Unable to break $100 bill, customer's friend gets mad

[Trixie]

I always seem to get people paying with big bills around 10 pm when our tills get switched out for the night. One time I had a guy who paid with a 100 his change wasn't so much that it wiped out my drawer and still made comment about what he got back. It wasn't even like it was all 1's or something. I said that was all I had and then he tried to backtrack on what he said.

[Jester]

Last night a group of about 6 people come through my line, 20 minutes or so before I'm supposed to get off, and I was working on my day off because the company cut back way too many hours and I needed more hours.
Customer hands me a $100 bill, and I know I don't have the change to break it.

To me, this is a failure on management. I'm sorry, but at the beginning of the shift, I can see not being able to break a large bill, but at the end of the shift, this just seems a bit off. Also, it should not take management that long to make change for the tills.

Yes, the customer sucked majorly on this. (Well, their friend did.) But I see this situation as a management fail more than anything.

Maybe I'm wrong saying what I am about to say, but customers should have more than 1 way to pay. Its just common sense folks. You never know when your card is going to be declined.

True, but there are times when you only have one method of payment. Not always due to lack of planning, but just because sometimes that's how things shake out. Just saying.

Try having a person come in with a $100 and be all "Can I have three 20's, some tens, a five and five ones?" Yeah...I had that happen today. I had to bite my tongue damn hard not to tell him that the name of the company does not include BANK in it.

My usual answer to people like this is simple: "No."

We get a lot of people coming in for change for parking meters (parking in downtown Key West is pretty brutal). And we'll give them up to two dollars in quarters if they are not customers, i.e., just their for the change. But someone coming in with a C-note looking for us to change it? And to change it to their specifications? Thank you, no, my change is for the paying customers, not some jackass walking in off the street who can't tell the difference between BAR and BANK.

And in how many places do you really spend $100 or more at a time, really? Large totals like that should be on a charge/debit card or paid by check. $100 bills are dinosaurs, just like the penny, and they need to go away.

Actually, plenty of places that I can think of off the top of my head. Bars and restaurants (for large parties or large tabs), auto repair places, clothing stores (if you're buying more than the basics), sporting goods stores, liquor stores (the way some of us buy our booze, anyway), grocery stores if you have a family (I have spent over $100 at a grocery store just for myself, and when I was engaged, we would regularly spend over $200...and we had no children!), spas, tourist activities, etc. My point is, $20 bills are not always as convenient.

...they may just finally get rid of cash altogether.

And just what would you use when the power goes out? It does happen, you know. Cash is blackout-proof. Credit and debit cards are not.

I can only speak for myself, but I would love to see dollar coins.

Every waiter and waitress in the land would be against that, for one simple reason: tips. A lot of their tips come in the form of dollars, either singularly or in multiples, but still a lot of single dollar bills. And in most restaurants, servers carry their own banks to make change for people. Carrying single dollars in coins would be a major pain in the ass, as would collecting those aforementioned tips in coins. Hell, I remember one shift at my first serving job when I had $21 in quarters at the end of the shift, and that was one hell of a lump of metal in my pocket. Dollar coins would be worse.

It wouldn't be as bad for bartenders, as we tend to have registers for our banks. But still, dollar coins would be a bitch to servers.

Which makes me wonder....how do Canadian servers deal with this very issue? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Some people are totally clueless. I've had garage sales where people would try to buy a $1 item with a $20, right at opening. Then there are the truly SCs - my parents used to have a regular flea market table, and other sellers who forgot (or didn't bother) to get change in advance would go around trying to buy tiny items just to get change for their own booths from sellers who actually came prepared.

On the first point, I'm sorry, but if you're running a garage sale, you should have change on hand for people making purchases.

On the second note, of other merchants using your parents as their bank, I thoroughly agree. We used to have a bar/lodge next to The Bar where the bartenders over there would constantly come over to our bar and ask us for change, since apparently supplying their bartenders with an actual bank wasn't high on the list for the owners. It got to the point where we just started saying no. Poor planning on their part was not an emergency on our part, and they could damn well go to the bank if they needed change, as we were sick of compromising our tills early in the day for them.

[wolfie]

Used to get this all the time at MalMart. Usually it was people trying to withdraw their welfare money (it was on the poorer side of town) all at once by asking for $100 cash back on multiple small food stamp purchases. The worst was the lady who wanted $100 back in fives. I gave her what I could spare (think it was forty) in fives and the rest in twenties and very respectfully suggested that in the future if she needed a specific mix of bills she should ask a bank. She got mortally offended, informed me that she had never had a cashier be so rude to her, and stormed out.

While we're on this subject, I seem to have more and more people ask for $100 cash back, the maximum amount allowed at our store.

Why can't Karma arrange for one of these people to come in immediately after someone makes a purchase with a $100 bill? Customer wanting the $100 cash back gets the (for U.S. stores) Franklin - problem solved.

