# Cashier out of pennies **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 19, 2007, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685 "2007-05-19T02:57:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/21 "2007-05-19T16:01:33Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] I suppose no one had the balls to tell him that the candy, band-aids, lip ointment, bouncy balls, lighters, LED crystal castles, tabletop waterfalls, weight loss aids, eyeglass repair kits, stale “gourmet” cookies, alien head suckers, squeezy “snot” candy, about-to-expire Easter “chocolate” from the Carter administration, cough drops, toy cars and velcro zip-ties might just have an eensy-weensy influence on the “clutter” issue? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Umm…no. Would’ve taken a couple of big round hairy ones the size of hamster testicles, proportionately speaking, and ain’t nobody in Central Illinois equipped with those. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Handsome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@Gus\_Handsome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Handsome)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/22 "2007-05-19T18:14:32Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Do people in other countries sweat such small amounts of cash? [/QUOTE] Ha! I drive a taxi on Fri & Sat nights as a way to boost my pension (and get out of the house). Our meters are set up in such a way that at the conclusion of the trip, the 6% tax gets added on at the end. As a result, we can have some funky amounts like “$4.82” or $9.97" One night, the meter came to exactly $9.97, the customer handed me a $10, and the cheap fk put his hand out waiting for the 3 cents change. No problem (I say to myself) Although it does irritate me, it is their money, and I always give the change with a smile. I never expect a tip, and consider it a bonus if I get one, although incidents like this are not a matter of tipping, it is more insulting than anything (IMO) On this night it was late in the shift, and as I fumbled through my little plastic Tupperware thingy of change, I realized I was out of pennies, nickels and dimes; so as I’m fumbling around, “customer cheap fk” still has his hand out… waiting… with kind of a pissed off look. I politely apologize, and hand him a quarter change. I figure that’s all I have, it’s not his fault I’m ill prepared, so I suck it up. But oh no, customer fuck face proceeds to chastise me and give me shit for not having the correct change ~ so that’s when I told him to save his lecture and go fuck himself. I figured I did nothing wrong up until this point, I gave the customer back extra change, was polite and professional, and once he started lecturing me and carrying on in an insulting tone, now I had a fundamental right to feed it back to him. I guess they can’t really do that at Wall Greens 🙂 So getting back to the question : Yes, people can be so petty over what you and I consider trivial amounts of money. On the other side of the coin… I had a customer last week who just flew in to give a lecture at Queen’s University, and he handed me a $50 bill for a fare that came to $4.82. I politley asked him if he happened to have anything smaller. The guy looks at me with a great big smile and says, “oh that’s ok, keep it, have a great day!” He gets out of the cab and walks away! I was stunned. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/23 "2007-05-19T21:51:01Z")
This is one reason I love working at the science center-no pennies. Everything we sell is all one basic price-no tax, or anything. I do keep quarters for people who need change, and occassionally I’ll get the odd dime or nickel. But no pennies. It’s great. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/24 "2007-05-19T22:56:25Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] Nobody, but _nobody_, gets anything but the exact, correct change at Walgreens. Ever. [/QUOTE] When I worked at Domino’s, if a carry-out customer was due pennies back, I’d usually just round their change up to the nearest nickel. It usually pleased them that they didn’t have all the extra copper-plated zinc in their purse or pocket. Similarly, when I delivered a pizza, I’d discourage the customer from looking for extra change if they were short. 99.5% of the time they were tipping me well anyways. For example, if their order was $24.03, they’d ask for $2 back, but then realized that their tip would be $3.98 instead of $4. They’d turn to get the 3 cents, but I’d tell them that’s OK and wish them a good evening. It speeds up the transaction and I don’t have to carry the extra change either. (Back when I first started delivering pizza, tips ranged from 50 cents to $1.50. I got a _lot_ of coins, which actually wore holes through several pairs of pants’ pockets.) One time a customer only had coins. Her order was around $20, and so she went back to some change depository she had, grabbed a large handsfull of silver coins, and gave them to me with apologies. The amount seemed right, so I took them and left. Back at the store, I stopped to count them. She’d given me about $45 in coins, so I didn’t complain. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/25 "2007-05-19T23:07:51Z")
[QUOTE=Gus\_Handsome] On the other side of the coin… I had a customer last week who just flew in to give a lecture at Queen’s University, and he handed me a $50 bill for a fare that came to $4.82. I politley asked him if he happened to have anything smaller. The guy looks at me with a great big smile and says, “oh that’s ok, keep it, have a great day!” He gets out of the cab and walks away! I was stunned. [/QUOTE] Great story! Great Customer! I had a delivery customer (during a snowstorm) who gave me two $20 bills for a $17 order. I thought that the bills had stuck together (as new bills often do), and handed him back the extra. “No,” he said, “keep it. For coming out in this weather.” That’s one reason I _love_ snowstorms. 😃 _Now for the obligatory sucky tip story:_ Delivering pizza, we’re supposed to keep just $20 change on us as we leave the store. On one delivery, the total was $19.93. When the apartment door was opened, there was a toddler with a $20 bill. (This was often a ploy in this neighborhood for stiffing: to have a small child pay and “forget” the tip.) I gave him the pizza (making sure that he didn’t hurt his hands on the hot part), and let the door close. About two seconds later, the mom opens the door with another $20 bill and asks if I have change. _Well good_, I thought, _she’s going to tip me from the change I give her._ I giver her two $5s and ten $1s. She says thank you and shuts the door! So not only do I get an insulting $0.07 tip, but the b—h took me for all my change! I had to stop at a 7-11 to break a $20 for my next delivery. But like I said earlier, 99.5% of my customers tipped, and many very well. But like you, I never “expected” a tip, and was pleased at the generocity of my customers. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Handsome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@Gus\_Handsome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Handsome)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/26 "2007-05-20T10:35:59Z")
