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So, I work in a grocery store. I was supposed to be off today, but alas, two people called in and I was asked to cover part of a shift - beginning at 7am, when I normally work nights. That was a clue right there that something phenomenal was going to happen today.
So, I've been at work less than an hour, and this lady comes in carrying a receipt. These are never good. The following conversation ensues:
Receipt Lady: Yeah, so I was in here yesterday, and I got some of those 3 for $1 green beans that y'all had, and I was just wondering why I was charged wrong for them.
Me: Ok, let me have a look at your receipt. (Cause, y'know, shit DOES happen and stuff does ring up wrong - in which case we gladly refund the difference without a problem.)
So I look at her receipt, and see that she purchased 18 cans (yes, eighteen...that's a lot of green beans) and that 12 of them rang up at 34 cents each, and 6 of them at 32 cents. So I explain to her why.
Me: No, this price is right. See, 1/3 of a dollar is 0.333333333... and it goes on forever with the 3's. So to compensate for that fraction of a cent, our register rings up 2 at 34 cents and the third one for 32, so that it comes out to an even dollar. (Basic math, 34 + 34 + 32 = 100)
RL: But you charged me 34 cents apiece for them! That totals to MORE than a dollar for three! That's FALSE ADVERTISING!!!
Me: But you got 6 cans that were only 32 cents each, that makes up the difference...
RL: No, look, these should have been a total of 3.96! 33 cents each!
Me: No, if you buy 1 or 2, they ring up 33 cents each, but if you buy three you get 2 for 34 cents and 1 for 32.
RL: But 34 cents each is MORE THAN A DOLLAR!
Me: And 32 cents each is LESS than a dollar.
RL: I don't get it.
So I get out a calculator and try to show her how it works... that the total for 12 cans @ 34 cents each (4.08) plus the total for 6 cans @ 32 cents each (1.92) is, shockingly, $6. Which is the total one would expect for 18 cans of green beans priced at 3 for $1. She had to tell me, yet again, that we charged her 34 cents each for 12 of those cans, and that was MORE THAN A DOLLAR FOR THREE. *headdesk* I somehow managed to finally convinced her that we weren't scamming her and she didn't overpay. All in all, this exchange took almost 10 minutes, after going around in circles several times, and by the time it was over I had 4 people backed up in my line, and I was the ONLY cashier.
Don't get me wrong, I understand where it could be slightly confusing - especially since our registers do something totally wackadoodle with the item order - instead of printing them in the order they were scanned, it puts them in some random, arbitrary order that I have yet to discern a pattern to - so the 12 cans of green beans were three or four items above the other 6 cans (the cashier apparently hit quantity 18 and scanned one - which is what I would've done, so on the receipt they were listed "DBL LUCK G/B 12 @ 0.34" and "DBL LUCK G/B 6 @ 0.32") However, what escalated this to a suck was repeatedly arguing with me even with irrefutable proof that SHE ONLY PAID $6 FOR THE DAMN BEANS and holding up my line for 10 minutes. I tapped into heretofore unknown reserves of patience today.
So, I've been at work less than an hour, and this lady comes in carrying a receipt. These are never good. The following conversation ensues:
Receipt Lady: Yeah, so I was in here yesterday, and I got some of those 3 for $1 green beans that y'all had, and I was just wondering why I was charged wrong for them.
Me: Ok, let me have a look at your receipt. (Cause, y'know, shit DOES happen and stuff does ring up wrong - in which case we gladly refund the difference without a problem.)
So I look at her receipt, and see that she purchased 18 cans (yes, eighteen...that's a lot of green beans) and that 12 of them rang up at 34 cents each, and 6 of them at 32 cents. So I explain to her why.
Me: No, this price is right. See, 1/3 of a dollar is 0.333333333... and it goes on forever with the 3's. So to compensate for that fraction of a cent, our register rings up 2 at 34 cents and the third one for 32, so that it comes out to an even dollar. (Basic math, 34 + 34 + 32 = 100)
RL: But you charged me 34 cents apiece for them! That totals to MORE than a dollar for three! That's FALSE ADVERTISING!!!
Me: But you got 6 cans that were only 32 cents each, that makes up the difference...
RL: No, look, these should have been a total of 3.96! 33 cents each!
Me: No, if you buy 1 or 2, they ring up 33 cents each, but if you buy three you get 2 for 34 cents and 1 for 32.
RL: But 34 cents each is MORE THAN A DOLLAR!
Me: And 32 cents each is LESS than a dollar.
RL: I don't get it.
So I get out a calculator and try to show her how it works... that the total for 12 cans @ 34 cents each (4.08) plus the total for 6 cans @ 32 cents each (1.92) is, shockingly, $6. Which is the total one would expect for 18 cans of green beans priced at 3 for $1. She had to tell me, yet again, that we charged her 34 cents each for 12 of those cans, and that was MORE THAN A DOLLAR FOR THREE. *headdesk* I somehow managed to finally convinced her that we weren't scamming her and she didn't overpay. All in all, this exchange took almost 10 minutes, after going around in circles several times, and by the time it was over I had 4 people backed up in my line, and I was the ONLY cashier.
Don't get me wrong, I understand where it could be slightly confusing - especially since our registers do something totally wackadoodle with the item order - instead of printing them in the order they were scanned, it puts them in some random, arbitrary order that I have yet to discern a pattern to - so the 12 cans of green beans were three or four items above the other 6 cans (the cashier apparently hit quantity 18 and scanned one - which is what I would've done, so on the receipt they were listed "DBL LUCK G/B 12 @ 0.34" and "DBL LUCK G/B 6 @ 0.32") However, what escalated this to a suck was repeatedly arguing with me even with irrefutable proof that SHE ONLY PAID $6 FOR THE DAMN BEANS and holding up my line for 10 minutes. I tapped into heretofore unknown reserves of patience today.
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