Paying in ALL CHANGE!

[erik316wttn]

So the other day a guy comes through my line and buys a 13--inch TV. With tax, his total comes to $62.90.

The guy paid me entirely in 50-cent pieces!

I don't think I've ever been in possession of $63 total in 50-cent pieces in my life!

[Becks]

I feel your pain, but it could've been worse...

Quarters...unrolled.

[Mixed Bag]

I don't think I've ever been in possession of $63 total in 50-cent pieces in my life!

One time when I was in the bank instead of using the ATM I bought what few they had on hand. When I found several 40% silver (1965-1970?) ones in the group I bought hundreds more, but it was a fluke--none, or very very few in the large batch.

[dragonflygrrl]

I had a lady the other day come in and buy a phone that rang up at 109.76 with one hundred and ten one dollar bills. Then she was irritated that I wanted to count them. Grrrr...

[zeoquean]

This didn't happen to me...but another cashier that I work with. She said that a guy came up to her and bought his few items totalling around $15 with all pennies....in baggies (unrolled). Being the nice girl that she is, she turned off her light, and counted it all out (then promptly got the CSM to get her bills for it instead).

[Cole]

I was on cash one Saturday, and this lady came up with her 2 kids each kid was carrying a bag full of pennies that they have rolled. They wanted to pay for 2 pairs of sneakers (it came to about $50) in all pennies. In my store we have a policy that we don't take rolls of money, the only exception being if the cashier wants to open them all up and count them. Anyway i told the lady this policy and how i couldn't take the rolls. She flipped out at me, So i called the (super cool) manager, he took one look at the bags of money, and just laughed. Then said her " There is no way I'm going to let her count all that, she's not a bank" . They took their pennies and left!
I loved that manger

[AFpheonix]

Honestly, banks will change out your coin to paper money, not a big deal.

I had a $90 order in ones, although methinks the lady was a waitress, and she was patient while I verified the amount.

[Erin]

In my store we have a policy that we don't take rolls of money, the only exception being if the cashier wants to open them all up and count them.

When I worked as a cashier for McDonalds, we had the same policy. At least once a week, I'd get someone who would try to pay for their food with rolls of quarters. If we werent too busy (I usually worked the cash window of the drive thru) I would tell the person I had to open the rolls to verify the amount. Usually that wasnt a big deal...but once this guy had a fit because I wanted to open the rolls. (he was buying about $25 worth of food). So, as I opened the rolls, he peels out of the drive thru line and leaves without his food, leaving behind his rolls of "quarters". Thinking that his leaving several inches of rubber on the drive thru lane like that was just a bit suspicious, I opened up the rolls. He had placed two quarters (one on either end) of a small metal pipe in each roll.

He tried it again about a month later. (different cashier in the window that time) I saw him from the other window and went back and had the cashier open the rolls...more pipe. But this time he was trapped in the drive thru lane between cars and the cement island next to the drivethru lane. The manager went outside and had a chat with him (he took 3 of the BIG guys from the grill area with him). Manager came back in, with the correct amount of cash for the guy's order. The guy got his food and we never saw him again after that.

The manager told me that he threatened to call the cops on the guy, so the guy coughed up enough paper money (we checked it with the pen to make sure it wasnt counterfeit).

[XCashier]

The manager told me that he threatened to call the cops on the guy, so the guy coughed up enough paper money (we checked it with the pen to make sure it wasnt counterfeit).

The pen is not a reliable indicator of whether a note is counterfeit or not. It is an iodine pen, which reacts to the starch or lack of in a note. A legit bill that's been through the washing machine can give a false reading, as can a phony bill printed on the right material.

http://www.secretservice.gov/know_your_money.shtml This site shows you more reliable ways to tell a counterfeit from a legitimate note.

[Ringtail Z28]

Whenever stuff like this would happen we were allowed to tell the customer to go to guest service to get bills for their change. The excuse we would use was that we couldn't have that much change in the register, which wasn't exactly a lie. They would almost always make a stink about it.

If you want to have some fun with SCs who pay with loads of change, just count it really slowly and maybe lose count a few times on purpose. I would do this sometimes if I was in a bad mood and wanted the customer to go away.

[SwanJun]

I remember when I worked as a till-tart at Kmart back in '94.

Our Manager told us that change in excess amounts (I.e. more than a single roll or baggie) is not considered "legal tender".

Apparently we had a legal right to refuse the change.

Whether or not it was true remains to be seen, but the Manager upheld that rule many, many, many times while I was there.

It was freaking GREAT!

I prefer to just go to either the bank or those coin machines at the supermarket. 9% isn't too big a fee for me being too damn lazy to count it, bag it and go to the bank for it....

SJ

[Kogarashi]

When I worked at Wal-Mart, the standing policy with the cashiers was that we could accept customer-rolled change, but we needed to either open it up and count it out, or have the customer write down their contact info on a slip of register tape for each roll and tape it to the roll (after which, we weren't allowed to open the rolls up). Loose change had to be counted or it was a no-go.

The only time someone complained about me needing their contact info on coins they had rolled, I explained that it was either that or I open them up and count. The customer was happy to write down their info after that.

When I did have to open the rolls and someone complained, I usually explained that some rolls can fit an extra coin or three at the end and I was just checking to make sure they didn't overpay. That usually pacified them.

Funny coin situations, though.... I had one kid who came up to me with a handful of Sacajawea (sp?) dollars and two Susan B. Anthonys and asked me if it was real money. Another guy asked the same thing, then insisted I change them out for paper money because he liked that better.

Another guy gave me a 50 yen piece he randomly had in his pocket (as a "donation" rather than part of a payment).

[Lace Neil Singer]

If you want to have some fun with SCs who pay with loads of change, just count it really slowly and maybe lose count a few times on purpose. I would do this sometimes if I was in a bad mood and wanted the customer to go away.

That's a well used tactic of mine.

[karma_gypsy]

When I worked at a pizza restaurant, more than once did a driver come back with order saying the customer wanted to pay in all change . . . keep in mind that the order had to be at least $10. Some drivers didn't mind and would accept the change, others, like I said would come back with the order.

Sometimes the customer would be courteous enough to ASK if they could pay in change, which then I'd leave a note on the order (usually people like that tip fairly well too) and then whoever wanted to deliver it could.

[purplecat41877]

Where I work, we have a coinstar where the customers can put in their loose change. They can either donate the money or they can bring a slip that prints out of the machine to the customer service desk to get cashed.