Counting Change

[Andykev]

Ok, in the same "idea" as another recent post...

How many times have you gone to the store or restaurant or market..and received change from some young kid? Probably lots of times.

So, how do they count change? You spend $9.37, and fork over a $10.

When I was a kid in the grocery store, my first real job after a paper route, you counted change like this' (UP)

"Sir, thank you, your change is $9.37, thirty eight, nine, forty. Fifty, seventy five, and ten".

Now, the kid just looks at the computer digital read out from the register and says "here is your change, and counts (DOWN) from $10....twenty five, fifty, sixty, one , two, three. " OR they just plop the .63 cents in your hand.

50/50 chance of getting a thank you also.

Oh, and I was taught "Sir/Ma'm, can I get you anything else?"

Today, you get "is that all?"

 

[Brad Bowers]

And the sad thing is, most of them couldn't make change without the computer! Heck, some of them can't make the correct change with it!

Brad

 

[jamespowers]

They can't even think without the computer.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I still don't understand how you count without a computer.

 

[filmnoirphotos]

Beyond the shortcomings of younger employees, most retail stores and restaurants tend to be poorly managed. It is immediately apparent when you receive less than a warm greeting when entering. Some restaurant host/hostesses do not even hide their irritation that they must seat you or assist you in some way.

I suppose a lot has to do with the fact that restaurants and shops of old were run by the owner. Today, so many businesses are owned by people that may have never step foot in the establishment and that hire management staff to run the operation. Occasionally they will luck upon a top flight manager, someone who runs the business like his own, but more often than not, managing staff is less than quality and is constantly turning over. There is little pride in the business, particuarly by younger staff that only see their job as a temporary income while in school or what ever.

There is much to be said in regards to savings with Costcos and Walmarts. Sad that in fevered pursuit of getting more for the buck we have forfeited some of the satisfying pleasures of shopping in an establishment that caters to your needs and places the customer above all else.

I also miss elevator operators......

 

[Michaelson]

Recently I purchased a cup of coffee at a McDonalds while on a road trip to Ft. Worth. I paid for my cup with a 5 dollar bill, and was handed change for a 20!! When I tried to return the excess change, it took a request to get a manager over before they'd accept the change back...and even with the manager involved, they looked and acted like I was completely out of my mind...even when I showed them my receipt, told them what I had given the clerk, then showed them my change! So, it's at management level in a lot of places. At least my conscience is clear...I could have walked out 15 dollars richer for the experience, instead of a bad attitude at being treated like a nut case, and having a now cold cup of coffee to add insult to injury. Regards. Michaelson

 

[Brad Bowers]

Yes, but at least you probably wouldn't have sued them if you had spilled cold coffee on your crotch!

Brad

 

[Michaelson]

Hummm. Hadn't considered that possibility, Brad!:coffee: (grins) Regards. Michaelson

 

[Williamson]

Two more additions while we are on this topic.......Telling time.....I have actually heard some of my wifes high school students ask about telling time....if you look at most of the students these days a majority of people are wearing digital watches. Also, simple math.....without a calculator some of them are hog tied in trying to figure out a simple math problem......and don't get started on long division....Anyway just a thought or two that struck me. Regards, Williamson.

 

[Michaelson]

My wife occasionally tutors students at 6 grade level and higher. Last year she had a 14 year old girl, who had just moved into the area, and needed to catch up with the current class group. She could not tell analog time at all. My wife said it was a bit odd to have to teach a teenager how to read the hands on a clock. The young lady, too, had been raised on 'digital' time.:rage: For an old pocket watch carrier like me, this is just awful!!! Regards. Michaelson

 

[John in Covina]

Today at most fast food places in my area if you want them to count up to make change you'd better know Spanish.

 

[Noirblack]

What I find irritating when getting change is that because they don't "count up" any more, if the change consists of both coins and bills, they take the amount out of the register, lay the bills in your open hand and then set the coins on top of that. Almost inevitably before you can scoop the coins off the top of the bills, the coins are sliding off the bills and onto the counter top.

Of course, if they would count up, the coins would be in your palm before the bills and you wouldn't get this spillage of coins. Plus you'd see that you were getting the correct amount back. You'd also get the sense that the cashier knows what he or she was doing, rather than just reading the change amount from the register.

Cashiers now don't even have to punch in prices. Just scan in the items and let the register tell you how much change to give back. I suppose that is better for accuracy and stock keeping, plus the lines move faster, but it must take some the sense of accomplishment out of it for the cashier. They just do what the register tells them to do. Some of the grocery stores and other retailers in my area have a self-checkout now. You scan in your stuff and pay with your bank card. I haven't tried this for some reason. I generally like new technology, but to me it seems that the store is adding to the number of tasks that you need to do during the day. Interestingly, the self checkouts have been around for a few years now, but they haven't taken off in my area.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Two more additions while we are on this topic.......Telling time.....I have actually heard some of my wifes high school students ask about telling time....if you look at most of the students these days a majority of people are wearing digital watches. Also, simple math.....without a calculator some of them are hog tied in trying to figure out a simple math problem......and don't get started on long division....Anyway just a thought or two that struck me. Regards, Williamson.

