Exact Change and Announcing Money

[Balgram]

So, I'm not sure about this, but I'm wondering what you guys think.

Personally, I like giving exact change if I can help it, since I don't want to have to pull my wallet back out and put coins in. Call me lazy.

Does this bother people? I normally warn people if I don't have the exact change ready at that moment, and if I can't come up with it in less than 7 seconds real time then I'll just give what I've got.

Also, I tell cashiers how much I am giving them. This is from my days as a cashier, when I had to announce how much change I was giving back. I'm not assuming the cashier can't count, and I'm not scamming, I just like telling people how much I gave. This is nice especially if I make a mistake and gave too much or too little ("Here's $4." "Uh, Balgram, you only gave me $3..."), but sometimes...

Sometimes cashiers roll their eyes at me or tap their foot impatiently. I like to be done with the exchange as much as the next guy, but c'mon, really?

Are my habits all that bad? I'm pretty sure I never take up more than a few seconds (definitely less than 10) if I'm paying cash, and the only reason I ever take more at the register is if I'm paying credit and have to wait for the machine.

[Stryker One]

Cash? I so rarely pay for things with cash, debit card all the way.

[South Texan]

Kindred spirit here.

I prefer to give the exact change (if only the coinage part) and I also announce how much I am giving because of my days having to work a register. If the amount due is $10.86, I will put eighty-six cents into the cashier's palm while saying, "Here is eighty-six," then I will put the bill(s) on top and say, "And twenty." Then I wait for my ten in change. I also face my bills before handing them over.

I really think this should be preferable to the cashier than having someone just thrust a wad of bills and/or coins into the cashier's hand and making the cashier unwad, sort and count it out. It actually is funny to see the cashier's eyes sometimes bulge at me, but I don't care. It is my way of counting and confirming how much I am giving the cashier.

[ShadedWings]

I do the same thing when I have cash... I always say how much I'm giving, even if I get a nasty look. It's safer. That way, there can be less mistakes made on everyone's part.

Something that sprung up in my head from the title of this... When I was a cashier, as the OP said, I always said out loud/counted out loud the change I was giving back. I kinda tried not to do it too loud if it was a large amount, such as change for a $100. Some people were hard of hearing though, and I cringed internally as I said, rather loudly, that I was giving them back over $90 in cash. I always worried about people getting robbed, since my cashiering days were in a rather large/popular grocery store.

Anyhow, I say despite the nasty/impatient looks, I would still count out my payment if it's in cash. If the look was too nasty I'd explain or apologize for the look as if they're stupid, but that's just how I work.

[Chanlin]

Count me in on the exact change crowd.

I prefer to give exact change if I have it. I personally think it makes things go smoother. I also won't take a whole lot of time to get change, but then I tend to be incredibly anal about organizing my money so I can generally make small change fairly quickly. Like Texan I almost always hand the coins over first and say "That should be $0.XX amount" and then I will hand the bills over. I generally only announce the bills if I'm handing over more than one. For example if the amount is $25 I will then say "And that should be $25."

I don't think your behavior is odd or sucky at all Belgram and people that get impatient with you just need to chill out

[Gurndigarn]

If I'm carrying a pocket full of change, it's exact change, just so I can lighten my pocket. Otherwise, I'll try to make rounding off easy-- an extra penny so that I don't end up getting four back, that kind of thing.

[ArcticChicken]

I also face my bills before handing them over.

I love you.

Actually, at my store we aren't required to face the till, but the first place I worked was like that, and I'm neurotic.


I don't usually give out exact change, but that's because I save the change for play money, 'cause I usually don't miss a few cents.

[rerant]

As someone who used to cashier in VERY busy stores I both like and dislike exact change.
I like it if you have it ready (meaning you at least have change in your hand or your wallet at the ready and don't have to go digging for it) but I HAAAAAATE it when people will hold up a damn line just to find that extra seven cents.
If your change is not in your hand or in your wallet/change purse that is in your hand then I DON'T want it.

People don't seem to realise that the 30 seconds it takes them to find their change is 30 seconds that the cashier is just standing there, doing nothing, while people stare at him/her wondering wtf is taking so long.
On a busy day I would actually refuse exact change from people who didn't have it ready.
Sorry, but I would rather you walk away with some dimes and nickels than have a line up of irritated people who have already spent way too long in the store or their own good.

