Can you "make change" ?

[exitseven]

I went to CVS yesterday. A young girl was behind the counter. My prescription was less than ten dollars. I pulled out a ten dollar bill. She asks me if I was going to pay cash. I just nodded. The register actually figures out how much change that the cashier should give back. This poor kid was still having trouble counting out the right amount of change. I know it really was not her fault but really the fault of a failing school system.

Finally she gave me my change and I checked her math and it was correct. Still it was a little upsetting to me.

[Lliam]

Yes.
My first job was working on weekends at my uncle's gas station when I was 13. The mechanic taught me how to do oil changes, lube jobs and other things. But my main job was to work the pumps, wash windows, check tire pressure and engine fluids while filling the gas tank. Then I would take the money. That was in 1967 when gas stations were full service and nobody used credit cards.

It was my mom who taught me the easy way to make change.
Let's say the bill is $3.32 and they give you a $20.
You start with pennies and count out 3. That gets you to $3.35. Then you select a nickle to bring you to $3.40. Then you select a dime to bring you to $3.50. Then you select two quarters to bring you to $4. Then you grab a dollar to bring you to $5, a $5 bill to bring you to $10, and a $10 bill to bring you to $20.
You count it back to the customer in the same order, starting with the pennies.

It's simple and fool proof.

That paid off later in 10th grade when I got a part time job at a small fast food place that sold hot dogs, chili dogs, hard tacos, tostadas and burritos. I worked the front window and car window, took the orders, made them, bagged them up and took the money. I was fast.

I confuse the hell out of cashiers no days when the bill is $5.75 and I hand them a $20 and a $1 so that I can get back a $5 and a $10 instead of a bunch of $1s.
If their cash registers didn't tell them what change to make, they wouldn't know what to do.

[AviatorTom]

Yes I can. I grew up with cash, before credit cards and tap to pay existed.

Many young people today struggle with making change though. They are not used to seeing the various denominations of coins and bills, and they really are not taught much about it in school.

[exitseven]

I shudder to think of the things they are not teaching kids. They all know what a cross dresser is though.

[TrueConfection]

Yes, of course. My mother taught me to figure out how much change I was getting back before the cashier could input the amount I paid. I still do it out of habit.

I had a short conversation with the manager of our local grocery store. He was baffled by the inability of high school kids that were unable to make change.

My own kids are recent grads and they thought I was bananas because I made them learn to count without using their fingers. The school was literally teaching them to use their fingers!

[Simslover92]

A lot of people don't pay with cash anymore so cashiers become used to that and have slowly started to forget how to make change even though they've probably been trained on it and its on the register as you said. I can count on my fingers how many times I've used cash this year so far. But I agree about the school system failing our kids. Poor girl indeed.

[exitseven]

I would never put such a small charge on a credit card. There are some places that will not take cash. This is against the law and i always make them take the cash. i am amazed that some smart lawyer would not get some kind of class action suit going about this.

[Simslover92]

On no I wouldn't either. And I didn't know that was against the law. Learn something new everyday.

[exitseven]

Legal tender must be accepted everywhere.

[dustybiker2]

I've been glared at for paying with cash. Some local stores actual display signs stating "card only or exact change".
If I forget my wallet in my normal bag and out on my bike they have lost a customer.

[exitseven]

@dustybiker2 I parked my truck in a garage and when i returned I went to leave and there was no human in the little shack near the exit. Instead there was a machine that would take a credit card. There was nobody around but there was a button that you could push if you had a problem. I push the button and there was a voice that I spoke to and asked him how I could pay cash. He said that they did not take cash. I told him that I did not want to put this on a credit card. He continued to tell me that they do not take cash. I told him that if I could not pay cash I would drive my truck through the gate because this was false imprisonment. A minute later an very disgruntled guy in a suit and tie cam and took my cash and opened the gate.

