Why don't you have change?

[CarcinogenCrunchies]

This afternoon at work I was checking on an express lane, and a middle-aged couple came up with about $10 worth of food. The man produced a $100 bill. No big deal, of course, but the register had just been counted and I knew I'd have to get change from the safe. While the MOD took care of it, the guy started to complain.

SC: "I don't know how you can't have enough change for that. Look how busy this store is!"
Me: "We do, but the drawers were just counted and reset for the next shift, so we'll just get change for you."
SC: "Well, why didn't they put enough money in the registers to make change?"
WIFE: <leans in and lowers her voice> "Don't listen to him, he's just crabby. He's a man." (If you say so, lady.)
Me: "Most orders don't get back this much change. This is an express register, so it doesn't take in a lot of cash."
SC: "Well, she doesn't have to go all the way over there <to customer service>, look at all the people in the other lanes! They have to have money in them!"
Me: (Uh, yeah, look at all those people! The registers are BUSY. The safe is not.) "It will be faster this way, I promise."
SC: "Well, I could go to any other store and they'd have money in the register for change. I could even go to a gas station and get better service than this." (Sure. Good luck arguing with the time-lock safe at most gas stations.)
WIFE: "Stores have their policies, just drop it." (Thanks for trying, anyway.)
SC: "I might as well just go shop somewhere else, where they don't have policies that inconvenience customers."

At this point the MOD arrived with the change. With excessive cheer she told him, "I'm so sorry about the wait." The SC's reply was, "If you'd just put enough change in the drawer, I wouldn't have to wait." He then proceeded to take an extra two minutes out of his day to complain some more about having to wait one minute for change.

[bendertiger]

SC: "I might as well just go shop somewhere else, where they don't have policies that inconvenience customers."

One could be so lucky!

[Silas G. T. Brontë]

That reminds me of my days as a cashier at a grocery store because the same thing happened to me quite often. In fact I had one customer that came to me twice the same week making one pack of bubble gum and a $7.43 purchase and paying me with a $100 bill each time. Fortunately she wasn't sucky about it when I had to get change.

But seriously, that man in your story just has issues if he has to wait a little bit longer to get change.

[Calud]

I'm so impressed by you cashier folk everytime. When I get a guy like this at my work I just scream and bitch like a toddler and destroy one of my stressballs. (yeah, work gave us a few of those a while back.) I'm not dealing face to face with these people though so thats a plus.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I hate those people. I've told this story before but it's my favorite "Why don't you have change?!" story:

Guy comes in just after we opened, first customer of the day. Buys a $3.95 magazine, and pays with $100 bill. I told him I did not have change (drawer started with $100 in ones, fives, and coins) and asked if he had anything smaller. He says no, so I say no problem, I'll just call the manager and have her bring me change from the office. His response, very rudely: "What, don't they give you any money?"

I was so tempted to take out $3.95 and then dump the rest of the drawer out on the counter. "Here's your change sir, have a nice day."

[Tito]

SC: "I might as well just go shop somewhere else, where they don't have policies that inconvenience customers."

One could be so lucky!

My thoughts exactly!

It must be so wonderful to have nothing else to do, beside whine & moan over having to wait 1 minute for change, then waste another two minutes complaining about it.

At least the wife tried to calm him down and did not take on the same attitude. That's a plus. Still, it must have sucked having to listen to him.

[sms001]

If he wants true inconvenience, he should hang around a c-store that doesn't do drops or control cash out regularly.

When the local hoods get wind of it and have him laying on the floor with an empty wallet (and bladder) as they knock the place off he'll think "Wow! This is REALLY inconvenient..."

[aurelemsrealm]

What planet does that old man live on exactly? Any gas station I've ever worked has had strict cash control policies. Unless we're in the middle of a rush, it's a royal pain to have to make change for $100 bills on small purchases. It can be done, but breaks my drawer for a while in most cases. For some reason, we've been having lots of people paying with $100 bills lately, and I've had to turn away quite a few small purchases just because I couldn't yet make change. A few days ago, I had three in a row want to pay with $100 bills. The first one I could change, and the other two had to resort to their debit cards to pay for their stuff. Most people don't complain too much about it, but some just make you want to bust their heads against the counter until reality or death sets in, whichever comes first.

