Feel this pain: You’re a cashier in a busy store at holiday season.
Now, say you’re good at your job and you’ve been there a while. You’ve long memorized the produce codes and you bag like a champion. You’re keeping up with the traffic, whipping customer after customer through the till in no time flat. You’re rocking the credit cards, you’re rocking the debit cards, and your line is the most sought-after line at the store.
Yes, it seems like nothing can stop you. You are Cashatron, a top-secret, beta-version prototype of the world’s most highly efficient cashier.
And if you’ve been there before, if you’ve ever cashed and cashed hard, if you’ve lived the cash life and have the varicose veins to prove it, then you know what I’m talking about. And you also know the one thing that can trip you up. Yes, you know the stick in the bike spokes for a veteran cashier is simply …
… running out of change.
It happens all of a sudden, too. One moment you’re whipping through the line and then suddenly you stare up at a customer and apologize profusely as you awkwardly dump two handfuls of sweaty coins into their hands. You look back at the long line and just hope somebody else opens up a lane while you wait for change to arrive. It’s a terrible feeling. And it makes us ol’ cashing veterans shudder just thinking about it.
And that’s why it’s so great for cashiers when someone pays with exact change. And as an added bonus, customers get to empty their pockets and lighten their loads. Yes, it’s a win-win situation.
Plus, there’s a Bonus Round, too! That’s when you pay for something with exact change … with every single coin you have in your pocket. I’m talking about when you have seven coins in your pocket that add up to 74 cents and the bill comes to $5.74. Nope, no breaking a ten for you, because you just won the bonus round jackpot.
Now, this bonus round is pretty rare, but a big hit for everybody whenever it happens. How excited are you when you realize you pulled it off? For a moment it’s sort of like you beat the currency system. No more change for you, Changeless Wonder! Now you’re all bills, all the time, just rocking the sidewalk with those light, empty pockets.
And how does that make you feel?
AWESOME!
27 Comments
November 28, 2008 at 2:15 am
Great post and so true. Reminds me of the story of the Scottish bus driver (Scots are known for their thrift). A chap got on the bus and gave the bus driver the right change.
The Scotsman looked at the cash carefully.
The chap who got on the bus said “what’s wrong, is it the right cash?”
To which the bus driver responded “Aye, but it’s only just right!”
November 28, 2008 at 2:47 am
How do you get 74 cents with 7 coins? Four of them have to be pennies, leaving you with three coins to add up to 70 cents…
November 28, 2008 at 5:27 am
1 50 Cent piece : $.50
2 Dimes : $.20
+4 Pennies : $.04
————————–
7 Coins : $.74
November 28, 2008 at 7:46 am
Oh dear this reminds me of when I was a cashier when I was 17 at a supermarket. I used to shortchange people to be sure I was not short in my drawer.
November 28, 2008 at 7:57 am
1 68 cent piece: $0.68
+ 1 two-center: $0.02
+ 5 nearly-pennies: $0.04
——–
7 coins: $0.74
November 28, 2008 at 11:15 am
I try to always pay for my morning Tim Horton’s run with exact change. My usual order comes to $2.59, and I love getting rid of those 9 pennies! Having exact change in a Drive Thru line is great, because you speed up the line for everyone behind you. And let’s face it – we could all use an extra 15 seconds in the morning!
November 28, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I am Cashatron. Leader of the Cashierbots of CVS who wage war against the Seniorcons who pay with nonexact change and three coupons for a single item!
I hate running out of change. What’s worse: Running out of both register tape AND change, as well as a Seniorcon paying for an $8 item with a $100 bill.
November 28, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I beg to differ. Very few things slow a line down more than a little old lady digging for exact change…and digging…and digging…
It doesn’t just have to be old ladies, either! Tourists of all sorts. I used to work in a resort town, working the front counter in the store (sometimes on my own!), and some moron would take a full minute to find just the right amount of pennies. Argh!
February 24, 2010 at 12:23 pm
How about when they spend a few minutes searching for that pesky .91 in change, only to find they only have .87, even after checking each and every compartment in their purse, and all their pockets also. Then they move on to looking for the exact amount of bills, only to hand over a $10 at the end. Time is money, people.
I usually use the credit card, collect the miles, and do not worry about the change.
November 29, 2008 at 11:20 am
Not that I’m trying to be incendiary or anything, but why is it that women wait until they’ve finished packing up before they get out their purse? Then they spend precious minutes trying to find their reward cards or coupons, before finally dumping a load of incorrect change down before the cashier. Do women hate cashiers? Why can’t they do all this while waiting in line?
I hope you can answer these questions for me, Internet.
December 1, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Reminds me of some story I once heard about a “Baby Boom in Coin World”.
