A Smashed Lollipop

[wolfie]

Would be even better if you were in Canada: their ones are coins. Imagine one of these jerks having to walk away, their pockets loaded down with $98 in loonies and twoonies...

Actually, this is a case where I'd say Canadian money is inferior to American money. In Canada, the best you can do with a "Break my $100 for me, peon!" (non-, since they're not buying anything) customer is give them their change in nickels. Americans can still give them their change in pennies.

[Shaman]

Haha thanks guys. Its been a day since the incident and after lots of support online and IRL I feel much better. Its my first time in retail and it was just odd to me that a verbal back and forth suddenly turned physical (a guy clearly played too much Candy Crush).

What I've taken away is this:
If I have TONS of change: just exchange it.

If I dont - just outright say I just dont have the bills sorry.

Also I've learned with agitated and mad customers its best to "keep the peace" and appease their demands in a reasonable manner. (One time a customer said I forgot to give him a Newport Box - Receipt and Camera proved his lying ass wrong).

Side Note: Is it lame I cried a little? I mean I'm no shrimp but this just shocked me. I just didn't think someone could get so angry over change. In the future I'll make sure to get more people in store and manager it better so this stuff doesn't happen again.

[Dreamstalker]

After seeing the previous customer wipe out my big bills with a $100 for a paper and muffin (and asking and being told that I couldn't give cashback over $20), the next guy gets $200 cashback on a debit card He insisted on not wanting the $100, so wasn't happy when I gave him his cash in tens, fives, ones and rolled coin--which wiped out everything except my loose coin.

The desk girl refused to convert his change after he badmouthed me, and CDH backed us up (reiterating that buddy knew darn well I couldn't do that much cashback but asked anyway...he gets what he gets and deal with it).

[Evannah]

I hate the "I come here all the time!" bullshit. Most aren't even regulars, and if they are, they're troublemakers, rude to the staff, or just wonder around and never buy anything, and then expect to get the royal treatment because they "come here all the time."

I once had a man use this phrase, not directly but still, it's what he was implying. He wanted a stack of carrier bags. He just waltzed in, and never intended to buy anything. I said no. He told me that he should get what he wants because he spends more in here in a week than I get paid in a year. Just so you know, I got paid £8000 yearly working there. In a pound-shop. So dude, I'd really love to see all the junk piled up in your house if you spend £8000 a week in Land of Quid... lol.

[judecat]

I'm overnight in a gas station/c-store, and I refuse fifty's and hundreds even for payment -- unless of course you are getting $80 dollars worth of gas. And I refuse to change $20's without purchase of at least $2.00 -- not breaking your $20 for a 50 cent pack of gum. Company policy is to accept big bills and give change, but I told the boss I'm not sitting there all night with over $100 in the register. And I really truly hate the ones who want to buy a $200 soda with a 100 and tell me, well that's all I have. Well then I guess you aren't getting a soda.

I have an attitude, but since I have 30 years experience, the boss lets me have my attitude. Besides, he can't find anyone else who can put up with overnights full time.

[earl colby pottinger]

Trust me

Would be even better if you were in Canada: their ones are coins. Imagine one of these jerks having to walk away, their pockets loaded down with $98 in loonies and twoonies...

Once you find yourself with ten or more Loonies/Toonies in your pockets you find a reason to spend them, or tighten your belt.

[dalesys]

... or tighten your belt.

...or drop your drawers.

[earl colby pottinger]

I disagree

Actually, this is a case where I'd say Canadian money is inferior to American money. In Canada, the best you can do with a "Break my $100 for me, peon!" (non-, since they're not buying anything) customer is give them their change in nickels. Americans can still give them their change in pennies.

No-one stocks more that $10 in pennies in their till, that is a thousand pennies! Is any till that large?

On the other-hand, in Canada we have no problem stocking $50-$100 in Loonies and Toonies (if there are plenty of Toonies in the mix) so the $100 biller get nothing but loose change back.