[BowserKoopa1]

To me, this is a failure on management. I'm sorry, but at the beginning of the shift, I can see not being able to break a large bill, but at the end of the shift, this just seems a bit off. Also, it should not take management that long to make change for the tills.

The reason why is because our Sups are closing down other registers around 9 to prepare for the end of the business day. And as I told this customer, its very hard to get a hold of 1 of them this time of night. It is really fucking stupid that they can't have someone else closeby just in case something like this happens. I've even informed them about this and even ran out of big bills in my till, asking them for more and them saying it'll be fine. Um no, it won't be fine if another customer asks for cash back and all I got is fives and ones. Then I gotta listen to them bitch and moan about the small bills they get back.
At the same time, the sucky customer was a bitch. Its as I said before, customers need to stop thinking we are banks. Of course, they won't

[Sapphire Silk]

$100 bills are dinosaurs, just like the penny, and they need to go away.

There are times when they come in handy; like when you need to carry a large sum of money, but lots of $20's would be too bulky. I took my vacation money with me in cash, in $100's knowing that I would be hitting the exchange desk at the airport as soon as I got to Korea. I kept some of the Korean cash in large bills because I knew I'd be giving it to the bus driver and tour guide at the end of the trip as their tip. No need to break them.

Likewise, purchases for large sums are easier made with large bills.

But yeah, trying to break a $100 at a store is just bad form.

I can only speak for myself, but I would love to see dollar coins (and get rid of pennies while you're at it!) -- the problem is, the government has re-designed the dollar coins we DO have a few times amidst complaints that they look and feel too much like quarters. Their response, thus far, is to come up with new designs that look and feel MORE like discolored quarters. ARRRRRRRRRGH

Yeah, I don't get this either. The old Eisenhower dollar coins were hard to mistake for anything else.

I think weight is the issue. It actually costs more to make pennies and nickels than they are worth face value. The amount of metal that went into the old $1 coins was probably fairly large and still would be if we made them larger than quarters.

Korean coins are all basically the same size: $100 and $500 won coins are indistinguishable from one another until you look closely. I'm not sure how the blind manage.

Ah. I just really hate coins lol. They all go in a giant jar until the jar is full then I take them to be turned into paper money. XD

Oh, I don't mind coins at all! It's an enforced savings plan for me. I throw all my change into a tin box I have and once or twice a year go to the bank to change it for cash. I get around $80-$100 each time, which is mad money. Sometimes it helps me bridge a gap if my finances are tight between paychecks. It always comes in handy.

[Merriweather]

That's the problem. Looking through my coin collection, the current gold dollar coin...isn't that much bigger than a quarter. In fact, a quarter fits nicely inside the recess on both sides! Very similar, right down to the color...are the old Susan B. Anthony dollar coins. Again, too much like a damn quarter. At least the half dollar coins are much larger. Larger than that, we have the "Ike" dollar coin. Those never caught on--vending machines at the time wouldn't take them, and they're a bit bulky.

I liked the design of the £ coins in the UK ( at least in the 90's, no idea if there have been any currency changes since). Rather than going for the obvious - largest denomination coin should have the largest diameter - they made if as small as other coins, but much thicker. So it was very easy to tell just by reaching into your pocket. Also just made it feel more "substantial", you sort of knew it had to be worth more than the other coins.

And as we're discussing currency, I've also always liked the idea so many other countries have of making different denomination of paper money in different sizes (and colours). Just seems to make life easier, especially the size thing, when you can glance at the bills in your wallet and tell which are which at a glance. Much less chance on either side of the register to mistake a 10 for a 20, etc. Not to mention making it possible for the blind to recognize the difference in bills.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Not to defend the SCs, but there's a few things at play here:

- Most ATMs in North America dispense primarily in $20s and $100s. There are a few that will give $10s and some rare ones that will give $5s but usually it's just 20 or 100. If a customer hits the ATM after banking hours (pretty easy to do because banking hours are laughably short) they may get stuck with 20s when they in fact need smaller change.

- It actually used to be pretty common for stores to change bills with no hassle, now virtually no stores do. I imagine this is largely as a result of losing money to the infamous "bill change scam" that we all know about.

- Customers for some odd reason seem completely unable to grasp the concept of keeping a minimal amount of money in the till at all times (so that less of it can be stolen in a robbery, etc.) and expect stores to keep a virtual fortune on hand so they can break large bills at any time.

My most aggravating experience happened at the games store. We had been open only an hour so not much money yet. Two people in line. First guy pays with a $100. Ok, fine I have JUST enough to break it.

Then the second guy tries to pay with...you guessed it: A $100 bill.

Dude, you just SAW ME CLEAN OUT MY DRAWER to give the other guy his change and you have the nerve to do that?

[Laund-o-rama Mama]

I think the major problem is the attitude SCs cop when we can't change their large bills. It doesn't hurt to ask, I suppose, but take the associate's "no" gracefully.

[Merriweather]

I think the major problem is the attitude SCs cop when we can't change their large bills. It doesn't hurt to ask, I suppose, but take the associate's "no" gracefully.

