Where I'm a bit of a jerk...

[Tiberious]

...and unrepentant about it.

As you might know, the past week plus has been almost hellish in this part of the country, with temperatures over 100 for at least 5 days (to put it in perspective, even one day in triple-digits is more than in a normal year). Now, I'm a relatively healthy younger male, so only having one window-mounted AC unit in the room I'm using the most is sufficient, but I also don't drive (Note: Important). I was getting prepared for an event over the weekend, and knew I needed to bus up to the local Wart of Mal to pick up some things I know I'd need. I planned my trip for early morning, around 7AMish (Again, important).

While there, I get what i'm after, but also find a decent pair of shorts that are my size, and not jeans, but still sturdy, and 'impulse purchase' them. I head for the checkout:

Me: Orange, black and fuzzy
TC: The Contrarian (AKA The Cashier: senior citizen, female)

TC: (tries to scan package, won't go) The code's split. (Starts keying in the code manually, getting an error at first, but then it finally goes)

Me: (having already rejected a different package for having a hole in the bag) Really? Just my luck. (turning to gentleman behind me in line) Sorry 'bout this. If I'd known this had this problem, I'd've gotten a different bag.

TC: (Goes to scan other item, where I notice it gets rung up twice)

Me: Err, did that go twice?

TC: Oh, yeah. Need to remove one. (voids the duplicate scan, and completes transaction. Gives total, which is close to $40)

Me: (Pays by card) By the way, could I get change for a $1?

TC: Sorry. We're not a bank. Can't give you change.

Me: For real?

TC: I don't make the policy. Just can't do it.

Me: Fuckin' ridiculous. (Composing self) Sorry. The frustration's not with you; it's at The Powers That Be.



So, I go to the Kroger a few doors down, and they break the dollar at the service desk, even without my needing to purchase anything.

Of course, the real assholes here are the public transportation people who, in more than 25 years, haven't included 'giving change' as one of their service improvements.

Turns out that while all the crap about the change happened, I didn't get my receipt. It either wasn't offered, or I did a stupid and left it. I decided that if TC was gonna be a 'jobsworth', I was going to make sure she did everything her job description required of her and get it. I mean, I figured I'd need it if for some reason I needed to return any of the items, like if the shorts didn't fit for some strange reason. So, I get back to the same register, and wait for the current customer to be finished before making my move.

Me: Umm, do you have my receipt? I was just here about 5 minutes ago, and I noticed I didn't have it.

TC: You had the (Lists the items I bought), right?

Me: Yeah.

TC: Normally, I don't keep these around if they get left. I throw them away. (Hands me receipt)

Me: Thanks. Good to have this if I need it. (I leave, and start for the bus stop to go home)


Now, after thinking this through, maybe I was a bit of a jackass, but at the time, I just kept thinking "Really? I dropped $40 bucks in the place, and I can't even get change for a dollar? What kind of stupidity is that? And she'd really just pitch my proof of purchase if I didn't take it like that? I hope the returns desk will work with me if I need to deal with them", and so, like I said earlier, I don't feel terribly remorseful over what I said and did.

[Divra]

If you pay by card, they don't have to open the register. I will gladly hand out change IFF the register drawer is or is going to open. Otherwise, no. If you want change, buy something with cash, you will get change.

If I have many register openings in a night and the register comes up short, I'm in big trouble, because then the boss will assume I've pocketed the difference, not to mention the fact that an open register is vulnerable. I can very easily understand corporate policy not allowing it.

[Bright_Star]

They do that to avoid having certain people reach over while the register is open & grab a wad of cash & high-tail it out the door. It's been known to happen.

[Slayer]

It's rare to see a cash register here that doesn't open when you pay with a card. But yeah, if they can't then they can't.

[Tiberious]

Oh, I do understand that concern. And I would've been much less upset had I been told "I can't do that here; try the service desk". That would at least have implied a willingness to help. But after the other stuff that happened, it just felt more like "Don't bother me; not my job, and I don't care".

[Draper Mel]

I can remember back in grad school, I couldn't buy a roll of quarters for laundry at the service desk at Meijer (large big box retailer). But the local chain grocery store, which doubtless did far less business dollar wise, had no problem selling me a roll. It always seemed weird.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

If you need to break bills, the place to do that is the service desk, assuming it's open and staffed.

Many stores will not break bills at the registers due to the possibility of theft, either from the customer reaching into the cash drawer or from short change artists. Paying by card will not open the register drawer unless you request cash back.

The cashier sounds like she's a bit too much of a curmudgeon.

[Slayer]

I'm going to have to pay attention to the registers more on my next trip to the States lol. They almost always open here when paying by card. One time at Metro there was a noticeably new girl at the cash and as I was paying with debit she walked away to get something at another register. Anyway, my transaction got approved and her drawer opened with her not there. I looked at it, looked at the manager, she looked at the drawer and me, and then walked over to protect it. Poor girl got a stern talking to about never leaving in the middle because it can be dangerous for her drawer.

Most of the time I pay by card so it's transaction approved, drawer pops, half a second later, it gets slammed shut haha.

[PepperElf]

If you pay by card, they don't have to open the register.

That's very possible.

