# 100 things a customer should never do. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154 "2009-11-03T11:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/181 "2009-11-06T12:51:25Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > In Vegas, they pay out your winnings in 100s. What are you supposed to do? Wipe your ass with them? You might, but I’m not that rich… yet. > > You do have a point overall, though. Don’t try to buy a pack of gum with a $100 bill. That makes you an ass. Hell, don’t even try it with a 20. I always made them give me at least a couple of hundred in twenties. My credit union automatically gives out cash in hundreds and fifties, and I always have to either tell them first that I want the cash in tens and twenties, or tell them afterwards. I usually don’t draw out more than $300 at a time for walking around money, and I rarely need C notes, as we own our home free and clear (don’t need to pay rent or mortgage) and if my bill at the restaurant or wherever is more than twenty bucks, then I’ll probably put it on my debit card. But when a cashier at the bank or casino is paying out, the default mode seems to be to pay out in hundreds, rather than smaller bills. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/182 "2009-11-06T14:07:31Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Don’t just bark your order unadorned at the server. That is an actual human being you are interacting with, so you still have to say please, thank you, and may I have. It absolutely makes me cringe when I see someone ahead of me in line doing this. I dated a girl from Cuba years ago, and on one of our first dates she took me to a Cuban restaurant in NYC. I used my manners, as I always do, with the hostess and server. At one point she said to me “I know you’re being polite, but in Cuba it’s customary to not say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ with the staff- they’re here to serve you and are not to be treated with the same manners you’d ordinarily use. It’s considered offensive.” I don’t know if that’s true or not, but while I didn’t bark orders at them the rest of the night, I kept my ‘pleases’ and 'thank you’s to myself and just smiled and nodded to acknowledge them. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/183 "2009-11-06T15:00:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Tough. I like hundreds. They occupy much less space in my wallet. If the restaurant can’t keep enough change on hand to handle them, they should just go out of business right now. Late night or a drive thru is one thing. Inside is another. Suck it up, plate jockey. Where’s my change?😛 😃 But the change from the $100 makes big wad in your wallet. Speaking of wads… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/184 "2009-11-06T15:10:10Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I dated a girl from Cuba years ago, and on one of our first dates she took me to a Cuban restaurant in NYC. I used my manners, as I always do, with the hostess and server. At one point she said to me “I know you’re being polite, but in Cuba it’s customary to not say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ with the staff- they’re here to serve you and are not to be treated with the same manners you’d ordinarily use. It’s considered offensive.” > > I don’t know if that’s true or not, but while I didn’t bark orders at them the rest of the night, I kept my ‘pleases’ and 'thank you’s to myself and just smiled and nodded to acknowledge them. You should have told her you weren’t in Cuba. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/185 "2009-11-06T15:21:11Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Not to turn this into a thread on tipping but…any boss that didn’t put a stop in any sort of such harrassment in the workplace is looking at all kinds of trouble. Sayeth someone who has clearly never, ever worked in a service job. > [@](#): > > But I guess tipping is a good way to pay service staff :dubious: No, it’s useless and stupid. But it is how it is, so until it changes, you have to work with it. Also, this isn’t just about tipping. It’s about \*\*any \*\*service job. When I worked in coffeeshops, I was paid a normal wage as opposed to the sub-minimum level that waitstaff gets… and I \*\*still \*\*had to put up with all the creepy flirting and lame jokes, even when I wasn’t getting anything extra out of it, other than keeping my job. > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I was surprised at the number of people who would pay for things with $100 notes, and as far as I could tell probably 75% of them were doing it as an excuse to flash their cash: “Look at me! I’ve got a $100 note!” IME, they also aren’t going to tip you. I think of an experience I had in one of the aforementioned coffeeshops in college… It was Parent’s Week and we were incredibly busy. Mr. Big Important Man comes in with his family, orders about a half-dozen drinks (all of them involving pulling shots, steaming milk, etc.–nothing easy like coffee), pays with a $100, and leaves $0.00 in the tip cup. Douchebarge. > [@corkboard](#): > > At one point she said to me “I know you’re being polite, but in Cuba it’s customary to not say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ with the staff- they’re here to serve you and are not to be treated with the same manners you’d ordinarily use. It’s considered offensive.” :dubious: I call B.S. How is it ever “offensive” to be polite and show gratitude, even if the person is performing an action that is expected of them? I can see how tipping in a country where one doesn’t tip could be offensive, but verbal politeness? Also, while you were in a Cuban restaurant, the restaurant is located in America. I didn’t tip at restaurants when I was living in Japan, but you bet your ass I tip at Japanese restautants in America. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/186 "2009-11-06T15:25:53Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > In Vegas, they pay out your winnings in 100s. What are you supposed to do? Wipe your ass with them? You might, but I’m not that rich… yet. > > You do have a point overall, though. Don’t try to buy a pack of gum with a $100 bill. That makes you an ass. Hell, don’t even try it with a 20. Don’t buy a pack of gum with a 20? Why not? Should I use my credit card? Why the \*\*\*\* would anyone care which bill I use to buy a pack of gum? It’s a piece of cloth with a number on it, who cares? Seriously, what is the reason why a person should not use a 20? Is a 10 ok? What about a 5? How exactly did you determine which denomination was the correct one? