Cashier couldn't make change for $100 bill

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Twenty some odd years ago near adults (16-17 year old), would ask me what 6% of a dollar was.

But they could rattle off sports stats or some such trivia.
 
Making change is a minor skill that probably should be taught in school. It actually doesn't involve any math, just counting, and that makes it more foolproof in a cashier type situation.

For those not familiar:
Say you have a bill totaling $3.08 and the customer hands you a $20.
"the total is" $3.08
(counting pennies)$3.09, $3.10
(counting nickels)$3.15
(counting dimes) $3.25
(counting quarters)$3.50, $3.75, $4.00
(counting dollars)"and one is" $5.00
(counting fives) "and five is" $10.00
(counting tens) "and ten is" $20.00
"There's your change sir/madam, have a good day."

That's the old fashioned way. And a good skill to have in a pinch, like if you are tending a simple cash box.

The issue is, people have become accustom to having the register display the change to tender. So nobody learns the "trick" of counting change, it's become irrelevant (sort of). However, when the system breaks down, they don't have a simple back-up, they have to use math and they get all panicky.
 
joe im in nj also and i see college grads that can't do simple math.. My cousin richard is a high school dropout that started a boiler repair and hot water heater company that now employees seven people and is doing a great business. Its a shame what schools are turning out these days... Its a joke i see more high school dropouts in their own business doing better than most!
 
Some folks just cannot do it esp under pressure.

Only the self superior think they are idiots for not being able to do it. My guess is the person was flustered for their mistake and lost their skills.
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: Joe1

Who is accountable for allowing this young woman to go through the educational system without the ability to do third grade math?


1. Her parents
2. Her.


DING,DING, we have a winning answer here.

What ever happened to personal accountability? My parents made sure that I performed well in all subjects in grades K-12 and I was accountable for doing so. They also made sure that I was prepared for college and graduated from one.

I went into a Burger King the other day and my tab was $5.93. I handed the girl a $20. and she mistakenly punched it in as a $10. She couldn't figure out that my change would be $14.07 instead of the $4.07 the register indicated. This led to a breakdown from the cashier about how her register wouldn't balance. I explained to her that it would if she gave me the proper change back. She calls the manager over who told her the same thing that I did. After five minutes, I was able to collect my change and go about gnawing on my Whopper sandwich. Unfortunately there is no vaccine for being intellectually challenged.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Some folks just cannot do it esp under pressure.

Only the self superior think they are idiots for not being able to do it. My guess is the person was flustered for their mistake and lost their skills.



And some of us put an emphasis from the early days on the important of the maths to getting by in everyday life. I dont think that is as much self superior as it is common sense for self preservation.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I'm math stupid too. I can't make change w/o a calculater. I had the same blue math book with clocks on the cover from 6th grade till I graduated. I even spent an ex
tra year in hs to try to learn math. We were not allowed to use calculaters so that was not my problem and I never did drugs. I did win spelling bees and got A's in auto shop,metal art and history classes though ... I'm stupid too I guess


Me too - I could never count change...just thought I was stupid. I was advanced in my reading age, but numbers just confused me...simple sums are difficult. Fortunately in highschool us dumb trade school types were able to drop maths as a subject...actually we did what was called trade maths, arithmetic and simple algebra.

And so it was until in my 50's I discovered I have a form of dyslexia called dyscalculia. I always though dyslexia was a cop out for stupid people, bit of a shock to find I'm one of them.Do a test for dyslexia

http://www.dyslexia.com/library/symptoms.htm

The thing that made me click to dyslexia was finding they see in 3D - I thought....doesn't everyone? When I got to highschool and we started on the higher maths stuff, we had a maths test everyday - if you fail you were taken out into the corridor and given the cane. So I was caned everyday for a couple of months until I learned the tricks...cheating and stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I'm math stupid too. I can't make change w/o a calculater. I had the same blue math book with clocks on the cover from 6th grade till I graduated. I even spent an ex
tra year in hs to try to learn math. We were not allowed to use calculaters so that was not my problem and I never did drugs. I did win spelling bees and got A's in auto shop,metal art and history classes though ... I'm stupid too I guess

Im not very good at math either. I barely passed Pre-Algebra in HS and when I went to the community college in LV, I took the math test on entry and still did poorly enough for me to have to take it again there. I really pushed myself and still got an A-. But, I ran two work sheets, since he wanted work shown. One was for him and the other was where I broke the problem down to the minimal operation size so I could count on my fingers. I have to have the physical backup to mental calculations as Ill just 'lose' where I am in the operation. Which is weird, because I can remember my drivers license number, the serial number of my pistol, and the VIN number of the last crown vic made without any problems.
I didnt even realize how bad I was until one day at work when someone asked me what something similar to....54 - 38 was. I was still working on the carry when another person next to me spouted off the answer. My jaw dropped and I asked him how the f he did that. "I dunno, I just can."
I cried.
 
