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Customer asks for a cigar that sells for $1.29 and comes to $1.37 with tax.
He hands me a handful of change and rushes out the door. This happens a lot.
I am remarkably fast as counting change just by looking, and he handed me $1.24. I hurry out the door behind him, and approach his driver's door. He sees me coming and rolls down his window.
"You are 13 cents short. This is only $1.24,"
"Really?" He makes a show of searching his center console. "I haven't got it."
I stare at him for a moment, but he seems to feel this has brought things to a conclusion.
"You are going to feel really stupid explaining to the other guys in jail that you are in for thirteen cents."
"You'd do that?"
"Stealing is stealing. Thirteen cents or four hundred dollars, it's all the same."
He seems unmoved.
"Either pay for what you took or give it back, and I'll give you your $1.24."
"You'd call the police over thirteen cents?"
"Pay for what you took or give it back."
At this point he gets out of his car and returns to the store, ... to start asking other customers to give him thirteen cents.
"Welcome to being an adult: you are expected to pay for the things you want."
"Stop talking to me."
Someone gave him a quarter and he gave it to me and told me to keep the change.
I just love how thieves want to act like I am the one being a jerk for calling them on it.
This was an odd combination of frightfully common happenings: Most folks who short change me and book out the door actually DO have the money. Most folks who beg off other customers because they are short do so at the register. (There are also the folks who will beg off other customers because they don't want to break a bill, but that's another story.) And most folks expressing incredulity that I might call the police over being shortchanged haven't actually taken the product yet.
In retrospect, when he first said "I don't have it" I should have gotten his plate number and called the police. But I didn't have a pen or my phone, because I had to hurry to catch him.
In other news, I recently appeared to testify against a guy who stuck a bottle of wine down his pants twice in one night. He got a $2000 fine with $1700 suspended on the condition that he stay off our property, The judge was very clear that if he comes back in the store that unsuspends the $1700 AND is Trespassing, with probable jail time.
He hands me a handful of change and rushes out the door. This happens a lot.
I am remarkably fast as counting change just by looking, and he handed me $1.24. I hurry out the door behind him, and approach his driver's door. He sees me coming and rolls down his window.
"You are 13 cents short. This is only $1.24,"
"Really?" He makes a show of searching his center console. "I haven't got it."
I stare at him for a moment, but he seems to feel this has brought things to a conclusion.
"You are going to feel really stupid explaining to the other guys in jail that you are in for thirteen cents."
"You'd do that?"
"Stealing is stealing. Thirteen cents or four hundred dollars, it's all the same."
He seems unmoved.
"Either pay for what you took or give it back, and I'll give you your $1.24."
"You'd call the police over thirteen cents?"
"Pay for what you took or give it back."
At this point he gets out of his car and returns to the store, ... to start asking other customers to give him thirteen cents.
"Welcome to being an adult: you are expected to pay for the things you want."
"Stop talking to me."
Someone gave him a quarter and he gave it to me and told me to keep the change.
I just love how thieves want to act like I am the one being a jerk for calling them on it.
This was an odd combination of frightfully common happenings: Most folks who short change me and book out the door actually DO have the money. Most folks who beg off other customers because they are short do so at the register. (There are also the folks who will beg off other customers because they don't want to break a bill, but that's another story.) And most folks expressing incredulity that I might call the police over being shortchanged haven't actually taken the product yet.
In retrospect, when he first said "I don't have it" I should have gotten his plate number and called the police. But I didn't have a pen or my phone, because I had to hurry to catch him.
In other news, I recently appeared to testify against a guy who stuck a bottle of wine down his pants twice in one night. He got a $2000 fine with $1700 suspended on the condition that he stay off our property, The judge was very clear that if he comes back in the store that unsuspends the $1700 AND is Trespassing, with probable jail time.
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