[QUOTE=AWB] When the apartment door was opened, there was a toddler with a $20 bill. (This was often a ploy in this neighborhood for stiffing: to have a small child pay and “forget” the tip.)QUOTE] Ha! I think that ploy gets used all over the world. We used to get that 25 years ago delivering pizzas after school. The old “send the toddler to the door with the money” You could see mommys shadow behind the door listening for every nickle to be handed back. I always hated that move, it’s gutless, slimy and so classless. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/27 "2007-05-20T10:49:24Z")
Australia abolished 1c ad 2c coins about ten years ago. I love it. I wish they’d 86 the 5c too (it’s already not accepted in some laces like toll roads and buses). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/28 "2007-05-20T11:00:55Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] We’re talking about pennies here. Maximum amount is $0.04. What’s wrong with people, customer or merchant, making an issue over something so small. Abolish stupid pennies, I say. \*\*Do people in other countries sweat such small amounts of cash? \*\* BTW; if you willfully keep overchange you are indeed a thief. Even if it’s only 4 cents. Peace, mangeorge [/QUOTE] (bolding mine) After the introduction of the Euro, we (Holland) quickly quit using the 0.01 and 0.02 coins. surrounding country’s (Germany/Belgium/France) still use them. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/29 "2007-05-20T12:44:54Z")
As a customer I’m used to always dealing with exact change. Once I was shopping in a Spainish supermarket before the Euro switch and the change was less than one Peseta. I paused, expecting change, and she looked at me blankly, so I walked away. It didn’t bother me but it was differant. My FiL who lives there told me that perfectly normal for Spain. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/30 "2007-05-20T13:03:12Z")
[QUOTE=AWB] (Back when I first started delivering pizza, tips ranged from 50 cents to $1.50. I got a _lot_ of coins, which actually wore holes through several pairs of pants’ pockets.) [/QUOTE] You would have fun up here. When I get pizza delivered I frequently pay part, and sometimes all, the entire cost with change, since I usually have a bunch of loonies and twonies stashed away in my kitchen change (I hate carrying around a ton of change, so I keep it in jars in my kitchen until I have enough to roll). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/31 "2007-05-20T13:23:14Z")
Questions which mainly call for opinions belong in IMHO. Moved. **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/32 "2007-05-20T18:28:33Z")
I remember once a cashier gave me a Canadian penny as change. I very politely pointed out that I wanted a US penny (living in the US and all) and not a Canadian one. I didn’t make a scene or a fuss, but she had already closed the register, so I just left the Canadian penny with her. My wife made fun of me for weeks after for noticing in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/33 "2007-05-20T18:42:00Z")
And the grand prize goes to… **ArchiveGuy**! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![etgaw1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@etgaw1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etgaw1)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/34 "2007-05-20T19:43:52Z")
I work on a US base in Europe. In the local exchange they if the change is a weird penny like 10.03 they round up to $10.05 if it is $10.02 they round to $10.00. After enough transactions everything balances out. Personally I like not having to worry about pennies. It makes life easier. FYI - they don’t use pennies because it costs too much to ship them overseas. At least that is what they tell us. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/35 "2007-05-20T20:22:22Z")
[QUOTE=etgaw1] I work on a US base in Europe. In the local exchange they if the change is a weird penny like 10.03 they round up to $10.05 if it is $10.02 they round to $10.00. After enough transactions everything balances out. Personally I like not having to worry about pennies. It makes life easier. FYI - they don’t use pennies because it costs too much to ship them overseas. At least that is what they tell us. [/QUOTE] Cost doesn’t stop us. We (the US) use them in spite of the added cost of making (and handling) them, which greatly exceeds their value. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![phil417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@phil417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phil417)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/36 "2007-05-20T20:34:26Z")
I always keep at least five pennies with me. If the person ahead of me is short a few cents, I’ve been known to chip in. Hey, what goes around comes around. You, too? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/37 "2007-05-21T00:28:23Z")
I’m not sure if this is a hijack or not – But about the penny trays you see so often – I see them as the property of the cashiers, and for their convenience as well as mine. I won’t grab pennies out of them to make change – I will offer the cashier sufficient amount to pay the whole amount and give me change back. I leave it to them to tell me “keep the single” (or whatever) while they scoop up the requisite pennies to balance the register. I think this is a matter of politeness, but maybe it’s more impolite to present the cashier with these choices and slow things down. What is proper behavior? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/38 "2007-05-21T00:41:05Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] I’m not sure if this is a hijack or not – But about the penny trays you see so often – I see them as the property of the cashiers, and for their convenience as well as mine. I won’t grab pennies out of them to make change – I will offer the cashier sufficient amount to pay the whole amount and give me change back. I leave it to them to tell me “keep the single” (or whatever) while they scoop up the requisite pennies to balance the register. I think this is a matter of politeness, but maybe it’s more impolite to present the cashier with these choices and slow things down. What is proper behavior? [/QUOTE] Aha! This one I know. Let the clerk grab the pennies if needed. They will know first what to do. The pennies usually are needed only if the till doesn’t have enough. If you get a few pennies in change, and there are only a few in the tray, feel free to drop your pennies in. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/39 "2007-05-21T00:59:39Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] …If you get a few pennies in change, and there are only a few in the tray, feel free to drop your pennies in. [/QUOTE] That part I knew, and do pretty often. I don’t like carrying around pennies, or saving them up. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685/40 "2007-05-21T01:01:20Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] We’re talking about pennies here. Maximum amount is $0.04. What’s wrong with people, customer or merchant, making an issue over something so small. Abolish stupid pennies, I say. [/QUOTE] Then what do we do when the cashier runs out of nickels? 😉 Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-out-of-pennies/404685.md?page=3)