Worse, they don't even wear watches anymore, digital or otherwise. It's now their phone which has become the 21st century equivalent of the Swiss Army knife because it does practically everything. Personally, I'd much rather have the Swiss Army knife.

Beyond the shortcomings of younger employees, most retail stores and restaurants tend to be poorly managed. It is immediately apparent when you receive less than a warm greeting when entering. Some restaurant host/hostesses do not even hide their irritation that they must seat you or assist you in some way.

I suppose a lot has to do with the fact that restaurants and shops of old were run by the owner. Today, so many businesses are owned by people that may have never step foot in the establishment and that hire management staff to run the operation. Occasionally they will luck upon a top flight manager, someone who runs the business like his own, but more often than not, managing staff is less than quality and is constantly turning over. There is little pride in the business, particuarly by younger staff that only see their job as a temporary income while in school or what ever.

There is much to be said in regards to savings with Costcos and Walmarts. Sad that in fevered pursuit of getting more for the buck we have forfeited some of the satisfying pleasures of shopping in an establishment that caters to your needs and places the customer above all else.

Most of your corporate leadership today are MBAs who aren't necessarily rooted in any particular business or industry which is in stark contrast to the old days when members of the management team often started, literally, on the ground floor of the company. Many of today's MBA's had probably never even ran as much as a lemonade stand prior to getting their MBA. They've been taught in school that marketing is marketing whether it's candy or cars and their careers often consist of hopping from company to company on a resume-building tour.

 

[splintercellsz]

I rarely count change I get back, I look at the coins themselfs, as I collect old coins. You'd be amazed at what you could find, ranging from 1882 IHC's (I have found one!), 1900-1959 cents, silver dimes (pre-1964), and a wide variety of dimes & nickels. I have quite the pile of Pre-60s cents, and other coinage if anyone wants to see!

 

[Espee]

There were teen employees (late 1980s!) who, when told to "clean the back area, and if it's not busy at 3:30, go on home" would be punching the blank side of their timecard, to find out the time.
This was before cells and full coverage by pagers; the time punch clock had a traditional clock face which some of them couldn't read. So they'd keep returning for a punch--
3:07
3:18
3:23
3:30
("okay dude, I'm outa here...")

 

[tealseal]

I keep my clocks in 24 hour time, and tend to write times down in the same (habit, I guess). It's not just young people that have time problems! A few days back I overheard some 50somethings at a restaurant commenting about how "they just don't understand military time" and "why would anyone use such a ridiculous time system". I don't understand this; why is it so difficult to keep counting up from 12? The other thing that irks me somewhat is that it's not "military" time, it's "24 hour" time...oh well.
Usually I write it as 14:53, but sometimes I'll just put 1453. You should have seen the face of the poor kid who had to figure out what I was writing when I put 14h53 on a document once, shortly after returning from Europe.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Today at most fast food places in my area if you want them to count up to make change you'd better know Spanish.

JinC -- This may be a RECORD dormant bump!

 

[Stanley Doble]

Not exactly on topic but funny. I am reading a book about the sun. The astronomer who wrote it, mentioned some of the questions he was asked on a popular late night talk show.

One elderly man asked "how did the astronauts steer around all the stars when they went to the moon?"

After he warned people to be careful if they wanted to watch an upcoming solar eclipse, one woman asked "Why do they hold these eclipses if they are so dangerous?"

So, it's not just the kids

 

[DonnaP]

This is somewhat of a sore point with me I was trained at my first job to make change, and to count it back. You just hit "amount tender" on the cash register rather than keying in what the customer gave you. Later when I became manager of a coffee house I insisted on training the employees on counting back change, all the other managers thought it was a waste of time. After my first daughter was born, I took a job at a grocery store part time. There was absolutely no way to take the customer's money without keying in the amount the customer gave me, there was no "amount tender" button on the register. This actually used to confuse me, because I was so used to making my own change. And inevitably, I'd get some customer who'd say "back in my day, we'd have to make change ourselves" and I'd be so frustrated--it wasn't my fault! I wanted to be able to make change instead of letting the computer tell me, but I had no option!

 

[TomS]

In this same venue goes *facing* bills. I was always taught to return cash face up, and highest to lowesr denomination. I often encounter people handing me a wad of currency. I'm then forced to stand at the register and face, count, and then put the money away. Just my .02