I think that's pretty much it in a nutshell, it's the attitude.

There are tons of reasons why a person might find themselves with only a large bill and no other way to pay, or need some change (after banking hours) in certain denominations. Pretty much everyone has found themselves in an unusual money situation now and then, either because of unforeseen circumstances, or just forgetting to plan ahead once.

So I really don't believe there's anything wrong with a customer asking if they can use a large bill on a small purchase, or if they can get cash back, or change in a certain way. As long as they ask politely, no harm done.

The problems only come into it when they can't accept "no" as an answer, whether it's because their request is against policy/law, or just not possible at the current time or conditions. As long as they realize it's a request, and requests can't always be granted, no problems. If they don't it's only then that it becomes a problem and they become an SC.

[Jester]

It actually used to be pretty common for stores to change bills with no hassle, now virtually no stores do. I imagine this is largely as a result of losing money to the infamous "bill change scam" that we all know about.

My guess is that it's more about the constant stream of non-customers coming in and wanting change. While it is nice to help non-customers out occasionally, in the hopes that one day they will actually be customer, it's been my experience that that is more rare than common.

Down here, anyway, a lot of businesses won't give any change at all to non-customers, because so many people are trying to get change for the parking meters that, if you did give all of them change, you wouldn't have any change left in your till for your actual customers.

When I bartended at the hotel, we had far less change in our tills than I do at The Bar. So I couldn't help laughing at the guy who came in off the street and asked with a straight face if I could give him eight dollars in quarters. I generally had only ten bucks in quarters in my till anyway, so there was no way this was going to happen. Hell, even at The Bar, where I do have more quarters, I am not changing a non-customer eight dollars' worth. Hell to the N O.

[Racket_Man]

***** RM starts to sound like a broken record concerning large bills ******


Welcome to my pizza delivery world. Too many rants not enough shells

and I can not reload fast enough damn it.

Sorry to quote myself but I got a real WINNER last night.

First hint. It is near close and customer calls and wants to know what our specials are. I tell them and get a phone number to look up their record. They hem and haw around and can not decide what to get. They say they will call back in a minute.

They call back (someone else takes the order) and ordered $65.68 worth of pizza and wings. and I get the delivery.

Now my Amazing Kreskin powers kick in. I KNOW I am going to get hit with a $100 bill. Do not ask me HOW I knew. I just KNEW.

I get there and the customer answers the door and ....

LO and BEHOLD she hands me a

$100 bill

I say I am sorry but I do not have enough change.

She says "NOT even $25?????" (meaning a $9 tip)

"No all I have is $20 on me. This is in accordence with our safety and security policy."

Now the hunt begins to scrape together enough $$$s for the order. They manage to come up with $68 ($2 tip)

NOW the kicker is the woman who answered the door actually had the balls to tell me she ACTUALLY worked for a pizza delivery place and KNEW about the $20 on-your-person-delivery rules.

[ADeMartino]

Actually, plenty of places that I can think of off the top of my head. Bars and restaurants (for large parties or large tabs), auto repair places, clothing stores (if you're buying more than the basics), sporting goods stores, liquor stores (the way some of us buy our booze, anyway), grocery stores if you have a family (I have spent over $100 at a grocery store just for myself, and when I was engaged, we would regularly spend over $200...and we had no children!), spas, tourist activities, etc. My point is, $20 bills are not always as convenient.

Which is why I advocate $50 bills as the largest general-service denomination. You could carry $500 in fifties and it would still only be ten bills, and breaking a $50 bill is far easier for most establishments than a $100. And yet, for some reason, I seldom see a $50 bill anymore. Everybody wants to lay a $100 on me for the most trivial of purchases.

[Laund-o-rama Mama]

- It actually used to be pretty common for stores to change bills with no hassle, now virtually no stores do. I imagine this is largely as a result of losing money to the infamous "bill change scam" that we all know about.

As a side note, it's also aggravating when we DO accept the bill, but then have to use that marker to test its authenticity, and the SC has the gall to get all huffy like I am accusing them of passing me a fake bill.

[EricKei]

Which is why I advocate $50 bills as the largest general-service denomination.

I dunno, man..."All About the Grants" just doesn't have the same ring...

[Jester]

Which is why I advocate $50 bills as the largest general-service denomination. You could carry $500 in fifties and it would still only be ten bills, and breaking a $50 bill is far easier for most establishments than a $100. And yet, for some reason, I seldom see a $50 bill anymore. Everybody wants to lay a $100 on me for the most trivial of purchases.

I dunno. I see just as many $50's in my job as I do $100's. Might be something to do with this area, or being in a tourist town in general. Perhaps elsewhere $100's are more prevalent, but here, it seems to be an even split.

I dunno, man..."All About the Grants" just doesn't have the same ring...

It would actually be "All About the Ulysses," since the original phrase is "All About the Benjamins." Actually, come to think of it, Ulysses is singular, so it would be "All About the Ulysseses."

Ouch.

You're right. Not the same ring at all.