This is my sanity, people, I have to preserve it as best I can.

[RayvenQ]

I like it if you have it ready (meaning you at least have change in your hand or your wallet at the ready and don't have to go digging for it) but I HAAAAAATE it when people will hold up a damn line just to find that extra seven cents

While I usually give exact change, if I'm in a situation like that I'll just give as close as I can

[Mordecai]

I dislike it when people take forever trying to dig out a bunch of change when they have the bills to cover the cost, which is why I no longer pay for things with anything less than a quarter. I don't mind if someone gives me a twenty dollar bill and two quarters if the total is, say, $14.50, but if you give me 50 pennies then I will hate you.

[PepperElf]

i like to do exact change - coinage if not the paper-bill amount... but not so i'm digging forever.
and if i'm giving over the exact amount i'll say something like "out of 20"

[videodrone]

Fishing change out of a purse typically doesn't bother me. I like exact change. However, if it takes longer than 20 seconds and there is a line out the door, then I'm probably going to get a little fussy.
And if you have to "go to your car to get the exact change" while there is a line, I'm going to void your order and make you wait in line again. (Not really, I just wish.)

I call out my money regardless of which position I'm in. I do it when I'm paying out of habit and I do it when I'm working so less errors will occur...and to prevent potential scammers.

[sarahj]

If I have coins, I'll hand them over first, as close to the cents in my total is as possible, and I'll say how much I'm giving them, ie "here's 65 cents." Then I hand over bills, but I only say the amount if I pay with like 5 bills. The cashier can see that I'm giving them one $20 note. But everyone has their own way and whatever works is great, IMHO, as long as the line isn't held up.

And if I get handed a bill, then my customer goes digging through their pockets/wallet/change purse, I'll say "do you have the 65 cents?" to confirm if they're actually looking or if they're just randomly seeing what's in there. That's why I hand over coins first - clears up any confusion.

[simplyanother]

Exact change doesn't bother me. I've gotten to the point where I wait to see if the customer looks like he's going fishing before I enter in the number.

And I will say "out of 20?" "out of 35?", etc, to give fend off the "ooh, I see you've entered the number already and it's done the math for you, but I want to see how well you do simple arithmetic when you've got a holier than thou customer bitching about how stupid cashiers can't even do subtraction!" people.

I figure, I'm giving you ample opportunity to give me some indication that you want to give me exact change, and if you wait to announce after I've keyed it in, well, 99% of the time, you're going to be walking away with a handful of coinage.

The other 1% of the time, it's either, my brain had done the math before I'd pressed the button (pressing the "cash" button on my register, apparently turns off my ability to perform arithmetic), or the customer was just a genuinely nice person (niceness makes my arithmetic ability return, I guess).

Seriously, I don't mind folks who have a total of 11.37 and want to give me the 37 cents, or even 12 cents, or even 2 cents, just be nice about it.

(hoping that my reply will post this time. I tried last night, and well, the site kept timing out)

[Balgram]

I like it if you have it ready (meaning you at least have change in your hand or your wallet at the ready and don't have to go digging for it) but I HAAAAAATE it when people will hold up a damn line just to find that extra seven cents.
If your change is not in your hand or in your wallet/change purse that is in your hand then I DON'T want it.

Good advice, donka. I also normally do this only when the line is verra' small or dead, and I hate taking up more than about 5-7 seconds.

I don't mind if someone gives me a twenty dollar bill and two quarters if the total is, say, $14.50, but if you give me 50 pennies then I will hate you.

I would hate myself as well.

...And I will say "out of 20?" "out of 35?", etc, to give fend off the "ooh, I see you've entered the number already and it's done the math for you, but I want to see how well you do simple arithmetic when you've got a holier than thou customer bitching about how stupid cashiers can't even do subtraction!" people.

This merits its own thread. I do algebra and statistics calculations in my head to pass the time, and I figure our the square roots of obscure numbers when I'm waiting in line. People really think I can't do a little subtraction? Blargh on them. That's why I like figuring change when there is no till, like at vending slots in football games. Combining/separating orders and figuring change when you don't need to work in tax or pennies is fun.

---

So it sounds like the general consensus is that it isn't really a rude/big deal if you have the change ready or nearly ready, but not to waste time with it. Facing bills never occurred to me but that's a really good idea.