December 2, 2008 at 5:37 pm
…also awesome: giving the cashier $21 for a $16 purchase and them knowing you wanted a $5 bill instead of returning your dollar bill and 4 more singles.
December 3, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Occasionally this ceases to be awesome when a customer decides they’d like to dig for some change after you’ve already cashed them out.
December 5, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I save all my pennies in my car. And then, the next time I do McDonald’s drive-through, I fling all the pennies into the server’s face.
No, actually, I put the pennies into the Ronald McDonald House box right underneath the window.
December 6, 2008 at 4:05 pm
[...] Life in general other than exams is actually going fairly well. I am currently trying to eat through the perishable contents of my fridge, so I don’t come back in January to some unpleasant surprises. I have also started my Christmas shopping :). I’m trying to hit the smaller, more unique stores this year as opposed to the big box stores, though I suppose I will have to go to them eventually. This weekend is my last weekend before I leave. Wow. I’m excited! Though of course I do have to write my exams first, unfortunately. And then…I get a few days of relaxation in Calgary before I start working. Speaking of working, I came across this article/thing on a blog recently which I just had to agree with (and if you’ve ever been a grocery store cashier, you will too): Paying For Something With Exact Change (article) [...]
December 24, 2008 at 9:52 pm
In college I was the king of guessing how much the stuff in the grocery cart was worth. Even though I always had a different amount in my pocket I always spent almost all of it. I was usually left with less than a dollar after shopping, and never had to bear the shame of going over and picking some stuff to leave behind. Unsurprisingly noone ever acknowledged my talent in the area. One time -and I swear- I was able to cover a grocery bill that was over a hundred dollars, with couple of pennies I found after scavengin’ a bit, in one of the small unfunctional pockets of my pants. Let me tell you, when I walked out with a bunch of groceries and absolutely no change or money whatsoever, the victorious feeling was so overwhelming that I was almost expecting cameras outside:
-Congratulations B, you have no money at all!
-Thanks Ken, I knew I could do it…
January 23, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I know I love the feeling!I always try to give the correct change (or as close to correct change) when i can! I never feel guiltier than when i go in and have nothing but a fifty, and it only cost like $6 or something (especially if it’s a small business, like a coffee shop or something, those conglomerates, at least have more back up available)
but what i HATE is when you you have the following situation
The transaction costs $48.25, so you go into your purse/wallet and automatically reach for that $50, but wait you look again you’ve actually got $8.25 in change, so you hand the whole lot to the teller ($58.25), because lets face it, it gives the teller that change that they’ll probably be running out of soon, and lightens your wallet (and you get a nice crisp $10 note back :)
But the Teller just looks at you as if your brain dead, and tells you you’ve given them too much, and tries to palm the change back to you!!!
that’s an situation that just gets up my goat! I mean i respect tellers, and god knows that have to put up with a lot of a*holes, and just plain annoying situations (especially in the holiday season). But seriously if you can’t do that simple addition (or at least put it in the machine to figure out for you), you really need to head back to school and brush up on those math skills (or as the case may be, actually go to those math classes)
April 2, 2009 at 11:22 am
I used to try to do this until I realized you can pay with a check card and ALWAYS have exact change, plus you don’t have to carry that pesky cash around everywhere. Really brings back the memories though =).
February 21, 2010 at 10:43 pm
[...] #885 Paying for something with exact change [...]
March 2, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Super-Duper web page! I am loving it!! Will appear back again – taking you rss feeds also, Regards.
March 9, 2010 at 9:53 am
I agree with you, I presume! Would that be available that will have your blog post translated in to French? English is my 2nd language.
March 12, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Super awesome! Been a cashier many years and this is awesome as long as its done quickly
March 16, 2010 at 4:56 pm
When I worked in retail, I loved getting exact change! Makes life so much easier.
April 19, 2010 at 12:33 am
I used to write lists of “100 loves.” I’ve written 4, I don’t know why I haven’t done one since January, but I just discovered this blog today- and it’s really neat seeing things that were on my lists :)
April 19, 2010 at 8:41 am
I was working one Sunday, and the people who worked last night left me with 5 SINGLES! 5! With my boss away and nothing open, I was trying to figure out a way to get through a Sunday at the bakery with so few singles.
When I very apologetically explained to a woman my problem, she saved me by changing out no less than ten singles. I was so grateful I let her have a brownie.
I know this is only mildly relevant, but it was awesome.
April 19, 2010 at 10:55 am
I love getting rid of my change and feeling lighter as I do so. We all need to give exact change when we can and lighten our load and make the receiver happier. Good post.
May 31, 2010 at 10:59 pm
[...] destination just as a great song ends on the radio (click), paying for something with exact change (click), building an amazing couch cushion fort (click), and peeling your socks off under the sheets [...]