[dustybiker2]

😂😂

[Chazmatazz269]

You misunderstand the law, exitseven. Common currency is legal tender for all DEBTS, public and private. Trade is not debt. If an agreement hasn’t already been made, there is no debt. A proprietor can demand anything they want in trade and without an existing agreement, or otherwise recognized debt, you don’t get to tell them what they will or won’t accept as payment. That is not the purpose of legal tender, nor has it ever been.

https://youtu.be/X-D5FERQzU4?si=NYrY-CRKHHxF3tqV

[dustybiker2]

@Chazmatazz269 Interesting

[exitseven]

@Chazmatazz269 I spoke to my state rep about this and he told me that then law was on the books but they choose not to enforce it. He is a Republicsn but the state is run by democrats.

[dustybiker2]

@exitseven my local police say the same. They are run by republicans

[AI Opinion]

It's understandable to feel disheartened by such encounters. These experiences underscore the ongoing challenges in our educational systems, particularly in basic math skills. While technology aids in tasks like giving change, fundamental skills remain crucial. Encouraging real-world practice and experiential learning can bridge such gaps. From my experience, fostering practical exercises in educational settings and encouraging everyday math problems in classrooms can help strengthen students' confidence and competence in tasks like this. Additionally, supporting systems that provide continuous learning opportunities can enhance skillsets beyond formal education.

[jennifer_bloom]

I used to visit McDonalds quite frequently and there was a new employee there who was very beautiful but also very unintelligent. She would often lie and tell me the thing I wanted was not on the menu if she was not intelligent enough to process my complicated or uncommon order and if I chose to change or challenge anything she said to me she would get hostile and rude towards me. I disliked her a lot when she first got there because of her bad service and her refusal to be apologetic about her terrible service. Now, around 8 years later, she is no longer bad at her job and is almost as good as the other employees who work there. She just required a few years more training than the more intelligent employees who worked there.

[sage2021]

Naturally I can make change. My first job when I was 16 was working a cash register - so I had to know how to make change.
But now a days almost everyone uses their bank card so they don't need to know how.
Funny thing though - I still use my fingers when I count! 😂

[exitseven]

My daughter always counted on her fingers too. Ironically she has a BS in Mathematics.

[sage2021]

@exitseven
That's funny 🤣😂

[Beckybooboo]

Last week I bought two cases of water, the total came to $10.20, so I gave the girl a twenty dollar bill and two dimes. She gave me $9.80 back 🤦 There was an older guy behind me and I could hear him quietly laughing lol I didn't even explain it to her.

[exitseven]

I ate out one night. I paid for the meal and i bought a 50 dollar gift certificate. I gave the kid 2 50 dollar bills. He gave me a hundred dollar bill for chsnge.

[Beckybooboo]

When they hire people they should have them prove they can do simple math.

[exitseven]

It is hard enough to find people who will just show up on time.

[Beckybooboo]

I'm a regular at this gas station, so I'm sorta friends with one of the cashier's. A while back she told me that one of their employees was stealing bottles of booze, going into the employees bathroom and getting drunk! 🙄 I guess, like you say, "I don't care if you can't add or subtract, just show up on time and don't get drunk in our bathroom", that's all it takes.

[MannMitAntworten]

Trying to find someone reliable who shows up on time and doesn’t close early or often throughout the day has become the bigger challenge than finding someone who can count out change. Last week I was asked by three different local business owners if I knew anyone looking for work and each time I ended their question for them with, “…and reliable?” All three I sadly had to say, “no”. No one wants to work! Then those we hire in town call in saying they can’t show up or simply do not show up at all with no notice. Nuts!

[DryGermanGuy]

[dustybiker2]

Checks no longer require cursive... because they no longer teach it in school. That blows my mind. Right sure you rarely use checks, but you still need to in a number of circumstances. And how can you read about the past without it? Google translate? Digital gain is education lost.

[dustybiker2]

And I blame the parents about not being able to count change. At some point you do have to take responsibility for your own kids weak points. Unless she was just nervous. Most places have change machines anyway.