[EricKei]

Side Note: Is it lame I cried a little?

Not at all. From time to time, you just get the weirdos like that. Don't let it bother you.

Also, some people like to use an aggressive stance/language with cashiers (etc) from the start, with no apparent provocation. 99% of the time, those people are trying to scam or shortchange you. Don't let them (but don't let them KNOW that you've caught on). Scammers will try to push you into a bad snap decision, to your detriment, and making you nervous is one of their main weapons -- and yes, they will target new or seemingly young/"weak"/inexperienced employees without hesitation.

They tend to have a really common, easy-to-identify tell: They don't want to deal with anyone but the worker they're trying to intimidate. Very calmly (they HATE that! ) offer to get a manager's assistance, to count down the till or what have you. Quick-change scammers, in particular, will abruptly back off when this happens (they prefer to say you shorted them a 20 or something, so you need to just give it to them NOW NOW NOW!)...On the rare occasions that a customer really DOES believe they've been shorted, there's no real reason for them not to either wait for the manager to count down the till/check your balance, or to leave their contact info for when it gets checked later. If they vocally object to getting a manager, drop the facade and raise your voice, if needed. When they absolutely, positively, do not want to get a manager involved, that's a dead giveaway that you NEED to involve one.

[Jay 2K Winger]

re: breaking 100's.

One time at the wholesale club, these two guys came through my line fairly close together, and I'm sure they were friends or something. Anyway, Custy 1 buys something low in price and pays for it with a $50 bill. As it happened, I was early in my shift, so didn't have a whole lot of smaller bills to break it with, but I did so anyway.

Then Custy 2 comes through and buys a bit more, but under $50... and pays for it with a $100 bill. I know for a fact I would have wiped out my drawer if I'd tried to break it with smaller bills.

So I gave him Custy 1's $50 bill as part of his change. He didn't complain about it, at least.

[notalwaysright]

I don't even think my store breaks bills. I know for certain that the registers won't open except for a transaction. Anyone who overreacts this badly needs to jump off a cliff.

My mom has this weird habit when she only has $100s. Once the cashier gives her the total she picks around vainly looking for enough in smaller bills, and when she can't find it she looks up morosely and says "can you break a hundred?" She's not mean, if the cashier looks like they probably can't she uses a credit card while babbling about how she didn't want to charge anything else this month. It's so predictable and annoying.

[XCashier]

Side Note: Is it lame I cried a little? I mean I'm no shrimp but this just shocked me. I just didn't think someone could get so angry over change.

Not really, no; it's happened to most of us. Some customers go into fiery rage-mode shockingly fast, and it can be frightening, making Jekyll-to-Hyde look like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. If you're still fairly new to retail work, seeing the ugly side of humanity can be shocking, if not scary. Even if you've had a few years and thicker skin under your belt, one psychotic bully can freak you out and bring on the tears.

Yeah, next time someone gives you that kind of grief, call the manager up. As much as I hate to palm the bastard off on a nice person, it is part of the manager's job to deal with the worse customers.

[TopEndDave]

The shops around here don't see to have as much trouble with breaking notes for paying customers. One place were I did help them out with change was Renner Springs Roadhouse. They are 91km from the next store and over 500km from a bank. Last time I stopped there the cashier was having trouble giving change to the customer in front of my. When my turn came I pulled out all of my coins, paid for my drink with it and then convert as many into notes as she needed. I had a quite a few $1 and $2 coins in my pocket at the time.

I have also done that at the supermarket when shopping for a club. The club's bank charged for depositing large amounts of coin, so I always had a large collection of coins and smaller notes. I would offer the cashier the choice to pay in a lots of change or larger notes. Most of them took the change as it was a Sunday morning and their cash office hadn't opened yet.

Don't worry about the tears. It is a reaction to the unexpected aggression that the SC was displaying and that you had to still serve him.