Exact Change and Announcing Money

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[Stryker One]

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

[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.