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/187 "2009-11-06T15:50:21Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > :dubious: I call B.S. How is it ever “offensive” to be polite and show gratitude, even if the person is performing an action that is expected of them? I can see how tipping in a country where one doesn’t tip could be offensive, but verbal politeness? Also, while you were in a Cuban restaurant, the restaurant is located in America. I didn’t tip at restaurants when I was living in Japan, but you bet your ass I tip at Japanese restautants in America. Actually, I’ve heard this one too, from a native Spaniard who said that in his country, they treat the waiters as such. But I agree with the second part of your statement. Cuban restaurant in NYC? Expect American manners. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/188 "2009-11-06T16:08:01Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > You should have told her you weren’t in Cuba. I thought the point was obvious- her comment about how it’s done in Cuba was intended to mean “in Cuban restaurants staffed by Cubans, this is what’s expected, whether we’re actually in Cuba or elsewhere”. **Shot From Guns** - ‘b.s.’ about the fact that she said it, or about the truth of what she said? I can’t comment about the veracity of it, as I’ve never been to Cuba; I just took her at her word. But I do know that in certain countries there is a more defined distinction between a patron and the staff than there is in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/189 "2009-11-06T16:16:07Z")
I tried to add this but my edit time was up: Whether or not that carries through to a restaurant in this country, I don’t know, but she explained that to a Cuban, to serve the customer is their job and they take pride in it; to treat them with more respect and manners than is warranted based on the distinction between patron and server is offensive because you’re not respecting the difference in roles. Who knows, I guess it could be possible, but fortunately the relationship didn’t last long enough for it to really become an issue. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/190 "2009-11-06T16:23:18Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Don’t buy a pack of gum with a 20? Why not? Should I use my credit card? > > Why the \*\*\*\* would anyone care which bill I use to buy a pack of gum? It’s a piece of cloth with a number on it, who cares? > > Seriously, what is the reason why a person should not use a 20? Is a 10 ok? What about a 5? How exactly did you determine which denomination was the correct one? Sometimes, especially with smaller stores and especially early in the morning, places don’t have cash in the register to break your $100 bill for a $0.25 cent purchase. I almost never buy gum with anything other than a quarter or a $1 bill. Of course, there are times when you just don’t have the denomination you’d like to use, so you just have to offer up what you have. In general, don’t people usually make cash purchases with the smallest denominations in their wallets that’ll cover the cost? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/191 "2009-11-06T16:25:57Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Seriously, what is the reason why a person should not use a 20? Is a 10 ok? What about a 5? How exactly did you determine which denomination was the correct one? It’s the difference between the total of your order and the denomination of the bill you’re using to purchase it: i.e., how many smaller bills making change for you is going to eat up. Especially in a smaller store, they aren’t always going to have a ton of 1s and 5s if everybody’s paying for small orders with 20s. > [@corkboard](#): > > **Shot From Guns** - ‘b.s.’ about the fact that she said it, or about the truth of what she said? Oh, I believe she said it–I just have a hard time believing that there’s a place where simple courtesy is “rude” because you’re not respecting the social roles (seriously? you’re going to get offended because I treat you like a human being and not a piece of trash peon?). ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/192 "2009-11-06T16:25:58Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Sometimes, especially with smaller stores and especially early in the morning, places don’t have cash in the register to break your $100 bill for a $0.25 cent purchase. Sorry, but that one I don’t buy, or at least I don’t care. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I get in a cab and the driver says “You’re not gonna give me a $20, are you?” Um, only if you want me to pay you. ATMs spit out 20s, and it’s not my job to have change, it’s his. Same for the gas station or the convenience store. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/193 "2009-11-06T16:31:12Z")
Unfortunately, the person on the cash register is generally not the same person who decides what to stock the register with. You’re certainly within your rights to attempt to pay with a $20, a $50, a $100… but the cashier is also within their rights to tell you, “Sorry, I can’t break that.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyMac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@JohnnyMac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyMac)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/194 "2009-11-06T16:34:33Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Don’t buy a pack of gum with a 20? Why not? Should I use my credit card? > > Why the \*\*\*\* would anyone care which bill I use to buy a pack of gum? It’s a piece of cloth with a number on it, who cares? > > Seriously, what is the reason why a person should not use a 20? Is a 10 ok? What about a 5? How exactly did you determine which denomination was the correct one? They simply don’t have the change; it’s not in the till. If more than one person comes in to buy a pack of gum with a 20, they’re fucked. They won’t have the change for the later customers. I’ve been remripanded many times in service positions for taking bills of too large a denomination; I had to ask my supervisor for change, and they were not at all happy. It’s not fair to the clerk. They’ll get in trouble for it. ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/195 "2009-11-06T16:34:38Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > A few more that I’m reminded of from the update to the other thread and it’s correponding original article: > > Don’t pay your $20 check with a $100 bill, _especially_ if you’re my first table. Why the fuck do you even _have_ a $100 bill? Who walks around with those? ATMs give out $20s, so this means you went into the bank to get money…ok, not too unusual, you had to cash a check. But why did you get $100s? > > Don’t say you need separate checks if you really don’t. I can’t tell you the number of times a party, anywhere from two to twenty people, say they need separate checks, and then they all pay cash and don’t need change. Hey, newsflash nimrods: you could have done that with one check! It’s a pain in the ass for me to split checks for anything more than four people, especially larger parties that have desserts and appetizers. Even worse is when it’s not split with every guest on their own, but when seats 1, 4, and 7 are on one check, 2 is by himself, 3, 5, 6 is on another, and 8 and 9 on the last, oh, but 2 is also buying a drink for seat 1, but seat 5 is buying seat 2’s dessert. > > FUCK YOU! Just have one or two people pay, and then either have the other people pay next time, or sort it out with some cash after you leave. > > Also, when you get the check, PAY IT! This goes double (triple!) when you ask for the check! Why would you ask for it if you aren’t ready to pay? And if it’s later in the evening, or after the lunch rush, and you see me refilling the salt and pepper, sweeping the tables near you, etc… that means I’, not taking any more tables, and I need to to pay so I can leave. Stop being a jerk and keeping me later! I don’t demand that you leave, unless I’m a closing server and it’s past closing time, but otherwise sit there as long as you like after I leave, but just pay me so I CAN leave! I’m sorry if this was addressed already but some times I go out to eat with people that I like spending time with but suck at math. I’ve tried doing a common bill and it never fails. Everyone puts in what they deem enough but then we are short so someone will put in more then bitch down the line that they put in more than was needed. Or someone will short on a tip and other will have to make it up. It’s just easier for us to do separate checks so this problem doesn’t come up. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/196 "2009-11-06T17:08:59Z")
> [@MannyL](#): > > I’m sorry if this was addressed already but some times I go out to eat with people that I like spending time with but suck at math. I’ve tried doing a common bill and it never fails. Everyone puts in what they deem enough but then we are short so someone will put in more then bitch down the line that they put in more than was needed. Or someone will short on a tip and other will have to make it up. > > It’s just easier for us to do separate checks so this problem doesn’t come up. Everyone should toss in a credit card and ask the bill to be split evenly X ways. Then if you need to do micro-corrections, do it with cash after you leave the restaurant. Or better yet, don’t bother nitpicking. How often, really, does everyone order the prime rib but one holdout only gets a small salad? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/197 "2009-11-06T17:09:17Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Sorry, but that one I don’t buy, or at least I don’t care. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I get in a cab and the driver says “You’re not gonna give me a $20, are you?” Um, only if you want me to pay you. ATMs spit out 20s, and it’s not my job to have change, it’s his. Well I find it a bit odd that a cab driver wouldn’t be able to change a 20. Are his typical fares 35 cents? As for this > [@](#): > > Same for the gas station or the convenience store. see this: > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Unfortunately, the person on the cash register is generally not the same person who decides what to stock the register with. You’re certainly within your rights to attempt to pay with a $20, a $50, a $100… but the cashier is also within their rights to tell you, “Sorry, I can’t break that.” ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/198 "2009-11-06T17:11:28Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Well I find it a bit odd that a cab driver wouldn’t be able to change a 20. Are his typical fares 35 cents? Aren’t cab drivers really likely to get held up? I can certainly understand their reluctance not to carry a lot of cash to make change with. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/199 "2009-11-06T18:34:31Z")
Well, I can see what you are saying if it’s a special situation like a small store with very few customers, although I am rarely in a store with so little traffic it’s a problem. Other than that, I pay with whichever bill I feel like paying with. Sometimes its the largest bill I have. Sometimes it’s the smallest bill I have. I choose the bill for a specific reason, sometimes it’s a 20, sometimes it’s a 1. If a store is worried about change and they ask me if I have something different, I would happily use something different if I had it. But thinking that everyone should follow your own personal rule about buying with the smallest denomination available seems, odd. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/200 "2009-11-06T18:42:15Z")
I didn’t say this is a rule everyone should follow. I asked if most people simply do this in general. I asked because I know I do, and several people I know do this deliberately as well. Maybe some people just grab whatever bill sticks out to them, which is fair enough. I do think people should make a point out of not purchasing 10 cents of merchandise with a $100 bill, though. Seems dickish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154.md?page=11)