Originally Posted By: Joe1
Who is accountable for allowing this young woman to go through the educational system without the ability to do third grade math?

I don't get it either. My staff is abysmal at counting money. I learned how to deal with currency driving taxi and delivering pizza, where the only calculator or till was in my head. Heck, I've run a busy convenience store when the till went down. It's not that hard.

They end up relying on the till to tell them everything, then they do what happened in your situation, and they're in panic mode. I've seen that plenty. At the convenience store where I worked years back, I even saw a manager make a mistake, and she blew it way out of proportion. She was supposed to be selling 3 single $1 lottery tickets. She entered it as 30,000 lottery tickets. No big deal, really. Void out 29,997 of them and be on your way. Instead, panic set in and the owner had to come downstairs and fix it. Being out a penny is as easy to fix as being out a million dollars. A mathematical error is simply that, a mathematical error. Correct it. Yeesh.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I'm math stupid too. I can't make change w/o a calculater. I had the same blue math book with clocks on the cover from 6th grade till I graduated.... I'm stupid too I guess


Don't look at it that way. Some people simply aren't great at math, and making change does take practice. Like my last post stated, I had to learn change the hard way. It's not simply "not using a calculator." It's actually working with the stuff.

I got 100% in second year university calculus. You got an A in art. I couldn't draw anything resembling a circle freehand if my life depended on it. And I don't think you'd want me loose in a metal shop or machine shop, either.
wink.gif


There's a reason I prefer the theoretical side to things. I'm reasonably adept in the garage, but in a lab, I can be a bit of a menace. I think it's just carelessness on my part.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: Cujobob
It's more about being put on the spot vs. not being able to do math. Plus, most places make employees pay back cash mistakes. Some people just freak out about certain things, everyone's different.


I agree with this.

She was probably just panicking because it's a situation she doesn't see very often.

No need to condemn all of society and the school system because one person lost her cool and did something stupid.


I concur. However, i wouldn't deem her actions as "stupid." She just didn't respond well under stress.

A number of mitigating factors can be stated in her defense, and it's a bit unreasonable to question the efficacy of a public school education or her upbringing.
 
Avoid the problem by using plastic. Swipe, press some buttons, sign.

Since you cannot control the skills of the cashier, take control if such things bother you and then use your superior math skills to add your credit card bill, calculate your cash back bonus, etc.
 
I'd probably give the cashier the benefit of the doubt.

- Depending on the POS system, voiding a sale might require a manager's override, or some other kind of record keeping to make sure everything reconciles at the end of the day.

- There might be some kind of specific policy in place in regards to $100 bills or payment discrepancies.

- When standing on your feet and counting all day, sometimes your brain just has enough.

I essentially do math for a living and by 5:00, I'm often running very basic calculations through Excel or using a calculator, simply because I don't trust myself after a certain point.
 
I went into a fast food joint and ordered, it came to $4.75. I gave the cashier a 5 dollar bill, and for some reason the machine didn't say what the change was. She panicked! I kept saying "it's a quarter." She had TO CALL IN THE MANAGER. Pathetic.

John
 
Originally Posted By: John_K
I went into a fast food joint and ordered, it came to $4.75. I gave the cashier a 5 dollar bill, and for some reason the machine didn't say what the change was. She panicked! I kept saying "it's a quarter." She had TO CALL IN THE MANAGER. Pathetic.

John


Yup! It is our Burger King's policy, as well.

No $50 or $100, you have to call for a manager IMMEIDATELY and then they can do it, or not.

Holds up the drive-thru line very well.

And all the fakes tend to be $20s...........................

Was this in Columbus Ohio?

Was this the Clintonville McDonalds on High St? Or, "Campus McDonalds on 17th and High? If so, I know them.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: Cujobob
It's more about being put on the spot vs. not being able to do math. Plus, most places make employees pay back cash mistakes. Some people just freak out about certain things, everyone's different.


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Yes, I think the fact that some are required to payback mistakes makes things worse. Think about it if someone screws up and ends up short 200 bucks. That's like 20hrs of work they need to do to pay it back.


If she short-changed that drawer $80.. That isn't a write-up, that's fired.

What is the MOST fun is when the manager always slips out a $20 when counting your drawer, to say yyou are short $20, to try to get you fired, because they don't like you. That's hard to beat.. until you can point out "Only $20 when such and such counts drawer, see a pattern here?"

We are allowed +/1 $2.00 lee-way on our drawers. Over, under.. better over, IMHO.
 
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