[exitseven]

@dustybiker2 The government wants to do away with cash altogether so there is a paper trail on everything we do. I refuse to go along with it.

[dustybiker2]

Yeah.. not cool with that either.
Altho, that digital trail has saved me companies own mistakes a number of times.
One was my bank app went back four years and their credit system only went back two. It saved me almost four grand by proving their digital mistake was not me.
Everything has positives and negatives.

[NathanDavis]

you know... I'm starting to get to the point in which I grab someone's phone, and then, for the life of me... I just can't find some things

kids nowadays fly through their phone settings

and I am not CLUELESS like that, on the contraire... I'm really good at it, I am just not familiar at all with newer apps and phones... especially socials

[andreasderjuengere]

I'm not upset, but rather unsettled.

This kind of people get more and more. They will handle the world soon, when I for myself would have liked to just relax, lean back and enjoy my last few years.

Looks, as if I need to stay around a little longer... and help them counting :D

[Notherndude84]

I bartend at an American Legion that only accepts cash, so yes I have gotten decent at making change. Also wise to the tricks people pull when exchanging cash.
Example “I gave you a $20 when in reality only gave $10
Thankfully they don’t charge stupid prices for drinks that require pennies, dimes and nickels.

[Communicationisking]

It does my head in especially when something is say 11$ and you pay with a 50$ note and give them a 1$ coin to help them and they just can't work it out and think your trying to scam them when you tell them to just give you 40$ change

[strateguy632]

Yup! I learnt to offer "if i give you $1 will you give me 40$?" Most can't figure it out.

[Communicationisking]

@strateguy632 You try make things easier for them but it trips them up unless they type in 51$ tendered into the register

[DryGermanGuy]

That's generation Facebook for ya. If it's not in the fucking phone, it doesn't exist.

[dustybiker2]

And if it is in the phone but is made up they scream and demand it is true because it's in the phone.

[DryGermanGuy]

Oh yeah, the inversion is very true also.

[OlderAndWiser]

I can make change without a cash register or calculator telling me the amount.

[Wiredone]

Yes I know how to count. When I worked in retail many years ago we had to count out the change as we gave it back to the customer

[strateguy632]

Yikes i recall in first grade we learnt about the different coins. These teens these days, see 1.15 change, on the machine, but can't figure out how many nickles 😋. Oh those poor dears!

[MannMitAntworten]

Yes, I can. Even without a machine spitting out the tender. But you are right, it is disheartening to watch. Many times I told them the change amount I was owed by bill and coin type to make it easier on them.

[smahala1991]

Yes, I was a cashier at Dollar General I had to do that daily

[Massageman]

Quite easily. I usually know within a few cents how much my purchases will be anyway, even if I use a CC. Helps to quickly screen my receipts for the "specials" that the stores forgot to include due to their stupid AI coupons!

[Screenwriter]

Those POS registers tell you exactly how much change to give. You're saying hers didn't do that?

[exitseven]

@screenwriterr Does POS mean Point Of Sale or does it mean something else?
The register did figure out how much chsnge she could give me but she had trouble adding up the nickels and dimes in her head. It was painful to watch.

[Screenwriter]

Yes point of sale. Maybe she wasn't an experienced cash person. So many people don't pay with cash. You have to dust off your primary school learning.

[DrPepper12]

Sad. Mental math is out but differential calculus is necessary for all? GTFOH with that noise. Geometry, algebra & possibly trig is FINE for almost ALL. Best to focus on real life skills.

[Jeff51]

Kids don't know how to count money. It's to bad.

[Brandi555]

It’s simple math. She’s not helping nasa put a satellite in orbit. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[NordicInScandinavia]

I can make change in Iskr, Dkr and in euro.

[Anonymous]

I have lots of change.

[SotiCoto]

"Smartphones" have made people stupid.

[Dongie]

Yes, easy peasy!

[lorenzomichael]

I can break a dollar.

[jamesgoldman]

Absolutely