of them do say "your change is $1.34" or whatever as they

hand it to you. You can do the math in your head while they are entering

the sale and giving change....to make sure it's correct.

[Norm's Coupe]

To be honest, I rarely count the change if it's coins. I usually just drop it in my pocket until I get home, then throw it in a jar anyway. I never have any coins in my pocket when I first leave the house. I do count the bills as they are given back to me. But.........there again, I've even stopped carrying singles in my pocket. A dollar won't get you far, and if you keep them in your wallet or pocket, it makes a big wad. So.........lately have been doing the same with those as I do with the coins. When we get a bunch of coins or singles we just turn them into the bank.

[Norm's Coupe]

Have never had anyone at Wal-Mart count my change back, but really have not had a problem there. If they punch in what you give them it is not difficult to do what the register tell them.

Most times I don't dig around looking for change to make things come out even. If buying just a couple of cheap items I will pull out the change to cover the tax. its annoying to wait in line while someone digs around in a purse or a pocket looking for change when there other customers in line. Sometimes its a "tag team" effort. Hun, do you have 3 pennies? I have a dime and a quarter. I don't want to get anymore change. This is after digging for a while.

I get it at work. Some are ready with the change. Others, its the same thing every time. How much is that? $.42 with a smile, while thinking, same as the other 3 times this week, and the same as the 160 other times you have been in to buy one stamp at a time for the last 10 months.

Shel,

Don't you have a self service stamp machine in the lobby at your branch? At our local branch if you just want a book of stamps, or just one, you can use the machine in the lobby without standing in line. It takes bills and debit/credit cards too. There's even a scale in the lobby so the customer can weigh his own mail/package and then buy the postage from the self service machine. I've never used the machine my self though because I always buy postage by the roll. Like you say the price is always the same (baring price increases), so I just make out a check prior to going to the post office for what I need.

[RobertKB]

A lot of younger people today have trouble making change unless they have a calculator handy. I usually just tell them what it will be if they don't have a register that will do it for them. They sometimes want to know how I did that. I just say, When I went to school there were no calculators so you either did it on paper or in your head. I then tell them that your brain is a calculator. When I get that stare that means are you crazy, I just leave.

[TodFitch]

Its annoying to wait in line while someone digs around in a purse or a pocket looking for change when there other customers in line. Sometimes its a "tag team" effort. Hun, do you have 3 pennies? I have a dime and a quarter. I don't want to get anymore change. This is after digging for a while.

Not just with cash. Most check out lines are equipped with ATM/credit card readers that allow you to swipe your card and enter your PIN as soon as the clerk starts the transaction. My wife and I "tag team" at the grocery store: She pre-enters the ATM and PIN, I bag the groceries (no baggers in local stores any more so the clerk is supposed to do both). Only a second or two after the last item is scanned we are paid, packed and out of there.

But there is always someone in line ahead of us who waits until the clerk finishes then finally opens their purse and starts to look for a card (or cash) looking like they were not expecting to have to pay. At the very least they could have either their card or their cash ready. Its not like they shouldn't know the general procedure, its the same in almost all stores.

[Captain Neon]

I try to take into consideration how much inflation has decreased the value of our currency. People scream bloody murder about $2.50/gal gasolene and comment about how gasolene was only 25 cents when our P15s were new. However, due to inflation, the US dollar's purchasing power is 4% to 10% of what it was when we backed our currency with precious metals. Premium gasolene for less than $2/gal is a bargain when taking that into consideration, esp. when one realises that the gasolene in 1946 was about 70 octane by the modern (R+M)/2 method used in the States currently.

Yes, a 42 cent stamp to mail a birthday card to my sister in California is a bargain. When I lived in Minnesota, our local Post Office had a sign reminded checque writers to have them filled out (with only the amount left blank) before they got to the counter. Those not performing this courtesy were moved to the back of the line.

I can empathise with any one that gets stuck behind a slow payer at the cash register. I also get annoyed with those using public assistance. Depending on the state and the situation, one person may use three different payment methods and they all need to be separated out and that only slows things down slower. First the WIC items, then the state welfare program, and then the cigarettes, booze, and juncque food they pay for with their own money.

I think stores should have a special lane for foodstamps just like an Express Lane. This, however, would be a slower lane, but the checquer would actually be well-experienced w/ the foodstamp programmes and not running off all the time to get guidance from a supervisor or manager. I am going to guess, however, that it is considered "discrimination" to require those using public assistance to have a special lane.