The ones I hate the worst are non customers who act pissy when I refuse to make change for them without a purchase. I only do that if I happen to have the register already open for a transaction, or if someone wants to use the air machine or payphone. Otherwise forget it because I get tired of hearing rants from our area supervisor about excessive no sales, voids, etc.

[TheSHAD0W]

It's Obama's fault. He promised there would be Change!

<runs away giggling>

[BrenDAnn]

Ugh! This is one of my biggest gripes at the c-store. Honestly, there should be a rule enacted forbidding the use of $100 bills for the purchase of anything totaling under $50, especially at c-stores! I have to agree with the others, you could only be so lucky as to not have him come back!

[sms001]

a rule enacted forbidding the use of $100 bills for the purchase of anything totaling under $50, especially at c-stores! !

Quite a few stores make this a policy. The c-store nearest my old house NEVER took anything over a twenty. Ever. For any reason.

[Silas G. T. Brontë]

Aren't there a lot of businesses that say they don't take bills larger than a $20? Perhaps that's one solution.

[StarsAreFixed]

Ugh, what a tool. Unfortunately my store sells clothes starting from €2, accepts €100, 200 and 500 notes oh and the clincher- provides a float of €113 in COINS and 2 €10 notes and 4 €5 notes. Defenceless against even your average €20 and €50 notes never mind the bigger ones. Big note people can never cop that no, I do not have €157 change to give you.

[ShinyKitsune]

I really don't know why people are walking around with that kind of cash on them. The largest bill I ever have on me is $20, and that's rare. But this reminds me of a story from a week or so ago:

We had a busy day, and for some reason, everyone was paying with $50's and $100's, insisting that they didn't have anything smaller. So needless to say, we ended up with a change shortage, both in the drawers and in the safe. So we put a note by the registers saying "We need $5's and $1's please" or something like that.

CW was on one register, and a woman came up with about $7 or $8 worth of stuff, with two $5's clearly visible in her hand. CW was happy to have some much needed change...until the woman got to the register.

Woman put her stuff down, and while CW rung her up, she noticed the note posted, read it, and put her $5's back. She then took a $100 bill out of her purse, handed it over with this smug look on her face, and said "I don't have anything else" in this really cocky tone. CW wasn't in the mood for her bull, and told her flat-out that she witnessed her putting the $5's back and pulling out the $100. Woman argued back that CW was a liar, and she's going to call corporate to have her fired, still with the smug attitude. A customer beind her suddenly yelled to her "Quit being a bitch and pull the smaller bills back out! We all saw you holding them!" With the smug look slapped off her face, she pulled out her $5's and the customer behind her was thanked for stepping up for us.

We still don't know exactly why she did that, other than she probably got off by pissing cashiers off.

[Mordecai]

I hate those people. I've told this story before but it's my favorite "Why don't you have change?!" story:

Guy comes in just after we opened, first customer of the day. Buys a $3.95 magazine, and pays with $100 bill. I told him I did not have change (drawer started with $100 in ones, fives, and coins) and asked if he had anything smaller. He says no, so I say no problem, I'll just call the manager and have her bring me change from the office. His response, very rudely: "What, don't they give you any money?"

I was so tempted to take out $3.95 and then dump the rest of the drawer out on the counter. "Here's your change sir, have a nice day."

I (sort of) did that once. One Tuesday morning, it was pretty much dead and I had made maybe one or two transactions, both under five dollars. Next customer then pays for a $1.00 refill with a hundred. I don't know why, but I felt like being a dick that morning and decided to give here all ones, fives and maybe a ten. She then responds with "No twenties"? I politely tell her "no" and to have a nice day.

Honestly, if you expect more than $50.00 change from a store, You pretty much forfeit your right to complain about waiting.