Doesn't ANYONE know HOW to count change back anymore?

[HighNDryFarm]

Really, I don't know many stores that have a register that doesn't tell the clerk the change.....I agree with another poster that it's not a skill I even ask a new employee since our system gives you the change amount, although counting back the change the computer tells you IS required... but I have lot's of other things to teach my staff then to override the computer and count back change that the computer already calculated.

I'm surprised this is such an issue with people since it usually tells you the bill you gave and the change you got right on your receipt.

 

[Carols Clucks]

In a former life.....

I was an operations officer for a S&L (Savings and Loan) Not only did I teach all my tellers to count it out of the drawer once as they removed it, but again back to the customer. Double counting solved most of the cash shortage issues in teller drawers.

Same thing in restaurants I worked in count it once to your hand and once back to the customer.

But yes....to many clerks only know how to make change to what the cash register tells them to do. Too bad, almost a lost art. But not to worry.....that stupid tax can end in your favor when they count it back wrong and give you too much back.


And I did find a teller who was "tubing" cash to the drive up window and making her own deposits to the trash can.... I think they only made her pay back $16k of the money she stole.

 

[Judy]

I gave up expecting this years ago. I do occasionally do something like give them a $10 bill and a nickel if the bill is $5.05, but usually when I know the cashier will be able to manage it. I always count the bills handed to me, but usually don't bother with the coins any more.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote:
Wow! Now a bank is a whole other ball game! There's no register to tell them the change. Funny when you think any little store has a computer system, the clerks puts in the amount of cash they're given (even when you throw in the coin to get a paper bill) but a bank teller still relies on the calculator sitting next to them.

I have had to check the list of voided transactions periodically since a clerk can invoice a cash paying customer, void the transaction, pocket the cash and the drawer still balances at the end of the day! I had a friend who lost over a $100K to a trusted, 10 year employee. She voided all the cash transactions and held after hours "cash only" parties! Maybe I should check the trash too!

 

[NixNoodleNumbat]

I totally agree. At my old school(it was a very small school) we had a canteen. There would be two volunteer members at the counter and the children would bring money and tell the volunteers what they wanted. The volunteers would then take the money and write down their order. I would always get a toasted sandwitch($1.20) and a popper($0.80). They would always have to write it down and take ages to work out the trading. Most kids got annoyed as they had to wait in line for the volunteers to add up other children's change.

 

[njduck]

this story is absolutely true. It just goes to show were our education is going in this country.
I go to walmart. I am checking out the bill was $47.98. I give the cashier 3 $20 bills. She has to walk to another register to get a marker to make sure they are real. when comes back she enters the amount and hands me my change of $47.98. I politely told her $47.98 was my bill and my change was $12.02. mind you I did the math in my head in less then 3 seconds. She gets mad at me and tells me my change is $47.98. The next person in line can't believe what is going on and tells her that I am right. I finally leave the register and go to the customer service desk (I dont want to get arrested for stealing). The girl at the desk looks at me like I am an idiot. After 20 minutes I give up and leave. I went home and called walmart coporate and told them. they couldn't believe what had happened and wanted me to return to the store and give the money back. I told them I had tried. they took the rest of the info off of the reciept and my information. They then told me not to worry about it and sent me $100 gift card for my honesty and trying to solve the problem. I was also informed that the same clerk had been short on her register for a month and they were trying to catch her stealing money. They had no clue she couldn't do basic math or understand the register. Thought they had a thief and only had an idiot.

 

[BarefootMom]

It saddens me that so many people rely on computers. This just makes me want to crawl in a hole and hide. Yes I do use computers and I do like to use them- BUT I still know a paper system too. So many people think OH! I can do it on a computer no need to learn any other way.

I tried that last fall...I tried to save some time by putting all of our Club tractor pulling results in the computer and not rewriting it all out on paper first. It was all going along great until the night before the Championship and my computer crashed. LOST EVERYTHING. Even though I was up all night trying to refigure everything and figure points I didn't finish before the pull and I let the club down. Not only did I lose the results I lost notes, names, and addresses/phone numbers. Stupid me! I had let the computer figure everything so I had to do it all by hand.

I learned my lesson. First learn the "old fashioned" way then learn the new way. I guess I am just too old fashioned for our country. I don't do debit card because too me debit means debt. We tried it the first year we were married and my hubby is one of those people that doesn't ever keep a reciept or write ANYTHING down. He just keeps a running total in his head- well that doesn't work when you have a joint account and all of our bilss come out of that account.

Credit means debt too since most people buy on credit when they don't have the money to pay cash. Something always comes up even though you were going to pay it off next month.

As for the rotary phone comment- I think people should still know how to use them. When we had our ice storm in '07 that is all we could use. No power for 18 days and the cell towers were iced over and some had fallen down- causing our batteries to run down quicker. So we drug out the rotary phones. and hooked them up. There are still stores around here that use the old school credit card machines- you know the ones that you stick the card in slide the thing over and it makes a copy. yeah. The post office uses one and a local cafe uses one. They prefer you to use cash or check.

At least I know my kids will know how to do the important stuff. They may have never played a Wii (nor have I) but they will know how to write their name in cursive, be able to do basic math on paper, read, write- grammar, and all the other things that they won't teach in school these days.

Can you believe that I am in school right now trying to get my teaching degree. This all makes me scared that there are people out in this world that doesn't think learning the basic are needed anymore. Maybe I will start my own school!

 

[goldfinches]

I have been a cashier for many of my jobs. At my most recent job, we went through probably 3 tickets a minute in our busy times, that's taking an order, telling the customer their total, getting their $ and making change. This was every day for 2 hours straight. I can count change. But, I did rely on my register to tell me how much to return simply because I was going so fast. I usually was making the change in my head, but was awfully grateful for the double check of the register. And yes, when someone would adjust what they gave me after I had entered it and opened my drawer, it would throw me off. 1. because then I would have to adjust what I had already planned to return to them. 2. I have seen many rip-off done by someone continuing to add $$ to what they give the cashier trying to confuse them.

FYI, my drawer always started with only 1's and 5's, anything $20 or higher was dropped into a box that we weren't supposed to ever open until the end of our shift. So, if someone gave us a $100 for a $.97 order, (yes, it happened), they got their change in 1's and 5's, 10's if they were lucky. Sorry, guess it's a policy to protect us from robbers.

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
That only works if the person using the register enters the correct purchase price, the correct cash tendered and knows how to hand back what the register tells him or her.

Mistakes happen and knowing more than you need to only makes a better cashier and therefore a better business.

Fortunately for the business owner, most customers are honest enough to hand back the excess change offered.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote:
That only works if the person using the register enters the correct purchase price, the correct cash tendered and knows how to hand back what the register tells him or her.

Mistakes happen and knowing more than you need to only makes a better cashier and therefore a better business.

Fortunately for the business owner, most customers are honest enough to hand back the excess change offered.

Yes, that's happened before and is why we count the amount out that the computer tells us...just saying it aloud will help catch when you put something in wrong. Our system also tracks customer so if we do have an error we can call the customer and let them know we made a mistake.