It's something we couldn't have done at my last job for example. The registers only opened for cash transactions, and only managers could manually open them.

Although she could have told you "no" a little more nicely, or at least said something like, "I'm sorry we're not allowed to do that." I mean I don't mind people being snarky but ... she could have waited to see if you accepted a simple "no, sorry" first.

[Sparky]

Of course, the real assholes here are the public transportation people who, in more than 25 years, haven't included 'giving change' as one of their service improvements.

Picture this: You're driving a bus. Late at night. All alone. Through all neighborhoods. Do you want it known that you carry money?

I once read somewhere that for every rule there are two reasons - a good reason and the real reason. The company I used to drive for used to issue change to the drivers and we made change for $1. Eventually we stopped doing this.

The good reason: Driver safety. If it is known you don't carry money, no one is going to stick a gun in your face and demand money.

The real reason: Making change was a giant PIA. At very best it slows you down. But passengers would refuse to understand that "We will change a $1" does not equal "We will change a $5 or a $20 or a $50." If you didn't have change they would get mad and claim they couldn't pay and then what were you supposed to do? Throw them off? Let them promise to pay next time? People would get on, wave a $20 at you and if you didn't have change they'd stare at you like it was your problem. We only had $15 of change in total. And if we ran out, it's not like there was someone else on the bus to bring us more. We were stuck.

One of the drivers had a guy who kept trying to pay with a $20. The fare at the time was $0.50. The driver would let him ride and he'd promise to pay the next day, but the next day again he had a $20. The driver finally told him to put the $20 in the fare box and the driver would let him ride free 39 times. The guy reached in his pocket and pulled out $0.50.

Not making change is industry standard. It can certainly be inconvenient, especially when stores won't make change for paying customers, but the industry does not do it because they are assholes. Most bus companies sell monthly passes or tokens in an effort to make lack of change more convenient.

Please note: I apologize if I seem to be jumping on you. Didn't mean to. I just thought you might want to see this issue from the other side.

[Merriweather]

All the talk about busses not giving change got me thinking. Granted, I haven't taken a bus in a long time, and in my adult life anytime I have, it's always been exact change only. But I do remember as a child, it was a treat to go shopping with my mom, cause my sister was in school (so I got her to myself) and since she didn't drive, it was the only time I got to ride on the bus to go downtown, and at age 5 or so, a bus ride is a wonderful thing.

I remember the change box as we got on, mainly cause I always wanted to be the one to put the money in. And I really seem to recall that it would give back change if you put too much in. Or is that just one of those "degraded" memories we all have if we go back far enough? Did the little machines that you put the money in on busses once have the ability to give out change? I'm talking years ago, like late 50's/early 60's. Any other old fogies on here remember?

Ok, have been thinking on this a bit more, and maybe I'm remembering one of those change things that hold stacks of different coins, and some drivers had them by the fare box, instead of on their person. Maybe.

[Sparky]

Ok, have been thinking on this a bit more, and maybe I'm remembering one of those change things that hold stacks of different coins, and some drivers had them by the fare box, instead of on their person. Maybe.

I believe this is is what you were thinking of. I remember riding buses in the '50s and '60s and the drivers had those hanging on the fare boxes.

Before we stopped giving change, we had those but used to hang them on the window, because they stayed well in the slots for the sliding windows. We were allowed to wear them on our belts, but were not required to wear belts and most of the women didn't.

[PepperElf]

I believe this is is what you were thinking of. I remember riding buses in the '50s and '60s and the drivers had those hanging on the fare boxes.

Before we stopped giving change, we had those but used to hang them on the window, because they stayed well in the slots for the sliding windows. We were allowed to wear them on our belts, but were not required to wear belts and most of the women didn't.

I can imagine why.

First of all it's probably uncomfortable. And I imagine the women didn't want to give patrons any valid reasons to stare at their laps.

in a way i kinda wish public transportation would turn into what we had in japan. no need for exact change really... just put your ticket in, or scan your RFID card at the entrance etc. in fact the rfid card actually saved money cos you didn't have to worry about overspending on your ticket etc.

[bainsidhe]

I don't blame you for being frustrated or bothered by how she phrased the policy, but I understand why the policy exists.

At my WM store, the drawer won't open unless it's a cash sale or the customer is getting cash back. Policy is that the store doesn't make change. Only a CSM can open a drawer without a cash sale and that means keying in a code and waiting and waiting and waiting... Plus, most people seem to want a roll of quarters, or a bunch of ones, etc. Early in the AM or on weekends, the store's change is limited. During the afternoon, customers can go to the actual bank branch in the store and request change there. I had so many people get miffed when I apologized and explained I couldn't give them all my quarters.

[RealUnimportant]

Some British buses used to offer change; some still do, but not from the old style change boxes as it's just too exposed for the driver. With increased fares, and ever larger notes being used for ever smaller purchases, it's just not practical any more.

One of the OP's points that's not been addressed is receipt retention. Where I work now, receipts aren't automatically printed so we don't have this issue, but everywhere I've worked that had automatic issuing, if they weren't taken at the time of sale we weren't required or even encouraged to keep them aside in case they were wanted later. I think you got lucky that she a) kept it, and b) remembered you.